Testing center results at home??

[Cbrown3020]

Happy new year to all!!
This fall I upgraded from my model 37 to a Stiller 2500 built by M. Penrod. It was recommended to me by the original owner that I get on the list for the Lapua test center. Which I did. My question to all who have used the test center is this. Does your rifle perform at home as it did at the test center? I’ve learned so far that weather plays a big part in how your ammunition performs in your rifle. I’ve spent the last 25yrs drag racing and playing with weather and tuning a car for consistency from track to track. So when I have to send my rifle to the test center out west the conditions I will be shooting it in are very different. I’m concerned about spending the time and money to get back something that doesn’t perform? I should also mention that I live on the east coast in Mystic Ct.

Thanks to all
Kevin

 

[Hi-NV Shooter]

Happy new year to all!!
This fall I upgraded from my model 37 to a Stiller 2500 built by M. Penrod. It was recommended to me by the original owner that I get on the list for the Lapua test center. Which I did. My question to all who have used the test center is this. Does your rifle perform at home as it did at the test center? I’ve learned so far that weather plays a big part in how your ammunition performs in your rifle. I’ve spent the last 25yrs drag racing and playing with weather and tuning a car for consistency from track to track. So when I have to send my rifle to the test center out west the conditions I will be shooting it in are very different. I’m concerned about spending the time and money to get back something that doesn’t perform? I should also mention that I live on the east coast in Mystic Ct.

Thanks to all
Kevin

I have only been to the Mesa center twice but every lot I bought after testing did better at the range I shoot at.
However I only live next door in Nevada but shoot in conditions from mid to high 30’s to 100+ only during the high summer months do I see a little bit of eratic behavior from the tested lots but nothing that I still can’t score with. In fact my very first 250 target was shot in a hot August match. FYI I don’t make any tuner adjustments if you were curious about that

Lee

 

[TRSR8]

Test center results do not, sometimes, result in ideal score targets, BUT,, it usually helps, it is one of very few options to source Lapua, and if it all goes off the rails and you hate it, you can sell it instantly for the price paid so not much downside.

 

[VLNBYR]

Be clear in your mind what the test center does. They take your rifle and shoot whatever lots they have available on that day. You are given the opportunity to purchase a case of one of those lots. The lot that tests best at the center may or may not be the lot that would test best at your range but that is a moot point since you can't lot test in today's ammo situation. It for sure beats buying blind at internet prices.

 

[TRSR8]

Be clear in your mind what the test center does. They take your rifle and shoot whatever lots they have available on that day. You are given the opportunity to purchase a case of one of those lots. The lot that tests best at the center may or may not be the lot that would test best at your range but that is a moot point since you can't lot test in today's ammo situation. It for sure beats buying blind at internet prices.

Yep. The biggest dilemma with the centers is the poor souls guns that show when there’s only 5-6 lots available.
your odds greatly improve with at leas a dozen on hand. With 9-10 months out, how lucky do you feel?

 

[VLNBYR]

Anytime you are fortunate enough to test at one of the Lapua Centers you have to count it as a lucky day, it is far and away the best way to buy ammo in today's market. Just imagine what you would be going through if there wasn't a center.

 

[jsof]

I have had my rifle to the AZ center twice and the OH center once and feel that they give a good idea of what's available at the time. At home in PA shooting off a bipod with a rear bag, sometimes I put up better groups, sometimes equal, and sometimes worse, but you have to realize that testing only gives a general picture of the lot and there will be some variance within every lot. It would be really hard to say whether the score ruiners are due to climate, the wind, the ammo, or the loose nut behind the wheel. I am sure though that temperature extremes effect performance because it definitely causes the need for small tuner adjustments, and I doubt that you'd ever see a mediocre lot get better due to climate.

When I was in OH, the tester shot a group that he said was the best he'd ever seen, but om further testing couldn't come close to it again. When, I asked why, he said "Magic bullets".

 

[grauhanen]

When I was in OH, the tester shot a group that he said was the best he'd ever seen, but om further testing couldn't come close to it again. When, I asked why, he said "Magic bullets"

Goes to show that one excellent group doesn't mean all others with that lot will be similarly good. Some lots of ammo, even M+, are not especially consistent.

 

[dgeesaman]

In December, it generally doesn’t perform well. Rimfire shoots a bit different in the cold and that’s enough to throw things off.

When conditions really are good, my results off a one piece rest exceed what I got at the test tunnel. In the tunnel my rifles are tested clamped by the action and shooting in a stock with rest seems to calm them down a touch.

David

 

[Dave Way]

Not to derail the thread but I have a question for those of you who have had a rifle lot tested. Recently I tested a lot of Lapua Super Long Range. All four 100 yard groups were under 1/2” with the best being .232”. The distributor still had the same ammo so I bought a case.

The rifle is similar to the OP’s on a 2500X and I already had my name on the testing list. My question is should I even bother testing? I’m not sure what these unlimited rifles should be able to achieve.

Thanks,
Dave.

 

[VLNBYR]

Two considerations...One were your groups 10 shots? The centers shoot 10 shot groups. Two were your groups measured c/c or out/out. The test center I have used measures out/out.

Even with 5 shot groups and measured c/c I would say it will be hard to do better at a center.

 

[TRSR8]

Not to derail the thread but I have a question for those of you who have had a rifle lot tested. Recently I tested a lot of Lapua Super Long Range. All four 100 yard groups were under 1/2” with the best being .232”. The distributor still had the same ammo so I bought a case.

The rifle is similar to the OP’s on a 2500X and I already had my name on the testing list. My question is should I even bother testing? I’m not sure what these unlimited rifles should be able to achieve.

Thanks,
Dave.

If he has more, buy more, if not test to secure more. What do you have to lose?
Can always sell some as well.

 

[Dave Way]

Two considerations...One were your groups 10 shots? The centers shoot 10 shot groups. Two were your groups measured c/c or out/out. The test center I have used measures out/out.

Even with 5 shot groups and measured c/c I would say it will be hard to do better at a center.

Five shots center to center.

Dave.

 

[dgeesaman]

Not to derail the thread but I have a question for those of you who have had a rifle lot tested. Recently I tested a lot of Lapua Super Long Range. All four 100 yard groups were under 1/2” with the best being .232”. The distributor still had the same ammo so I bought a case.

The rifle is similar to the OP’s on a 2500X and I already had my name on the testing list. My question is should I even bother testing? I’m not sure what these unlimited rifles should be able to achieve.

Thanks,
Dave.

Wow. That sounds like superb performance. The test centers do not have LR or SLR for testing, and Shane did wish that was an option. I myself have a couple bricks of LR that performed very well in my Vudoo.

If you do test, bring a box of that SLR for reference. That way you can compare what their lots do vs. what that SLR does in their tunnel. Some shooters test and do not buy anything if it doesn't sufficiently 'wow' them.

In the current rimfire ammo market, my goal in testing is to buy a case of ammo, the best I can get on that day. I'm not doing a test center appointment and coming home empty-handed.

David

 

[Hal]

What does the testing center charge to test your rifle.
At what distance do they test your rifle.
How many shots do they fire per lot of ammo?

Hal

 

[Hi-NV Shooter]

Not to derail the thread but I have a question for those of you who have had a rifle lot tested. Recently I tested a lot of Lapua Super Long Range. All four 100 yard groups were under 1/2” with the best being .232”. The distributor still had the same ammo so I bought a case.

The rifle is similar to the OP’s on a 2500X and I already had my name on the testing list. My question is should I even bother testing? I’m not sure what these unlimited rifles should be able to achieve.

Thanks,
Dave.

Remember how hard it is to get ammo. I would test at the center regardless of what I can get now

Lee

 

[USMCDOC]

What does the testing center charge to test your rifle.
At what distance do they test your rifle.
How many shots do they fire per lot of ammo?

Hal

They charge you 50.00 dollars if you don't buy ammo... if you buy ammo. the fee is waived.. they test it at 50 and 100 meters. they shoot 10 shots per lot.. that is the way it was when i as there. in person.

 

[Bill K]

What is the least amount of ammo you can buy, when you commit to a purchase of ammo ?

 

[1813benny]

What is the least amount of ammo you can buy, when you commit to a purchase of ammo ?

If you are referencing the test center, a case of 5000 rounds is currently both the minimum and maximum.

 

[1813benny]

They charge you 50.00 dollars if you don't buy ammo... if you buy ammo. the fee is waived.. they test it at 50 and 100 meters. they shoot 10 shots per lot.. that is the way it was when i as there. in person.

To add a little more detail, the initial round of testing involves shooting 10 shot groups of the available lots. All testing gives simultaneous results at 50y, 50m and 100 yards. (The test center software was updated to show all 3 distances- I was at Merango on the Monday after Thanksgiving and noted the difference.)

The next round involves taking the top 2 or 3 lots from first round testing and retest, again with 10 shot groups.

Additional testing may be conducted based on the second round results and other observations.