tightening the group

[chet]

probably alot experienced reloaders have been down this road, i am at a point now with almost a perfect load, i have done alot of loading over the years, but am looking for some suggestions to tighten this load a little, i am loading for the savage cabelas model 10T in 6.5cm, 24" 8 twist the best consistent bullet i have found is the 140SMK i am using Lapua small primer brass, 450 primer, 42.1 H4350 .020 off the lands. .025 opens up a bit and .015 about the same, seems like .020 to .023 off the lands is best at 200yd testing, prepping brass now and going to load up tomorrow, being i have the bullet jump figured, as for powder charges from more experienced loaders, will it be worth to go in one tenths increments up and down a few, or 2 or 3 tenths ect. any suggestions will be appreciated. any other powder worth a try, i am actually happy where i am, but i feel there might be some hidden accuracy i might have missed.

chet

 

[retired]

i do not know what you did to get where you are, but yes going up and down in small steps will tell you where you are in the nose and if the node is wide or narrow.

 

[6MMsteve]

RE16

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Look at your rest setup. With a trigger that heavy any rest problems rise to the top pretty easy

 

[chet]

i do not know what you did to get where you are, but yes going up and down in small steps will tell you where you are in the nose and if the node is wide or narrow.

hi retired and dusty
this current load is giving me round groups, trigger is just at 1lb or slightly less, stock has a 3" wide plate at the forend, i tried a cheek pc i dont see any difference with it or without it. i have added about a lb of lead to the magazine area with a single shot follower. using a sightron sIII 8x32x56 heavy front rest with windage adj and bag to accommodate the 3" wide stock, and a solid filled rear bag, about the bag?? the ears are hard, would i benefit by letting some sand out of the ears.

chet

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Hard rear bags cause vertical as does material that is too slick. You should be able to slide it back n forth and see the crosshairs move smoothly straight up and down and return reasonably close to the aiming point. You should be able to indent the ears like 1/2 to 3/4” with your thumb. I like paver sand in mine. It should be soft and smooth pushing your thumb into it and should hold the stock shape when you pack the butt down and lift it up to look

 

[retired]

hi retired and dusty
this current load is giving me round groups, trigger is just at 1lb or slightly less, stock has a 3" wide plate at the forend, i tried a cheek pc i dont see any difference with it or without it. i have added about a lb of lead to the magazine area with a single shot follower. using a sightron sIII 8x32x56 heavy front rest with windage adj and bag to accommodate the 3" wide stock, and a solid filled rear bag, about the bag?? the ears are hard, would i benefit by letting some sand out of the ears.

chet

add some flags is what the bench rest guys would say

 

[Falfan2017]

What kind of groups are you getting now? 6.5 cm ain't the most accurate round ever heard of

 

[sw282]

l use glass beads in my bags instead of sand.. Using glass beads provides the same stability as sand without its ''Lumpiness'' ...

 

[Homerange]

No mention of case brand or prep ?
There's only so far you can go until you have these right.

 

[#40Fan]

I am pretty sure my tired eyes saw a brand of brass named in the OP.

 

[LHSmith]

l use glass beads in my bags instead of sand.. Using glass beads provides the same stability as sand without its ''Lumpiness'' ...

Sorry but "round" anything will not provide a good foundation. Try stacking round balls in a pile- add a bit of downward force and the pile will always be moving downward. Best filler materials have irregular shapes that allow the media to stack upon one another.

probably alot experienced reloaders have been down this road, i am at a point now with almost a perfect load, i have done alot of loading over the years, but am looking for some suggestions to tighten this load a little, i am loading for the savage cabelas model 10T in 6.5cm, 24" 8 twist the best consistent bullet i have found is the 140SMK i am using Lapua small primer brass, 450 primer, 42.1 H4350 .020 off the lands. .025 opens up a bit and .015 about the same, seems like .020 to .023 off the lands is best at 200yd testing, prepping brass now and going to load up tomorrow, being i have the bullet jump figured, as for powder charges from more experienced loaders, will it be worth to go in one tenths increments up and down a few, or 2 or 3 tenths ect. any suggestions will be appreciated. any other powder worth a try, i am actually happy where i am, but i feel there might be some hidden accuracy i might have missed.

chet

Have you tested in various conditions? Don't know if this is for competition or just competing against yourself? Difference being in match tournaments you have a very small predetermined window in which to shoot, to do well the best shooters have found what load adjustments to make to keep them small throughout the day as temps, humidity, and wind conditions change......... and accuracy potential of loads WILL change given different parameters. If on the other hand, you can pick and choose to shoot only on days when conditions are benign you may be able to find a single "pet" load.

 

[Bart B.]

How hard are you shouldering the rifle?

 

[dkhunt14]

Did you try the bullet in the lands? Most of my guns shoot better in the lands from .005 to .015. Matt

 

[chet]

What kind of groups are you getting now? 6.5 cm ain't the most accurate round ever heard of

probably starting to get more consistent round groups, 3/4" seems to be pretty much it, can get a fluke around 1/2" 3 shot group at times, but the 5 shot is telling me more

chet

 

[chet]

How hard are you shouldering the rifle?

i tried a few different ways at shouldering from a death grip, no good, to a med pressure, better but light and almost a free recoil, if i can my trigger lighter than free recoil would be an advantage. i do have the Rifle Basix sav-2 but not sure i want to butcher up my bottom bolt release to make it work

 

[chet]

I would not stop testing smaller increments and tweaking seating depth also increase distance whenever possible, quality over quantity. Can you cover a 5 shot group with a dime at 200?
SPJ

5 shots cover with a dime, i don't even know if i can guarantee that with my 6BR, good chance, this gun has the factory barrel in 6.5cm heavy barrel Savage. now there are times i might cover 3 shots with a dime, now i say times, but not 5, not yet, barrel has around 2000 rounds thru it, guess i have to order a new Criterion shortly, if my local gunsmith had the 6.5 cm reamer, i would order up a Bartlien blank and have him chamber it, or if i want to rent the reamer i can do it myself. but i never rented a reamer before, not sure i want to chance it. that is why i am leaning towards the prechambered barrel which criterion offers

chet

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I would not stop testing smaller increments and tweaking seating depth also increase distance whenever possible, quality over quantity. Can you cover a 5 shot group with a dime at 200?
SPJ

Dusty,
Why would a slick material such as protectors 3 M coating cause vertical dispersion?
J

Bags can get too slick. It has a weird breakaway to it that you can feel if you slide the rifle slowly too. I prefer plain leather with pma bag wax or baby powder- cordura comes in second with the same coating.

 

[Rsadams]

That rifle is a shooter , it's one of my favorites in my safe....mines in .308 and has been wonderful.... Be sure you have the parallax adjustments correct... I haven't even touched mine it's as it came out of the box....

 

[VaRandy]

probably alot experienced reloaders have been down this road, i am at a point now with almost a perfect load, i have done alot of loading over the years, but am looking for some suggestions to tighten this load a little, i am loading for the savage cabelas model 10T in 6.5cm, 24" 8 twist the best consistent bullet i have found is the 140SMK i am using Lapua small primer brass, 450 primer, 42.1 H4350 .020 off the lands. .025 opens up a bit and .015 about the same, seems like .020 to .023 off the lands is best at 200yd testing, prepping brass now and going to load up tomorrow, being i have the bullet jump figured, as for powder charges from more experienced loaders, will it be worth to go in one tenths increments up and down a few, or 2 or 3 tenths ect. any suggestions will be appreciated. any other powder worth a try, i am actually happy where i am, but i feel there might be some hidden accuracy i might have missed.

chet

Are you stuck on the bullet.? If not trade for 140 Hybrids and keep going out from .020 to .070 until you go south twice, backup and do the binary thing within 10's. It is by far the most accurate bullet when seated right.