tighter groups

[acebarracuda]

Hey guys,

I have loaded a pile of ammo for my mini-14 and am just starting to get into the long range shooting.

I bought a Rem. Model 700 XCR LRT rifle and started reloading for it.

I have seated bullets .003 off of the lands and get o.k groups. I have loaded 69 grn Sierra HPBT and 55 grn Ballistic tips.

I have loaded 50 grn Varmint grenades (.040 off of the lands).

Here is the problem.

The first shot is 2" high at 100 yds. This is good because it gives me a 300 yd zero.

The second 2 shots are usually off to the right about 1/2" and usually touching each other. (All from a rest) I have tried H335 and IMR 3031 so far.

How do I get these groups to tighten up? I should ve able to shoot 3 through the same hole or close to it.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Ace

[jules_223]

Minis aren't world renowned for there accuracy, as for the remmy give varget a try.

When i setup to load for my bolt guns, or anything i have for that matter i set my seating die to SAAMI maximum OAL, and just fine tune the powder charge till something works. And for all the nay sayers who say you have to seat right off the lands my 22-250 with a 55 gr. V-Max on top of 36 gr.s of H380 with a federal large rifle match primer will hold sub 3/8" @ 100 yards all day long if i do my part.

Hope i was of some help.

edit: your getting about 1/2" groups out of a factory rifle, thats doing really well.

[acebarracuda]

Thanks for the heads up Jules.

Great advice. Thank you.

I had a buddy give me the same advice. I will definately give it a try. The strangest part of it all is that we have a gong at 460 yards and I can smack it every single time.

Very frustrating.

Ace

[Lycanthrope]

Are you free floated?

[mauser]

Are you free floated?

I have a few guns that aren't free floated and it's rather common for the first shot to be 1/2" or more out of the rest of the group. I'll just fire a few rounds and not expect a good group, then shoot seriously after it's "warmed up".

Another question: How often do you clean your bore?
After a good cleaning it can take some guns a few, or maybe even several shots for the accuracy to "settle in", then they'll shoot great until they need another cleaning, maybe several hundred rounds, each gun and load combo is different.

If you're only shooting a few rounds each outing, then thoroughly cleaning your bore before you go out again, you may want to try a different routine to see if that makes a difference.

[Xringshooter]

Mauser touched on it, if your first shot is always a flyer then you may need to do, IIRC, what benchresters do, that is to fire a "fouling" shot before you shoot for accuracy. You have to remember that when you clean the bore, depending on how you clean the bore, you are removing material that may be filling in (at the microscopic level) any imperfections of the bore. Also, that first shot is clearing any remaining material in the bore (oil, etc).

If your getting good groups after the first shot you now know that you need to disregard the first shot when measuring the group.

[acebarracuda]

Hey Guys,

Just got out this weekend for some more testing.

Ended up using Varget and 75 grn A-Max. Seated .011 off of the lands.

The first group measured 0.336 and the second group was 0.340. These groups were shot at 100 yds. I'll work on the bullet seating depth to tighten these up.

Shot two fouling shots and then 3 for testing purposes. Clean and do all over again.

Thanks for all of the suggestions. The barrel is free floated as well.

I think that I'm getting close. I'll try the Varget with the 69 grn. Sierra's as well.

That ought to knock the crap out of the gophers around these parts.

Thanks again guys.

[Lycanthrope]

Try 77gr Nosler Custom Competitions over Varget and never look back.

[acebarracuda]

Thanks for the advice.

With the bullets (75grns) seated .011 off of the lands, they will not fit in the magazine. Is it possible to seat the 77 and 75's in far enough to feed from the magazine?

Thanks again,

Ace

[Lycanthrope]

Thanks for the advice.

With the bullets (75grns) seated .011 off of the lands, they will not fit in the magazine. Is it possible to seat the 77 and 75's in far enough to feed from the magazine?

Thanks again,

Ace

I seat to max mag length. To seat just off the lands you cannot fit them in the mags for some guns. But.....the accuracy does not necessarily have to drop off. Experiment.