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Need help For Tighter Groups

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Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 19 total)
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  • October 21, 2024 at 8:06 pm #521592
    Philip Taylor
    Participant

    I have been able to get my 30-06 loads to 3/4″ at 100 yards, but not so lucky with 350 legend. Loading the 147 Gr truncated RMR match-winners, my most consistent group was a 1 3/4″X1 3/4″X1 3/4″ triangle from 50 yards. The load has a COAL-2.1135″ w/27 Gr Hodgdon’s Lil’Gun, uniform starline brass, Winchester small rifle primer #41, I was wondering if modifying my powder charge can tighten this to a perfect group. I want it to be under 1 MOA!

    October 21, 2024 at 8:11 pm #521593
    SC
    Participant

    Accuracy starts with a good barrel. How well will the gun shoot with factory ammo?

    October 21, 2024 at 8:19 pm #521594
    Philip Taylor
    Participant

    I was getting MOA groups with Browning 124 Gr RN. Last week I fired Winchester FMJ, and it was pretty sloppy like 6″ group. I ordered a bipod to steady things up, so I will have to test some factory loads a bit before reloading more. I will get back to this next week sometime, thanks for the help.

    October 21, 2024 at 8:48 pm #521595
    Jacob Wilcox
    Keymaster

    Winchester 41 primers are not great. I haven’t ever been able to get good results from them.

    October 21, 2024 at 8:48 pm #521596
    Jacob Wilcox
    Keymaster

    Winchester 41 primers are not great. I haven’t ever been able to get good results from them.

    October 22, 2024 at 4:52 am #521603
    SC
    Participant

    A change in primers may help but I doubt it will shrink groups by half.

    Have you measured velocities with a chronograph?

    October 22, 2024 at 7:43 am #521611
    Philip Taylor
    Participant

    I don’t have a chronograph sorry. It will be several days until I can try anything different to confirm issues. What I will do first is put a bi-pod on it to uniform my aim for every shot, and test factory ammo. After that I will load some of what I was loading with winchester primers, also CCI primers, and some Federal Gold Medal Small rifle primers.

    October 22, 2024 at 7:54 am #521612
    SC
    Participant

    Make sure your powder drops are consistent. Neck tension is also something that affects groups.

    One thing at a time though. Shoot some factory loads with the bipod and use that as a baseline. Next try swapping primers and making sure the power charge is within .1 or .2 grains.

    October 22, 2024 at 10:43 am #521619
    SC
    Participant

    Make sure your powder drops are consistent. Neck tension is also something that affects groups.

    One thing at a time though. Shoot some factory loads with the bipod and use that as a baseline. Next try swapping primers and make sure the power charge is within .1 or .2 grains.

    November 2, 2024 at 3:59 pm #522322
    Philip Taylor
    Participant

    Sorry, life has turned into a marathon. I did my test with the new bi-pod from 50 yards.

    Factory Load Test:
    Winchester FMJ 147 Gr gave a 1/2″ group with a 1″ flier.
    Browning 124 Gr rn FMJ gave a group 3/4″ with a 4 inch flier.
    These groups are from hole center to hole center, so you can halve them to find distance from bull at 1/4″ and 3/8″ off target.

    Hand Load Test:
    I used a COAL that was on my die from last attempt(2.1.15″) just to see the difference between (small rifle): Winchester #41, Federal Gold Medal #GM205M, CCI #400, and Fiocchi. Here are the results: Winchester: 2″ with 3 1/2″ flier, Federal Gold Medal: 1 1/2″ w/3″ flier, CCI:3/4″ w/2″ flier, Fiocci: 2″ w/2 1/2″ flier.

    It appears the CCI primers might be the best of the lot. Every 3 shot group had a flier, so I’m not too confident that my barrel isn’t slightly defective. There is an extractor gouge sometimes, and some stove-piping with the rifle. I guess my first issue might be to solve the failures with my 350 legend.

    November 2, 2024 at 4:38 pm #522324
    Philip Taylor
    Participant

    Sorry Reload COAL of 2.1215″

    November 2, 2024 at 5:25 pm #522331
    SC
    Participant

    “Winchester FMJ 147 Gr gave a 1/2″ group with a 1″ flier”

    Does this mean two shots were close together and one was further out?

    I would use more than 3 shots to determine group size if you are going to consider flyers. Your sample size is just two small to get a conclusion. I shoot two 5 shot groups, allowing the barrel to cool in between.

    November 2, 2024 at 6:44 pm #522336
    Philip Taylor
    Participant

    Okay, going to do 5 shot groups of the Winchester and Browning tomorrow.

    November 3, 2024 at 1:25 pm #522395
    Philip Taylor
    Participant

    Today the wind was blowing about 15 MPH opposing my shots exactly, or blowing right at me from the targets. I fired two 5-round groups of Winchester 147 Gr FMJ, and Browning 124 Gr RN FMJ from 55 yards. The Winchesters made a 5 inch group, and the Browning made a 2 1/2″ group. I now think the problem is my Anderson barrel, or possibly my BCG.

    November 3, 2024 at 1:58 pm #522400
    SC
    Participant

    50 yards? At 50 yards, a varying 15 mph left or right wind can move the 124 grain bullet about an inch. A head or tailwind is not going to do much.

    My experience is that the more I pay for a barrel, the better they shoot. You could try and troubleshoot your current barrel or move on to something with a good reputation. A really good bore cleaner is where I would start. I like foaming Wipe Out or Birchwood Casey bore cleaner. Let them soak to do their thing. When the patches stop coming out blue, you should be good to go.

    Another thing is to check the fit between the barrel and upper receiver. Remove the barrel from the upper, then check to see if there is play between the upper and the barrel extension. I have used a thin amount of JB Weld , some like Loctite 620, on the extension and re-torqued the barrel nut. Let it sit a day or two before shooting.

    Are you using a suppressor or a muzzle device, etc?

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