Accurate load falls apart after 100

[Tumbleweed]

You need to forget about shooting at close range unless that's all that's available. You can find tons of info on the web about bullets needing to "go to sleep." This happens in the first 300 yards or so. I learned this lesson years ago with Berger VLD's, it's better to tune your rifle at 300 yards or more. Groups may seem large at 100 or 200 yards but who cares? Berger has an article on that as well.
I just tuned a 30 Nosler yesterday at 400 yards. At 200 it's around a 1 MOA gun. At 400 it's .5 with 1" of vertical. Just shot drops at 810 and 1114 yards this morning, scary accurate with less than 2" of vertical in either of those groups. Again, don't get hung up on anything inside of 300 yards.

 

[Jammer65]

Be sure and post your results. My jury is way out on the CA rifles. My sample is small but not good. Seems everyone on the net shoots bench rest groups with theirs.

CA rifles are without a doubt good to go. If it were the rifle, you wouldnt get the 1/2 MOA at 100.

 

[Grizz1148]

Had a similar situation, tiny groups at 100yds but opened up beyond 300. Es was not an issue.

Gun didn't recoil consistently and groups reflected the inconsistency at distance.

Slapped a cheek piece on that was tall enough, gun recoiled properly and groups shrunk back down.

This one doesn't recoil at all. The brake works so well that it kicks less than my creedmoor with a crappy brake

 

[Grizz1148]

You need to forget about shooting at close range unless that's all that's available. You can find tons of info on the web about bullets needing to "go to sleep." This happens in the first 300 yards or so. I learned this lesson years ago with Berger VLD's, it's better to tune your rifle at 300 yards or more. Groups may seem large at 100 or 200 yards but who cares? Berger has an article on that as well.
I just tuned a 30 Nosler yesterday at 400 yards. At 200 it's around a 1 MOA gun. At 400 it's .5 with 1" of vertical. Just shot drops at 810 and 1114 yards this morning, scary accurate with less than 2" of vertical in either of those groups. Again, don't get hung up on anything inside of 300 yards.

I understand this and have seen it myself however it's always been a fun grouping 1 moa at say 100 and 1/2 moa beyond that. This one groups 1/2 moa at 100 and 4" at 250. Diff scenario

 

[blackburbot]

Check fundamentals, review cheek weld and trigger pull and scope line-up. Load for the distance you want to shoot for. Just because a sprinter can do 100yards in 9.5secs, you can't expect them to do a mile in 167secs.

It's more likely that a load developed for [email protected] will shoot 0.5MOA@100yards than vice-versa

More time behind triggers than keyboards

 

[Tumbleweed]

I understand this and have seen it myself however it's always been a fun grouping 1 moa at say 100 and 1/2 moa beyond that. This one groups 1/2 moa at 100 and 4" at 250. Diff scenario

I think you may have missed my point. I have learned to ignore (not even waste time shooting) at 100 yards. Go straight to 300 or 400 yards and develop your load. Once you've developed your very best combo at this distance it WILL hold up at long range. This certainly doesn't hold true approaching it from the other end although sometimes a rifle will track drive at all distances. I have worked with a lot of rifles over the years and have not seen that yet.

 

[Opa-lopa]

not a novice. ran into something I haven't seen before. Long story short..fired 3 diff bullets today out of the same cases, same primer, same powder just testing and playing. 26 Nosler 140 smks, 135 atips, 143 eldxs, smks and atips under 1/2 moa at 100 eldxs just over 1/2 moa. Took the smks and eldxs out to 250 and they both opened up to 4". As a control for wind we shot groups at 250 with a 243 and 6.5x47 that shot well. Anybody seen this before? Couldn't test the atips as I didn't load enough but the smks have consistently shot 1/2 or better at 100. I'm going to try them again but I'm curious if anyone else has come across this. Thanks

 

[Opa-lopa]

IMO, there's something else going on; parallax comes to mind. 0.5 " x 250/100 = 1.25" or just a bit bigger).

 

[BigJohnH]

I would agree with the shooter issue but I'm not a novice, I'm not a competitor but I shoot more in one week than most in a year. Thousands of rds a year through many guns and I've never seen this. I also know everyone can have a bad day but I just shot the 100 groups an hour earlier. Stability I guess is a possibility but how would unstable bullets shoot consistent 1/2 or less at 100?

An unstable bullet may not be so @ 100yds then go all to hell at 125——or more. The 1:8 twist should stabilize the bullets depending on barrel length and ft/s at the muzzle, I was thinking back the powder down a bit and run a few more tests.....

 

[Grizz1148]

Check fundamentals, review cheek weld and trigger pull and scope line-up. Load for the distance you want to shoot for. Just because a sprinter can do 100yards in 9.5secs, you can't expect them to do a mile in 167secs.

It's more likely that a load developed for [email protected] will shoot 0.5MOA@100yards than vice-versa

More time behind triggers than keyboards

I've got more time behind a trigger than most ever will. Always bring other rifles as a control. Others shot very well.

 

[Grizz1148]

IMO, there's something else going on; parallax comes to mind. 0.5 " x 250/100 = 1.25" or just a bit bigger).

Checked it.

 

[Flintlock]

I had a 6x250 Rem 788 Rebarreled about 10 years back. It had 25 years of shooting and abuse on the barrel from an old friend that carried in his hay truck for varmints.
I had a new 1-9 twist barrel installed and put together some new loads. Went to the range and set up.
I had the same load as I always shot with a thin skinned jacket. I was having trouble with groups at 100. So I went to 200 to check. Couldn't hit a paper plate.
Had a older Gentleman there at the range shooting a 6mm Remington. He said when I shoot a little puff of smoke would be at the end of my barrel. Found out that the thin skinned varmint bullet I was shooting was getting the jacket ripped off when fired with the new fast twist barrel. This guy told me to try some Sierra Jacketed Hollow point flat base bullets that had thick jacket, he was shooting. Immediately my groups shrank after loading some of these bullets and had great groups out to 400 yards which was as far as my range would let me shoot.
Mike

 

[WahooYahoo]

How many rounds have you put down the pipe?

 

[inline6power]

Had this happen on a little .280 we use to have as a truck gun. Exact same deal. Our issue ended up being the crown of the barrel.