When do you consider your match loads good enough?

[CZ550]

Hello I am trying to develop a load for an upcoming match and have only shot in one other match before. How good does my load need to be? I have been working on loads at 400 yards and my best load so far will group 5 shots @ 1 inch and under I have one group that measured .726. That's in calm conditions on three different days so I am thinking if this load will hold .250 MOA @ 400 it should serve me well @ 600. With my limited wind reading skills and experience should I expect more out of my rifle and loads?

What are you guys happy with in calm conditions when load testing? I feel like I spend all my time working loads, and no time trying to learn how to shoot in the wind which seems awfully more important.

Thanks Corey

 

[Erik Cortina]

You're good to go!

 

[bozo699]

You're good to go!

Absolutely!
Start shooting
Wayne.

 

[NorCalMikie]

1" and under at 400 yards? And you're asking "us" if it's good enough? Looks like we should be asking "you" for pointers.
I'am thinking you're good to go. 8)

 

[fdshuster]

Our 10 ring scoring bull measures 2" diameter at 4 & 500 yards (one match) and 4 & 500 meters (at another), so to me anything at or less than 2.5" is acceptable. You have nothing to be concerned about with your groups, wanna trade? ;D

 

[Steve Blair]

Generally, at any given distance, if your load will hold X-ring or better under ideal conditions, the rest is up to you.

 

[CZ550]

The x ring on the 600 yard IBS target I shot at my first match was 1.25.

What kind of verticle is acceptable at 400 yards I am getting about .750 to 1.00

These questions probabbly seem dumb but I dont shoot with anyone who is into BR therefore anything I know or learn is pretty much on my own or via 6mmbr.com.

Also thought I would list my load.

6.5x47, 8.5 twist 28.5in Krieger, Kelby Grizzly Action. Chambered by Stephen Hall in Dyersburg TN, I highly recommend him I have 4 barrels he has chambered and they all shoot like a house of fire!!!

130 JLK 37.9 - 38.2 grains of Varget CCI 450 5 Thou Jam measured with chamber stub. Muzzle Velocity is somewhere around 2900, I am going to get my Oheler out and check.

I havent decided with powder charge to go with but they shoot about the same with the 38.2 edging the 37.9 by just a little. I might run 38.0 and be right in the middle.

 

[Steve Blair]

Your vertical is more than acceptable. Go forth and compete. Nothing will reveal your strengths and weaknesses faster or more thoroughly than shooting in competition.

 

[ttfreestyle]

at what yardage do most test at? I cant test loads at 1000 because i cant decide if my misses are me or the load or the conditions which im not very good at reading yet.

 

[Steve Blair]

All my testing is done at 100 and 300 yards, over BR flags. All 100 yard testing is also chronographed. Everything I need to know about a long range load can be learned from my testing and using ballistic charts. Bullet choice is also crucial and requires initial research before loading.

If a load will not perform at 300, it certainly will not perform at 1000. If a load has low SD, groups well at 300 and uses a high B.C. bullet that will stay above 1.2 mach, it will do well at 1000.

 

[ttfreestyle]

my best groups at 300 are in the .4 to .5 range but prob average .6 ,.7 range. i dropped back to 600 and shot two groups, a 2.54 and 2.96 . my high to low velocity spread is 24 fps though
which i think needs to be better. so are these normal groups at 600 considering my 300 yard groups? or does this tell me i need to work on my shooting skill?

 

[Steve Blair]

Are the groups vertically or horizontally dispersed?
Were you shooting over flags?
What were the conditions?
Is it a predictable range?
How fast were you able to get your shots downrange?
Were these five-shot groups?

 

[queen_stick]

my best groups at 300 are in the .4 to .5 range but prob average .6 ,.7 range.

to average .6 to .7 inches at 300 yards is VERY good.

 

[ttfreestyle]

Are the groups vertically or horizontally dispersed?
Were you shooting over flags?
What were the conditions?
Is it a predictable range?
How fast were you able to get your shots downrange?
Were these five-shot groups?

they were triangle groups at 600 with widest spread being vertical. about 1.5 inch horizontal more vertical.
no wind flags, first time shooting at this range(friend just finished this range in his cow pasture)
normal speed shooting groups and yes five shot groups.
at 300 just smaller triangle groups.

 

[Steve Blair]

Your horizontal spread without flags is very good. It sounds like you need to work on bringing down the velocity variation. Up to 300 yards, groups can look very good but conceal significant velocity variation. That is why I shoot over a chronograph at 100 yards during load development. I have never found a load that had low SD and performed well at 300 that would not do well at longer ranges. My match loads generally average single-digit standard deviation.

You should also take a hard look at your bench setup. It is not unusual to see vertical stringing from an overly hard front bag or problems with technique.

 

[ttfreestyle]

HMMMM, was using sinclair bipod on a 3/4 wood top bench. maybe some bounce? what do i do to reduce spread? my load is lapua brass(old thicker neck stuff) shot 4 times , full length type s bushing dies 268 bushing, cci br primer,30.1 varget, 107 smk 12 thou off lands. savage mod 12 with 6br criterion bbl. h s precision stock. velocity is 2825 fps . i am not sure what to do to get the spread down, this is new to me.

 

[Steve Blair]

Your load is a classic for the Sierra and should perform well. What primer are you using?

Try shooting off a solid rest with a good rear bag and see if that helps with your vertical.

The link below is an article written by the captain of Team Savage describing torque tuning Savage Target actions. It also applies in your H-S stock.

http://www.accurateshooter.com/technical-articles/savage-action-screw-torque-tuning/

Seating depth affects both accuracy and velocity variation. Try adjusting the seating depth and see if you can bring in the spread. You could also adjust the load a tenth or two in each direction and see if that helps.

I anneal my brass every three firings and believe that it provides better consistency but many successful competitors do not and do just fine.

 

[ttfreestyle]

using cci br primers. thanks ill play with the depth some and see what i can do. i am pretty happy with this setup as im not sure my ability is any better at this time. but hey, we all want one hole groups lol.
thanks for the help, Troy

 

[queen_stick]

HMMMM, was using sinclair bipod on a 3/4 wood top bench. maybe some bounce? what do i do to reduce spread? my load is lapua brass(old thicker neck stuff) shot 4 times , full length type s bushing dies 268 bushing, cci br primer,30.1 varget, 107 smk 12 thou off lands. savage mod 12 with 6br criterion bbl. h s precision stock. velocity is 2825 fps . i am not sure what to do to get the spread down, this is new to me.

Just throwing something else out there... you may want to try a different bushing (different neck tension). What neck tension are you getting with your 268 bushing? If your old Lapua brass is like mine (.0135 ~ .014 neck thickness), that would give you about one thou neck tension (maybe less if you don't anneal). It might be worth trying a tighter tension with a .267 bushing or even a .266 bushing. In my 6.5-284, changing from .001 tension to .003 tension seriously improved my long range groups (everything else being equal). It wasn't noticeable at 100 yards though. In my 6BR, however, it made no difference. You never know until you try.

One other thing... how's the mirage on your 600yd range? Your vertical dispersion could be from holding a different POA for each shot due to mirage.

 

[ttfreestyle]

i actually have a .267 and .266bushings so ill give them a try (since i dont anneal yet). it was late evening , the mirage was pretty good i think. thanks again guys. Troy