Rifle grouping

[garyb]

Here's another one from checking the zero yesterday with Alex in tow...

 

4 shots at 120 yards form my 243 - Ok one zeroing shot was adrift, but once I'd altered the windage I went for a 3 shot group.

 

Goes to show that it can be repeated

 

[al4x]

Finally got the reloads sorted for my new .243 this was 3 shots at 100 with 85grn soft points from a sako 85 all looks quite good

 

[mikee]

I took my 243 out friday afternoon to check zero after its annual clean, 7 shots fired at 160yds, the first was a flier but not unexpected after a real deep scrub out clean, next 3 shots went high and left but a nice 3/4" group, a quick few clicks on the scope and the last 3 shots a 1.5" group, I think the last group would have been a bit better but the rifle was getting hot after 7 shots in just over a minute.

 

certinly good enough for me

 

mikee

[Dunkield]

I took my 243 out friday afternoon to check zero after its annual clean, 7 shots fired at 160yds, the first was a flier but not unexpected after a real deep scrub out clean,

Interesting comment mikee, I always disregard the first shot after cleaning (and no I don't oil my barrel)

Loads of people will tell you a clean barrel is the only barrel to have, but personally I would never go hunting with a rifle that had just had the barrel cleaned.

[al4x]

I think it comes down to how often you clean a rifle and test it, my .223 always shot bang on after cleaning but I had tested it a fair bit before I was sure of it

[Vipa]

Well... can't show you the pics of the groups but just got back from Bisley...

 

Best score @ 600 yds 50 ex 50 with 10 bulls inc 8 v-bulls (7.8" diameter)

 

@ 1000 the scope I had borrowed didn't have enough elevation so was holding over about 25 ft!! managed 5 v-bulls in succession in practice but didn't fancy using it for the comp so I borrowed a rifle with a scary trigger (should have stuck with mine and held over!) but still managed 45 ex 50 with 7 bulls inc 3 v-bulls (14.4")

 

Conditions were lovely & sunny with only mild breeze which kept changing direction making a 30" difference at the target!!! quite bad mirage too which didn't help. looks like the winner shot 49 ex 50 with, I think 5 v-bulls.

 

This is the view behind the (early indications would suggest) winner on the 1000 yd range...

 

 

And this is looking down the 600 yd range behind one of the French national F-Class shooters who were over for an international match (with some serious hardware, including a .300 win mag that looked like a howitzer, and sounded like one too )

 

 

Paul

Edited April 18, 2011 by Vipa

[Dunkield]

Sounds like good shooting.

Nice and sunny down South eh? B)

[Vipa]

Sounds like good shooting.

Nice and sunny down South eh? B)

 

Beautiful

 

Saturday was overcast with the threat of heavy rain at one point, thankfully it missed us... watched it coming in for an hour! still managed to burn my head though! Sunday was... for want of a better word.... Glorious B)

Edited April 18, 2011 by Vipa

[mikee]

Interesting comment mikee, I always disregard the first shot after cleaning (and no I don't oil my barrel)

Loads of people will tell you a clean barrel is the only barrel to have, but personally I would never go hunting with a rifle that had just had the barrel cleaned.

 

I have had the rifle for 2 years and it has been cleaned 3 times, I got all excited in the first year and cleaned it twice, but when i clean it it gets a good clean, I filled the bore with copper solvent and stood up for 2 hours and then phosphor bronze brushed the bore and repeated 3 times and then patched out with meths and then clean patches, it was super shiney, I'm not one for too much oil unless the rifle gets wet but as soon as its dry i clean it all off, I would never clean it if I was going to use it in the field before i had a chance to check zero,

 

I was well chuffed with the two groups, its not a fancy tricked up custom rifle, just a straight out of the box model, all I ahve done is a bit of trigger work and floated the barrel, 0.5moa and then a 1 moa group with a hot barrel will do me all day long, the rifle was rested on a canvas dog dummy on the bonnet of my truck to check zero

 

mikee

[Vipa]

I have had the rifle for 2 years and it has been cleaned 3 times, I got all excited in the first year and cleaned it twice, but when i clean it it gets a good clean, I filled the bore with copper solvent and stood up for 2 hours and then phosphor bronze brushed the bore and repeated 3 times and then patched out with meths and then clean patches, it was super shiney, I'm not one for too much oil unless the rifle gets wet but as soon as its dry i clean it all off, I would never clean it if I was going to use it in the field before i had a chance to check zero,

 

I was well chuffed with the two groups, its not a fancy tricked up custom rifle, just a straight out of the box model, all I ahve done is a bit of trigger work and floated the barrel, 0.5moa and then a 1 moa group with a hot barrel will do me all day long, the rifle was rested on a canvas dog dummy on the bonnet of my truck to check zero

 

mikee

 

Be VERY careful... most agressive copper solvents contain ammonia which, if left in contact with the bore too long atarts to cause pitting. It needs to be nutralised as quickly as possible! don't know whether leaving it in there for 2 hours was the best plan :o

 

Of course, if it was one of the new breed of solvents that don't contain ammonia you'l be fine.

[mikee]

Be VERY careful... most agressive copper solvents contain ammonia which, if left in contact with the bore too long atarts to cause pitting. It needs to be nutralised as quickly as possible! don't know whether leaving it in there for 2 hours was the best plan :o

 

Of course, if it was one of the new breed of solvents that don't contain ammonia you'l be fine.

 

Ive just checked the solvent bottle, its PRO SHOT PRODUCTS, COPPER SOLVENT IV, NEW GEN COPPER SOLVENT, no amonia smell, its kind of a soapy liquid

 

mikee

[Vipa]

Ive just checked the solvent bottle, its PRO SHOT PRODUCTS, COPPER SOLVENT IV, NEW GEN COPPER SOLVENT, no amonia smell, its kind of a soapy liquid

 

mikee

 

You'll be fine... if it had amonia in it you'd know about it... I have some Butch's Bore Shine and it's almost enough to make you pass out in an enclosed space!

[mikee]

You'll be fine... if it had amonia in it you'd know about it... I have some Butch's Bore Shine and it's almost enough to make you pass out in an enclosed space!

 

 

PHEW...........you had me worried Vipa

 

mikee

[Redgum]

Just be given some Hornady 100gr interlocks to try out by a kind fella on here, changed powder on recommendation from H414 to Vit 160, apparently vit 160 is the best general powder for the 243 giving a good case volume thus more consistancy. Didnt do much up near the lands but went back the otherway and....

[Ackley]

Just be given some Hornady 100gr interlocks to try out by a kind fella on here, changed powder on recommendation from H414 to Vit 160, apparently vit 160 is the best general powder for the 243 giving a good case volume thus more consistancy. Didnt do much up near the lands but went back the otherway and....

 

nice group mate Ive been using Vit 160 in 243s for years superb powder,Ive been out testing with a mate this afternoon with his 243 with Vit 160 hes getting there now with it,I put mine AI on the board with a fireforming load,I best not show the groups people would accuse me of punching them with a pencil

so much for 2/4 inch groups which people are happy with,they should wake up and enter the real world

[Redgum]

It takes a bit of work getting to an ideal load,sometimes you get lucky. My 700 sps has a 9 1/8 twist and loves 100grainers,one of the reasons I went for this gun apart from the price.

vit160 is a much cleaner burning powder than H414, have notice this both in barrel and when cleaning cases in ultra sonic bath.

 

Ps it no longer sits in the original stock, hogue fully alley bedded now.

Edited April 23, 2011 by Redgum

[magnum]

Just be given some Hornady 100gr interlocks to try out by a kind fella on here, changed powder on recommendation from H414 to Vit 160, apparently vit 160 is the best general powder for the 243 giving a good case volume thus more consistancy. Didnt do much up near the lands but went back the otherway and....

i been called a lot off things but never (kind ) glad u got them to group looks like your 700 dose like them well done mate see if the deer like them now?

Edited April 23, 2011 by magnum

[Redgum]

Was going to pm ya magnum to let you see how they were grouping but couldnt find out how to add a picture to a pm. Glad you saw it.Not only do they group well but they are also a brilliant deer deterant,since I've had one in the chamber I havent seen a single buck.

[magnum]

Was going to pm ya magnum to let you see how they were grouping but couldnt find out how to add a picture to a pm. Glad you saw it.Not only do they group well but they are also a brilliant deer deterant,since I've had one in the chamber I havent seen a single buck.

keep at it mate time is on your side that buck out there ???

[highseas]

Beautiful

 

Saturday was overcast with the threat of heavy rain at one point, thankfully it missed us... watched it coming in for an hour! still managed to burn my head though! Sunday was... for want of a better word.... Glorious B)

how is that scored? and what is a v-bull?

[highseas]

Well it's not often I disagree with you but....

 

I think it does, and there's a lot of talk out there on the 'net that suggests the same. It's not that the rifle recoil puts the shots off, as even if it did it would consistently put it off by the same amount. Rather (I at least) find it impossible to settle into a dead steady hold and gently ease the trigger when I know I'm going to get a damned uncomfortable smack in the chops for my troubles! Call it a flinch, I guess it kind of is a mild one - but whatever it is I can't get that hold quite as steady on the big stuff and I'm not alone.

this is tru,, i used to use a 7mm rem mag estate rifle for reds and i couldent shoot it for **** 3-4inch groups at best ok it killed em but god was it bad on recoil them i got it a mod out of my own wages, and groups closed down to less than a inch,

[Vince Green]

how is that scored? and what is a v-bull?

A v bull is an inner bull. Years ago at bisley the targets just had a bull but as the rifles and ammo got better they needed a finer way of judging scores between shooters. In a competition for example there might be three shooters all with 47 ex 50. So a smaller inner circle was placed inside the bull called the V bull and that sorts out the scores to a finer degree.

[Vipa]

A v bull is an inner bull. Years ago at bisley the targets just had a bull but as the rifles and ammo got better they needed a finer way of judging scores between shooters. In a competition for example there might be three shooters all with 47 ex 50. So a smaller inner circle was placed inside the bull called the V bull and that sorts out the scores to a finer degree.

 

Quite right....

 

at 600 yds the target is broken into 5 circles. A hit on the target outside the circles (60"x70") scores 1, the first white circle (52") scores 2, the first circle in the black (39") scores 3, the second (26") scores 4 and the bull (13") scores 5. Within the bull is a smaller circle @ 7.8" which is called the V-Bull. It still only scores 5 but the idea is, if you get a tie, i.e. 2 or 3 shooters on max 50 ex 50, the ranking is then decided on the greatest number of V-Bulls hit.

 

At 1000, the scoring is the same but the target is bigger, Overall target size 70"x118", First white = 96", first black = 72", 2nd black = 48", bull = 24" and V-Bull = 14.4"

 

I will add.... they all look bloody small from the firing line!

Edited April 25, 2011 by Vipa

[Vince Green]

Quite right....

 

at 600 yds the target is broken into 5 circles. A hit on the target outside the circles (60"x70") scores 1, the first white circle (52") scores 2, the first circle in the black (39") scores 3, the second (26") scores 4 and the bull (13") scores 5. Within the bull is a smaller circle @ 7.8" which is called the V-Bull. It still only scores 5 but the idea is, if you get a tie, i.e. 2 or 3 shooters on max 50 ex 50, the ranking is then decided on the greatest number of V-Bulls hit.

 

At 1000, the scoring is the same but the target is bigger, Overall target size 70"x118", First white = 96", first black = 72", 2nd black = 48", bull = 24" and V-Bull = 14.4"

Its also interesting to note that the bull at 600yds historically is based on the size of a man's chest and all targets for longer and shorter ranges are scaled off it. Vbulls are usually scored as 5.1 to differenciate them. More useless but hopefully interesting information.

[Vipa]

Its also interesting to note that the bull at 600yds historically is based on the size of a man's chest and all targets for longer and shorter ranges are scaled off it. Vbulls are usually scored as 5.1 to differenciate them. More useless but hopefully interesting information.

 

 

Ahh... that answers a question then, the club comp last year (I wasn't there) was won with 50.9 @1000yds... that is what the .9 was! did wonder what the shorthand for v-bulls was!

Edited April 25, 2011 by Vipa