First "long"er range shooting yesterday, have a question

[nyshooter]

So I had my first bout wih shooting at a distance. I was shooting a bone stock savage model 10 fp sr in .223 at 400 yards. I was getting consistent 6-8 inch groups. I fully understand that being a newbie to the long range shooting I prolly the biggest factor in my groups but was curious if this was as accurate as this rifle/round combo may be. Also my groups were 2 inches wide by 5-6 inches tall, in a rectangular shape. Is this my error?

 

[Broz]

Was the sun bright and were you getting mirage on the target?

A factory .223 with factory ammo could shoot better at 400 for sure, I would suggest you try testing some different types of ammo to see what your rifle likes best.

One more thing that could cause this to your groups is a weak rest in the rear. Were you using a good solid sand bag under the rear?

Another thing to check would be to make sure all the parallax was adjusted properly out of your scope.

Jeff

 

[nyshooter]

Thank you for your reply. The sun was bright, so mirage could have been a factor, I was shooting only 2 types of ammo, military ball to get me on target, then hornady polymer tipped hunting ammo, so it could have been ammo. And I did not use any rear support, so 3 out of 4 were against me. My scope, a swfa 10x fixed is not to blame though, haha. At least I can easily fix all my errors a lot cheaper than any errors in my rifle. Again, thank you.

 

[roninflag]

generally- the horizontal is the wind . the vertical is the rifle/load/ bench technique. 2" horizontal would be great for me.

 

[nyshooter]

Well that's good news and bad news, on one plane I did something correct, on the other I am the sole factor to blame. Although, like I said in my earlier post, I can learn on my own better technique far cheaper than accurizing my rifle.

 

[roninflag]

not just you. the 10x scope would not help me. it is just one outing . need more results. 2" horizontal would be awesome for me.

 

[nyshooter]

Thank you for the vote of confidence, I appreciate it. Learning this new "hobby"is fun but frustrating. Just so **** much to learn.

 

[WildRose]

So I had my first bout wih shooting at a distance. I was shooting a bone stock savage model 10 fp sr in .223 at 400 yards. I was getting consistent 6-8 inch groups. I fully understand that being a newbie to the long range shooting I prolly the biggest factor in my groups but was curious if this was as accurate as this rifle/round combo may be. Also my groups were 2 inches wide by 5-6 inches tall, in a rectangular shape. Is this my error?

Give this thread a read. I think you'll find it helpful.

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f17/trigger-timing-training-practice-80572/

I'm with Broz though, try several different types of ammo and pick the one that performs best for you at 100yds and then move it on out.

 

[nyshooter]

Thank you very much for the link. I have an overnight shift tonight so it will give me something to read and think bout.

 

[Deleted member 48126]

Trigger squeeze. There is an art to it that I have not mastered either. Does your rifle have the accutrigger? I adjusted my trigger to about a pound and I can put rounds on top of each other at 100 yards (with a lead sled). Also, jumping on the band wagon but try other loads or start reloading and making a load specific to your rifle. Lastly, when you mean military ball do you mean 5.56? Don't shoot that in your rifle specifically chambered for .223. I don't think it will hurt anything but 5.56 has a thicker case and operates at a higher pressure to cycle in military weapons.

 

[Deleted member 48126]

Thank you for the vote of confidence, I appreciate it. Learning this new "hobby"is fun but frustrating. Just so **** much to learn.

Learning is the fun part! I love this forum for that. There are some real scholarly guys on here that can provide a solution to any issue!

 

[WildRose]

Trigger squeeze. There is an art to it that I have not mastered either. Does your rifle have the accutrigger? I adjusted my trigger to about a pound and I can put rounds on top of each other at 100 yards (with a lead sled). Also, jumping on the band wagon but try other loads or start reloading and making a load specific to your rifle. Lastly, when you mean military ball do you mean 5.56? Don't shoot that in your rifle specifically chambered for .223. I don't think it will hurt anything but 5.56 has a thicker case and operates at a higher pressure to cycle in military weapons.

Give that link above a click. We talke about the trigger pull quite a bit there.

If you still are having problems see if you can get someone to take a video of you shooting and post it and I'm sure you'll get some good input on it.

 

[nyshooter]

Whisper- I was aware of the cartridge difference, and blindly/ ignorantly went ahead and shot out of pure excitement to shoot my new rifle more.
Trigger control is of my upmost importance from here on out. Never was a big deal shooting at 100 yards or less.

 

[nyshooter]

Wildrose- that link had great info. I have a laserlyte and fully intend on using your suggestion to practice this evening. Now if only I could convince my wife to become a good ole country girl, I could be shooting more than twice a month, haha