groups

[22DASHER]

Nice shot! I have a 22-250 ackley and shoot 55 grain ballistic tips for yotes (3600 FPS) This set up will shoot same hole at 100,Clover leaf at 200 and about 3/8 inch at 300. I try to shoot over 100 yards so i won't tear up the fur. I shoot off of sticks also and the other day i shot it at 740 yards to a big stump turned on its side.It has a 3-8 piece of ply wood with a piece of paper, the bullet was laying on top of the stump right were it came thru the plywood. I would say that was max range for killing a bird with this load.It is 1-12 twist with custom 3/4 bull barrel.

Why are you shooting them below normal 22-250 speeds?? Take advantage of that ackley case and crank them up past 4,000. I actually push them at just over 4,100. If they impress you at 3,600 wait until you see what it’ll do at the higher nodes.... hold onto your britches

 

[pacificman]

Why are you shooting them below normal 22-250 speeds?? Take advantage of that ackley case and crank them up past 4,000. I actually push them at just over 4,100. If they impress you at 3,600 wait until you see what it’ll do at the higher nodes.... hold onto your britches

You are absolutely right!!! I had a .17 remington that had an average velocity of 4165fps. with the 25 grain v-max and that
thing was a lazer! I once hit a prairie rat over 500 yards and I remember the drop on that bullet was only about 12 inches it seemed like anyway
at that distance.

 

[Tommie]

Once a rifle makes .30 MOA 5-shot groups I call it good. I want barrel life to be spent on prairie dogs, not paper.

 

[Billy 30-06]

My Gre-Tan built .223 shoots .2s with the Berger 52gr MEF and .3s with 50gr BTs. My little varmint rifle a .19 H Calhoon shoots .3s with 32gr DBL hollow points.
Billy

 

[xswanted]

I expect my 22 caliber Varmint guns to shoot 9 shot groups that leaves one hole measuring .197 outside to outside.

They also need to be able to hit a coyote toe claw in the middle at 624 yards, measured of course by laser. The coyote needs to weigh no more than 30 pounds though, otherwise the toe claw gets too big thus destroying my accuracy measurement.

If they don’t do this I throw them to the peasants.

 

[msinc]

As posted, there is a big difference between shooting off a bench that's steady with a nice rest and bags...and shooting in a practical hunting manner. Still, I like to see what they will do off a bench, if for no other reason than the personal gratification and confidence boost of shooting an excellent group.
All that said, I want as close to one hole as I can get at 100, but I will settle for 3/4". As far as long range, I like to know I can hit a skeet target at 500 yards with come-ups and prone off a bipod and accu-pod on the rear swivel. I just about never get to try a 500 yard shot at a woodchuck, in fact I can say that for 300 and 400 as well...but it's always nice to know I can try with confidence. Currently, I only have two rifles that meet this criteria.

 

[CaptainMal]

Kind of funny some talked of “one hole” and .1-.3” groups. They are talking Benchrest competition rifles maybe. Oh so many luck intonanfenshots close, cut it that target group and save it to show off. “My gun shoots all shots into one hole”.

I asked a guy like that to show me at the range. He showed up. Barely hit the targets at 200 yards and then started n the excuses.

If you are gonna hit at say 400 yards, it would be nice to group 1 MOA (1” appx.) or less with three shots from cold. That level of accuracy and experience to do hold-overs will get you lots of kills if you can hold steady enough in the field.

 

[300_whisper]

Kind of funny some talked of “one hole” and .1-.3” groups. They are talking Benchrest competition rifles maybe. Oh so many luck intonanfenshots close, cut it that target group and save it to show off. “My gun shoots all shots into one hole”.

I asked a guy like that to show me at the range. He showed up. Barely hit the targets at 200 yards and then started n the excuses.

If you are gonna hit at say 400 yards, it would be nice to group 1 MOA (1” appx.) or less with three shots from cold. That level of accuracy and experience to do hold-overs will get you lots of kills if you can hold steady enough in the field.

I’ll show you!

Here’s a 10 shot group at 200 yards with my stock ruger 10/22.



Just kidding. That’s actually a really bad flyer from what would have been a good group from my AR10 at 100 yards.

I guess context is everything.

But I mean my AR shoots literally one ragged hole. Lol

 

[tstowater]

From a bench, I would say .5 to .75 inch 3-shot groups at 100. This will do a good job of killing prairie dogs at 3-400 yards, depending on the particular caliber. Not looking for max speed, just a good accurate shot that isn't going to burn up barrels too fast. I do think that I have a 204 that is getting close to replacement but it has seen a good number of bullets down the tube.

 

[linebaugh]

I seem to do okay at it but I despise shooting targets and I don't bother burning a barrel out trying to get below .250-.375 five shot groups off a bench. I have shot many smaller 5 shot groups but I can promise repeatability between myself and the gun will not hold much smaller and many days the combo may not hold .5" groups.
Under field conditions I would bet I could miss just as many critters with a "one hole" gun as I could with a 1 MOA gun. That's reality for me and for real hunting conditions.
I have a CZ 22 Hornet that shoots around 1" at 100yards and that gun has taken more varmints than any gun I own today because it's always handy and I know its a 200ish yard gun.

I will say that my shooting skills and kill ratio have gone up dramatically the last couple years due entirely to a higher volume of shooting PRS matches and practice between matches. Some shots I struggled with in years past are nearly give me shots now. In addition when you shoot 500-1300 yards all year long the 300 yard shots become give me shots as well due to confidence and practice.

 

[Toby Bradshaw]

Kind of funny some talked of “one hole” and .1-.3” groups. They are talking Benchrest competition rifles maybe. ...

I asked a guy like that to show me at the range. He showed up. Barely hit the targets at 200 yards and then started n the excuses.

More than once I have made this offer to people who claim to have a hunting rifle that shoots groups smaller than 0.25" @ 100 yards: I'll meet you at the range and I will pay you $25 for every 5-shot group under 0.25", and you pay me $5 for every group larger than that. No takers yet.

 

[Drop Port]

given your varmint rifles that you use,how do they group at 100 yards and out to your max range say 300 to400 yards..
gary

That all depends on what you consider a varmint rifle, for max 300 - 400 I mainly use a Sako Vixen 222 with 52 Berger FB. It is a sub 1/2 MOA rifle.

Next up is a 12# 1-8" Stiller Diamondback RBLP Drop Port and when that runs out of gas......

16.5 # BAT HR-PIC 6.5x47L

The 6br and 6.5 are lower volume and have extensive load development. The 6br has held its own at 1,3 and 500 yard G-hog matches and the 6.5 will out shoot the 6br.

I've been through a bunch of varmint rifles custom and stock 17's 22's, 6mm's 25's ..........and I've narrowed it down to these three.

 

[Bc'z]

More than once I have made this offer to people who claim to have a hunting rifle that shoots groups smaller than 0.25" @ 100 yards: I'll meet you at the range and I will pay you $25 for every 5-shot group under 0.25", and you pay me $5 for every group larger than that. No takers yet.

6 chances to break even.
Who pays for your gas outta this?

I'm stuck in mid .3's, guessing that I'm out!

 

[Toby Bradshaw]

6 chances to break even.
Who pays for your gas outta this?

I'm stuck in mid .3's, guessing that I'm out!

There is a lot of talk about "hunting/varmint rifles that shoot in the 1s and 2s", but precious few multi-target images posted to provide evidence for the claim. To me, a rifle that "shoots in the 1s" will agg in the 1s (average of 5 5-shot groups). A target here and there that measures in the 1s is just random variation around a larger average group size.

Of the target images that are (rarely) posted, it's easy enough to see that many of the groups are bigger than "measured" by the shooter. Nearly all groups that have paper between the bullet holes are bigger than 0.25", for instance, but are often reported to be smaller than that.

As several people have pointed out, for hunting from typical field positions a rifle that will shoot 1/2" groups at 100 yards (from a bench) is plenty good enough. I used fewer than 30 rounds to find a suitable load for my 22BR coyote rifle. This is the last group I shot from a cold, clean barrel before adjusting my scope to put the POI 3/4" high and centered left to right at 100 yards. The cold bore shot is a little lower than the next 2 shots from a fouled barrel.



It works.

 

[Bc'z]

There is a lot of talk about "hunting/varmint rifles that shoot in the 1s and 2s", but precious few multi-target images posted to provide evidence for the claim. To me, a rifle that "shoots in the 1s" will agg in the 1s (average of 5 5-shot groups). A target here and there that measures in the 1s is just random variation around a larger average group size.

Of the target images that are (rarely) posted, it's easy enough to see that many of the groups are bigger than "measured" by the shooter. Nearly all groups that have paper between the bullet holes are bigger than 0.25", for instance, but are often reported to be smaller than that.

As several people have pointed out, for hunting from typical field positions a rifle that will shoot 1/2" groups at 100 yards (from a bench) is plenty good enough. I used fewer than 30 rounds to find a suitable load for my 22BR coyote rifle. This is the last group I shot from a cold, clean barrel before adjusting my scope to put the POI 3/4" high and centered left to right at 100 yards. The cold bore shot is a little lower than the next 2 shots from a fouled barrel.

View attachment 1087123

It works.

View attachment 1087124

You win! And your not out fuel.
Shot this last Friday but not even close to a 1/4" gun.
POF15 ,3 5 shot mags.
Shot me your address and I'll send ya a coffee

 

[Toby Bradshaw]

Shot me your address and I'll send ya a coffee

No worries. I've shot a lot of benchrest, and this is what a real 0.25" rifle can do:

 

[Bc'z]

No worries. I've shot a lot of benchrest, and this is what a real 0.25" rifle can do:

View attachment 1087127 View attachment 1087128

.6 in charge weight and .005 in seating depth.
Which did you stick with 33.5 or 34.7
At the 1.747 depth?
Or did I miss it completely?

 

[Toby Bradshaw]

.6 in charge weight and .005 in seating depth.
Which did you stick with 33.5 or 34.7
At the 1.747 depth?
Or did I miss it completely?

34.7gr H4198 and 1.750" on the Wilson seater stem (split the difference between 1.747 and 1.752, leaving a little room for the throat to lengthen).

That 30BR is not very finicky.

 

[Bc'z]

I'm getting ready to do a seating test and was going to move in .002 increments.
Should I make bugger jumps?

 

[Toby Bradshaw]

I'm getting ready to do a seating test and was going to move in .002 increments.
Should I make bigger jumps?

Depends on the cartridge, bullet shape, and target distance. For small/medium capacity cartridges, tangent ogives (non-VLD), and ranges of 300 yards or less I use 0.003"-0.005" increments for seating depth testing. A really good rifle and load have a lot of forgiveness on charge weight and seating depth, at least for "hunting accuracy" purposes.