I could use help with a plan!

[Charles McDonald]

As fast as I can
Newer shooter/hunter
Built a “training rifle” to have less recoil , to try and learn to shoot properly, accurately and out to 600 accurately and learn to use a scope properly

Goals are to be able to build a more capable rifle for hunting and hopefully nrl hunter events (MAYBE) and be an accurate shooter at longer distances

Rifle-Tikka t3x .223 1:8 twist 16 inch bbl in a mdt field stock with a luepold vx5 hd 4x18x44 and a dead air suppressor (this is my very first kinda built gun) only thing I changed in the action was the trigger spring and it may actually be to light.

Learning handloading
Since it’s a .223 there’s a ton of recipes online but most are AR platform

Long story short I am trying to do my very first load development and iam a bit lost

My rifle has shot really poorly with a lot of store bought ammo. I mean bad . But iam bad so it’s challenging to even know shinola.

I’ve fired around 300 rounds now . Finally federal gold premium medal w/ sierra mk shot good enough for 1 inch moa . I know iam bad. I know. The white target was a random 5 rounds of federal I found today. That’s the best 5 shot group I’ve done ever

Need a rip off hand load recipe for it please!

Here is my hand load test I did today. I went .2 over max and down 10cartridges and made 5 rounds per increment.

Some things that could cause problems-
I had trouble making my oal uniform
I tried for .020 off but was not allways on.
Trusted my powder measure (forgot to check with beam scale)
Do not know what iam doing
Got tired shooting and had like a bad back nine golfing . The second half of both targets I was making mistakes I could feel and see.

So if you have any advice i could use it. Iam just pulling it out of my arse with help from reading and internet and you know it can’t be on the internet if it isn’t true!
Anyway here ya go

 

[7887mm08]

Newer shooter/ hunter, It sounds like the answer is you. Practice, practice and those groups will shrink

 

[Cloudrepair]

I have never trusted a powder thrower so I measure every charge. I think that would help in more consistency and keep practicing.

 

[round]

Ditch the plastic bipod , add some weight to the forend.

Shoot it without the suppressor to see if things change.

What bullets are you using ?

 

[6BR_DM]

As fast as I can
Newer shooter/hunter
Built a “training rifle” to have less recoil , to try and learn to shoot properly, accurately and out to 600 accurately and learn to use a scope properly

Goals are to be able to build a more capable rifle for hunting and hopefully nrl hunter events (MAYBE) and be an accurate shooter at longer distances

Rifle-Tikka t3x .223 1:8 twist 16 inch bbl in a mdt field stock with a luepold vx5 hd 4x18x44 and a dead air suppressor (this is my very first kinda built gun) only thing I changed in the action was the trigger spring and it may actually be to light.

Learning handloading
Since it’s a .223 there’s a ton of recipes online but most are AR platform

Long story short I am trying to do my very first load development and iam a bit lost

My rifle has shot really poorly with a lot of store bought ammo. I mean bad . But iam bad so it’s challenging to even know shinola.

I’ve fired around 300 rounds now . Finally federal gold premium medal w/ sierra mk shot good enough for 1 inch moa . I know iam bad. I know. The white target was a random 5 rounds of federal I found today. That’s the best 5 shot group I’ve done ever

Need a rip off hand load recipe for it please!

Here is my hand load test I did today. I went .2 over max and down 10cartridges and made 5 rounds per increment.

Some things that could cause problems-
I had trouble making my oal uniform
I tried for .020 off but was not allways on.
Trusted my powder measure (forgot to check with beam scale)
Do not know what iam doing
Got tired shooting and had like a bad back nine golfing . The second half of both targets I was making mistakes I could feel and see.

So if you have any advice i could use it. Iam just pulling it out of my arse with help from reading and internet and you know it can’t be on the internet if it isn’t true!
Anyway here ya go

This might help. Worth looking at anyway. What is the length of the Sierra mk bullets are you using? Bullet performance in a given twist barrel is more aligned with bullet length than bullet weight. You need longer bullets for faster twist rates. The correct bullet will make a difference in performance. You can use the Berger stability calculator to get an idea of the stability of your bullets in an 8 twist barrel. If you don't know all your bullet info you can pick the closest thing from the drop down. https://bergerbullets.com/twist-rate-calculator/. The calculator page will also give you a list of alternative bullets and their stability rating. link here Calculator

 

[Jeff Porter]

Your Varget needs another grain of powder. Most SR shooters will use 24 gr in a 20” barrel.

Classic loads for 1:8 223 include 69 gr match bullets. I use 23.8-24.0 of H4885 or N135 with those at 2.240” OAL for feeding through a magazine.

For 77 match bullets. 24.0 Varget , 23.2 8208XBR, 23.4 of H4895 or N135 at 2.250”.

For fun light shooting load I like 52 gr match bullets with 26.5 W748 2.235”.

Spend more time behind the gun than behind the loading bench. Pay attention to being consistent in your process of setting the rifle up the same way every shot. All shooting is slinging the sights so that they are aimed at a place that will deliver the bullet to the desired point of impact and then breaking the trigger without disturbing that sight alignment.

 

[Bill Norris]

Slow down. Rome wasn't built in 1 day. Practice practice practice. It will come around.

 

[ggshoots]

I am with Bill, Slow Down. If everything you are doing is in a hurry then reloading may not be for you.
Couple things you may want to do.
1.Find an experienced shooter and reloader to help you out. If you are going to the range they are there.
2.Check all your equipment. Torque specs, loose screws etc.
3.Have someone watch your technique and form.
4.Dont do so much in one sitting. Just like golf, if you are tired you will not get better as you go.
5.Shoot rimfire to perfect your form, technique. Cheaper and less recoil. Unless you don't have a decent rimfire.

Tikka rifles usually shoot well. If you aren't a proficient shooter your load workup results probably will be skewed. If you aren't consistent added to your ammo being inconsistent how can it come out well. Slow down and have fun or you will move on to something else very soon.

 

[Dgd6mm]

I'll be the hard case here, sorry I don't mean to offend. How do you forget to use your scale?
Now then, I know you say you're newer shooter....if you didn't have any type of wind flags at least get some flagging ribbon stationed to shoot over. You've already had the suggestion of changing the bipod which definitely would help with your setup. And yes shooting a rimfire for accuracy will definitely tighten up your centerfire shooting. Practice and enjoy what you're doing, it will come around. Things aren't as bad as you think they are for a newer shooter.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

Really not bad for shooting off the pod, no bullet seating testing. Are you checking barrel heat, wind? And you are recognizing when shooting well vs "off". You didn't mention cleaning, I clean when changing bullet brand and/or type of powder.

 

[Gary in MD]

Tikkas should shoot a lot better than that. Maybe try shooting off of a front rest/sand bags. Make sure everything is tight and mounted properly.
Clean up that wiring!

 

[Leo_B]

I'm new so I don't know anything yet. Or I know everything and haven't yet learned what I don't know. Anyway, fun aside, you might want to attend an Appleseed clinic. They turn plinkers into shooters, in theory anyway. I'm going to the first one, the 25M rimfire, in April. Once it is completed one can opt to do either/both 200 yard rimfire Known Distance (KD) or 400 yard centerfire KD clinics. The clinics seem very reasonably priced and might do a lot to up the game. No affiliation other than looking forward to trying it out. Good luck in your journey. https://appleseedinfo.org/

 

[Dgd6mm]

One other thing Charles, clean your rifle well.
You may want to purchase a Teslong borescope from Amazon, just saying.
Good luck.

Don Dunlap

 

[joshb]

You’re doing fine. I have a couple suggestions:
NEVER “forget” to use your scale! EVER, EVER! NEVER EVER! Especially with stick powders!
Put together some sand bags to use instead of the bipod and shoot off of those for a while. A couple 20 pounders should do.
I have a recipe that works OK in all my 223s. It’s a general plinking practice “load a thousand and go shoot” load. It uses Rocky Mountain Reloading (RMR) 69 grain bullets and CFE 223. I load them to standard book length.
Here’s a test on a buddies gun. Factory on the right splatter target. 5 handloads on the left, then 30 handloads into the white target.
Shoot a bunch of those to get some practice and save your Bergers for a while until you get things nailed down.

 

[joshb]

This might help. Worth looking at anyway. What is the length of the Sierra mk bullets are you using? Bullet performance in a given twist barrel is more aligned with bullet length than bullet weight. You need longer bullets for faster twist rates. The correct bullet will make a difference in performance. You can use the Berger stability calculator to get an idea of the stability of your bullets in an 8 twist barrel. If you don't know all your bullet info you can pick the closest thing from the drop down. https://bergerbullets.com/twist-rate-calculator/. The calculator page will also give you a list of alternative bullets and their stability rating. link here Calculator

The 77s are fine in his 1/8 twist.

 

[Charles McDonald]

Thanks for the replies, I’ll try and answer your question and address your concerns lol.

Iam not in a hurry really I just had a shoulder replacement surgery and iam off work so I have time to mess around. I bought a wildcat a few years ago and bought the reloading stuff. Sold the rifle before I ever shot it and the reloading stuff has been new in boxes in my garage. Thought it would be better than scrolling.

I had never heard of cleaning between bulletts and different powder.

These loads came from powder manufacturers books.

I had purchased an automated powder scale but think I remembered that now and again you weigh the load it dispenses with a beam scale to make sure it’s working properly? So I didn’t weigh the charges the machine did lol. I just typed in the number and it spit it out and I blindly trusted .

I only have one other rifle and it’s a tikka also. Just a fluke I bought jt. It shoots good but it’s super obnoxious and iam a bit recoil sensitive.so the .270 isn’t as much fun to shoot a lot but I do shoot it too.

I have an Armageddon bag that iam using in the rear. I have been trying to shoot equal shots prone also . I have another bag I can try on the front instead of the bipod.

I wanted to learn to hand load for fun not stress. Iam not stressing. It’s not really hard to physically do and it’s a little faster than I thoughtt. it would be hard to be exactly equal each time. Seems impossible honestly. I’ve watched hours of you tube and have books but i like interacting so I do forums. I do them for other hobbies to and have made some really good real life friends from them. Could just look for answers but more fun to engage with people.

Can’t find a coach for hire yet and the only courses I’ve found near by are insultingly expensive. Some will say that they are deserving or it’s worth it or I need it but to be honest it’s not fun for me knowing and as much as Id take away. id rather have another two rifles I shot poorly than spend 5k on a military style thing I feel uncomfortable with.

The Appleseed thing I looked into and there will be some around here in the summer. I may check them out.

I have a friend who is a retired delta force operator and he’s promisied to help so hopefully I can get some better basics. He gave me a quick couple lessons and some dry fire exercises.

In my defense I didn’t grow up with guns or hunting. I’ve been hunting for about 6 years maybe ? I’ve never shot at anything that didn’t die well. Iam being hard on myself to get better. Thats ok not stressing. Just trying. The groups are terrible but there is no elk whose vitals are smaller than any of those groups lol! I have never shot at any animal over 170-80 yards really. It’s surprising how far it is for me. So 500-600 is forever to me and no way I’d shoot at an animal like that. Just me you do you.

But to answer my original questions. What do you see in those powder tests? How do you carry on . The .2 ladder was on an interview I read with some important shooter. Of course I didn’t take away enough to know what to do next. I will admit iam wasting money but I spent an entire day in the sun yesterday shooting and it was fun.

Iam shooting a 22 rifle a 22 pistol this .223 my .279 wnd a 9mm pistol when I go. I usually (only been three times) shoot a 5 round group then plink with the pistol then another group. Rifle doesn’t get hot. I’ve only cleaned it between going not at the range.
Sorry for the long post

 

[round]

And , because it helps the community, post your progress if you decide to make changes.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

You should seriously consider following JoshB practice load, it will allow you to work thru seating depth test and trial rifle bags(even homemade blue Jean sand bags front/rear). Find a bag setup that will minimize reticle movement when dry firing and how much repositioning is needed shot to shot.

 

[Charles McDonald]

Would you mind linking JoshB. Iam not finding him. Thanks!
Just as a disclaimer iam all about learning and I don’t have any expectations. I will say that Chevy is better than ford but everyone allready knows that. Lol

 

[Charles McDonald]

Oh there you are! Yeah I grabbed the ingredients for your recipe today. I got sucked into case prep by hand and it changed my mind about being faster than I thought! I’ll load a bunch later and report back!

Just researching case prep center now lol!