Transient Redneck Zombie Hitman

[ZombieHitman]

Folks, let me thank you all in advance for the amazing amount of knowledge, experience, and wisdom I've found while perusing through the forums.
Good quality forum information can be difficult to discern from junk sometimes, but everything I have read with very few exceptions is dead-nutz on the mark!
My name is Dave, and while I am presently in NY, I'll be back home in AZ very soon.
I usually hunt with my Savage 16 300WSM topped with a Leupold Mk4 Mil Dot scope, but have just become the proud papa of a "still smell the cosmoline" Remington 700SPS Varmint in 308WIN.
My desire, especially with the 700, is to get my groups down to MOA or better, which is easy in theory as I also handload for all my toys (and my brother's too).
I teach the NRA Basic Rifle course, and will soon be teaching the metallic reloading course as well. RSO will be in there somewhere too, when I find the book again.
In the immediate term, I'll be looking at the information on properly breaking in a rifle for maximum accuracy, and researching the best loads for my new rifle.
I've got my Savage dialed in pretty well, though there's always room for improvement.
Once I get my new baby prepared for the range, I'll post an update on here.
And again, everyone, I thank you immensely for all the knowledge and support you've already given me without even knowing it.
Dave

 

[ss7mm]

Welcome to LongRangeHunting Dave.

 

[ZombieHitman]

Thanks Dick! Glad to be here!

 

[eddybo]

Man I love the thread title. Was running through and just had to look at a thread titled thusly.

 

[FAL Shot]

I've only had one rifle that had a really smooth bore when new (CZ 527 Kevlar Varmint). All the others benefitted from polishing the bore. I use Remington 40-X for finish polishing and occasional bore cleaning, particularly for copper fouling. I don't use chemicals for copper removal, as a mild abrasive is safer (at least for me, it's low toxicity stuff). JB bore paste is used for a really rough bore. Used rifles generally need a going over with JB, as do cheap new rifles like my Hi Point carbine. Very, very rough bore on that one.

Abrasive cleaners only remove copper and carbon above the level of rough metal surfaces. You want carbon filling the pits in the metal bore, if possible. Copper does not stick to carbon. A bore that is too smooth also copper fouls fast and accuracy quickly deteriorates. I only use M-Pro 7 for carbon removal, which is also Hoppe's Elite. Same stuff, made by Pantheon Chemical. Nontoxic and odorless. Nothing works better on carbon fouling.

No use working up accurate loads until the barrel is smoothed out on a new gun and copper fouling rate levels off at a moderate to low level. A load that groups the best on a rough new barrel is unlikely to shoot the same after break-in. I have an FAL that shoots sub MOA with Nosler Ballistic Tips at 200 yards. Average group is 1.8", down from about 8 inches with FNM military ball ammo. Installing the Austrian STG 58 bipod made the groups go that large, approximately double what it had been. 150 grain Ballistic Tips got the groups to about 3" at 200 yards, and installing a Limbsaver X-ring deresonator just in front of the sling swivel dropped the groups to 1.8" at 200 yards. Accurate enough for my intended hunting use.

FWIW, I often find that Nosler BT's shoot better than match ammo in my guns. That's because it IS match ammo that was hardened up a bit for hunting.....at long range. Way too soft a bullet for close-in woods hunting and big tough game. The 170 grain round nosed Partition is what you need there.

I find Nosler accurate across their entire line in .224 and .308, and an Accubond and Ballistic Tip will have the same point of impact at the same caliber and weight. If you hunt various animals at various distances in a single hunt, you will need more than one bullet. I will carry Accubonds with me next time, and Partitions for the in-your-face shots. One accurate load is not enough.

My latest Partition load: 60-grain PT, 23.5 grains Ramshot TAC, LC brass (weighed and matched), CCI primer. Sub MOA in the CZ 527, 9" twist in .223 Rem. Exterminator powder would probably work as well. Those 2 powders throw spot-on loads every time. Reloading goes fast that way. PT does not match AB or BT in POI at long range, but it don't matter as you save it for closer shots.

I'm planning to change over to .223 Rem for antelope and deer hunting (eating size, not trophy size deer). We'll see how the Scirocco II bullets do in the CZ 527 at long range. I can get a custom .224 Clark at a really good price right now, if somebody would buy my Colt AR-15 upper I have for sale. With a BC of around .500 at my altitude, the Scirocco should be a good performer in a .224 Clark.

Good luck with your new rifle.