flat base vs. boat tail

[JDMock]

At 200 yards, shoot either FB or BT......there is no advantage of one over the other. Let the barrel that you are shooting tell you which bullet it likes. I once asked Tony Boyer which did he prefer and he replied that he had won about as many HOF points with FB as he had with BT. He has shot FB from Pagliai, Bart, and Hollister. He has shot BT from Hottenstein , Bart, and a few others that I can't remember. Shoot what the barrel likes and don't worry about any perceived advantage of one shape over another. Good shooting...James Mock

 

[Syncrowave]

A lot of people seem to think that group size increases linearly with increasing range -- in other words, if it shoots 1" @ 100 yds, they expect it to shoot 2" @ 200 and 3" at 300 and so on. But the biggest factors that affect group size increase parabolically with increasing range.

For example, wind. The longer the wind blows against a bullet in flight, the more it not only moves the bullet, the more it also accelerates the bullet sideways until the bullet is moving sideways at the same speed as the wind is blowing. If you viewed the bullet's path from overhead, this would cause the bullet's path to be parabolic due to the wind in the same way that the bullet's trajectory in the vertical plane is parabolic due to gravity.

Bottom line is, a group size of 1" @ 100 yds almost never equals 2" @ 200 yds and 3" @ 300 yds.

 

[NEN]

What James Mock says mirrors my experience. Rumor has it that Tony Boyer doesn't shoot Mirage. Wind flags are absolutely necessary to get an idea of wind direction. IME,The wind flags closest to the Bench are usually the most dominant indicators of wind direction.


Nen

 

[BoydAllen]

Parallax is not properly evaluated by how sharp and clear the target is. Also, my friend Wilbur Harris, who owns and runs Benchrest Central once wrote that it is amazing how putting out a few wind flags will make the wind start to blow. Bottom line, without some way to see what the mirage is doing (which generally requires a scope around 36x or higher, and a way to see what the wind is doing, you are flying blind. Of the two the wind flags are the easiest to remedy, and the most important. sticks with pieces of surveyors' ribbon attached to their tops, hanging down to the ground are a bunch better than nothing. when you double the distance, the effect of a given amount of cross wind is quadrupled (roughly speaking), and when you triple the distance is is nine times greater, (again very roughly). Wind causes vertical as well as horizontal displacement, although not as much. The group enlargement that you are seeing is likely from things that you have no way of seeing.

 

[Ggmac]

Much agree with Boyd Allen , parallax is the apparent movement of the crosshairs , it's best to check many times during the day . Minor eye movement with same cheek weld will show the situation . The # on scope are ref # . As my eyes tire , weather ,sun , heat all change my parallax adj although minor .
I see all the local shooters with very expensive rigs , most vanity guns not actual comp guns , never ever use a single flag . This is at 300 yds . Every shoot , 100 ,200 ,300 I'll stick up as many as time allows or my memory allows . Mirage is another that puts your poa other than were it usually is . Cloud or bright sun also affects poa . Sun = up clouds = down .
Good luck and great shooting

 

[akajiggs]

Thanks to all that replied to this post.I have learned a lot the past couple days.I will keep shooting.
Thanks again

Even a blind hog can find an acorn every now and then.
Jim