Could my shooting technique be causing fliers?

[sixdrumquads]

Hi all, I just got my first custom gun and was wondering if the way I was shooting could be causing fliers. I went to the range for the second time in two days to try out some loads. Yesterday I found the general load I will be using and decided to tweak the seating depth a little bit for today's trip. Here are some pictures of the gun and the best group I shot with it. http://imgur.com/a/jot15

Today, after cleaning the gun out again, I shot three sighters, one with each seating depth since I was dumb and forgot to load some fouling shots. To my surprise I shot a three shot group that looks like one ragged hole. The next shots were 10 thou jam, 5 thou jam, no jam. At 10 jam there where two shot right on top of each other and on a half inch above and the other half an inch off to the side. same thing happened at 5 jam. 0 jam was a mess and was probably just not what the gun liked to eat.

My dad commented that I exerting very little pressure on the butt of the rifle at the very end. could the difference between pressing slightly and shooting a more free recoil style cause fliers like that?

 

[CaptainMal]

Maybe. Test that and see.

Often I find myself changing up during a match. Sometimes I trend to more "free recoil" as you speak of. Sometimes more. Sometimes I just use my trigger finger and nothing else. Sometimes I find a full hand touch. Then, there's variations in my cheek touch or, sometimes, no touch.

I don't often shoot well. Used to teach shooting and stressed doing things the same. Could even demonstrate how hand pressure could move point-of-impact.

Like I said...maybe. Test the change and find out.

 

[ShootDots]

You do not have "just flyers" per se, you have a rifle shooting 2 distinct groups, in addition to some groups with flyers. This is the "age old question" >> "What causes FLYERS and this sort of behavior?" There are NUMEROUS possibilities for this phenomenon. You have not told us much>>>what cartridge, bullet, twist rate, powder etc..

My first choice for getting rid of flyers is to try different powders. If that does not do any good, look for a "known decent load" for your cartridge and start changing seating depths>>first with 5K increments and if that seems to work, go to smaller increments at 3K to really find where you rifle likes the bullet to be seated. These are probably the most likely culprits, however, there are a host of other reasons. Some of these other culprits could be: unturned necks, work-hardened brass that needs to be annealed, too much / too little neck tension and so on and on and on. Try the most likely remedies first and see what happens.

REMEMBER: Do NOT get frustrated.. I have had barrels that seemed to HATE everything put down the bore>>>then you find that "magic load" and VOILA it shoots!! Let's hope you have a much easier time of it than that scenario! Having said all that, from what I see from your targets, IF you are doing everything the same all the time, it is not your "ability" or "style"..

 

[XTR]

Your position or more accurately inconsistent position can certainly cause flyers. I think cheek pressure is the most common malady, anticipating the trigger break and flinching is another, and shoulder pressure/position is another. All can move the point of impact.

 

[artbosco]

Let's start with the basics. What cartridge are you shooting? What's the load? Are you using windflags? Are you hanging all over the rifle or shooting Free Recoil? Are your sandbags too hard or too loose? ???

Read through this for ideas: http://www.6mmbr.com/verticaltips.html

Were you shooting into alternating pushes and then letups?

 

[sixdrumquads]

The gun currently has a 14 twist 6 br barrel on it. I am using 33.0 gr of powder and a precision ballistics 70gr flat base bullet with a 205m primer. Right now, my shoulder is on the butt plate but my head is not touching the stock in any way. I have the front bag squeezed into my rest more or less until it makes a fair amount of contact with the forearm of the stock. I am thinking I wasnt putting enough shoulder pressure on the gun after seeing how it shot the sighters and how the test group of 33.0 gr of powder shot.

 

[Quinc]

Have you used a Chronograph?

 

[dkhunt14]

Pinching a gun too tight in a front rest can cause fliers. Even laying a thumb up on the tang from one shot to another will do it. Inconsistent shoulder pressure can do it too. Try shooting one group holding and one free recoil with a group and see if its better. Matt