I love this site! This is a bit long, but please bear with me....
Situation:
Getting prepared for a 400 (not long range for this board!) shot for late doe season here in NE. Will be my first shot of more than 175 yds for a deer.
Background:
I am an experienced handloader and prairie dog shooter. My batter includes a cooper 21VE in .223, a Ruger Varmint in 22-250 accurized by John Lewis at Carolina Precision, and a .257 Roberts AI built on a Sako long action with a 26" 1.25 diameter bbl., fluted, with 0 taper. the cooper is the most accurate, with a load of 27.5 gr. of H335 behind 40gr. BT's consistently under .4 inches at 100 yds. for 5 shots.
The ruger is a little less consistent, but a MOA gun. The .257 is a problem child, and the only load with good accuracy (better than MOA) is a 75gr VMAX even though the twist and throat were spec'd out for the 100gr. BT.
All guns have Leupold 6.5-20 Target scopes.
Dilemma:
with the 22-250, even with the Barnes 53gr. XCL FB I am worried about low down range energy and wind drift.
with the 75 gr. V-max I'm leery of the bullet construction.
My other choice is a plane jane Ruger 77 in .270. Only accuracy is a 2.5 lb crisp trigger. It's accuracy is OK--3 shot groups around 1 to 1.2 inches at 100 yds with factory ammo. I have some 130 grain BT's, some 140 gr. Hornady SPBT's, and some 130gr SST's in inventory I could work up loads for. I've never handloaded for this gun because it has been plenty accurate with factory stuff for the typical deer ranges.
The setup will be a prone shot with a Harris Bi-Pod. I will be in the back of my Suburban with tailgate down (staying warm!).
My shot will be North to South, which means on most days no crosswind. I will only attempt shots on day with less than 10MPH winds. I use a laser range finder.
SOOOOOO, after all that, what advice would you guys have for me? Besides build a 6.5-284, which might be down the road...
Thanks all you long range gurus!
[ 12-21-2001: Message edited by: rogerinneb ]
Situation:
Getting prepared for a 400 (not long range for this board!) shot for late doe season here in NE. Will be my first shot of more than 175 yds for a deer.
Background:
I am an experienced handloader and prairie dog shooter. My batter includes a cooper 21VE in .223, a Ruger Varmint in 22-250 accurized by John Lewis at Carolina Precision, and a .257 Roberts AI built on a Sako long action with a 26" 1.25 diameter bbl., fluted, with 0 taper. the cooper is the most accurate, with a load of 27.5 gr. of H335 behind 40gr. BT's consistently under .4 inches at 100 yds. for 5 shots.
The ruger is a little less consistent, but a MOA gun. The .257 is a problem child, and the only load with good accuracy (better than MOA) is a 75gr VMAX even though the twist and throat were spec'd out for the 100gr. BT.
All guns have Leupold 6.5-20 Target scopes.
Dilemma:
with the 22-250, even with the Barnes 53gr. XCL FB I am worried about low down range energy and wind drift.
with the 75 gr. V-max I'm leery of the bullet construction.
My other choice is a plane jane Ruger 77 in .270. Only accuracy is a 2.5 lb crisp trigger. It's accuracy is OK--3 shot groups around 1 to 1.2 inches at 100 yds with factory ammo. I have some 130 grain BT's, some 140 gr. Hornady SPBT's, and some 130gr SST's in inventory I could work up loads for. I've never handloaded for this gun because it has been plenty accurate with factory stuff for the typical deer ranges.
The setup will be a prone shot with a Harris Bi-Pod. I will be in the back of my Suburban with tailgate down (staying warm!).
My shot will be North to South, which means on most days no crosswind. I will only attempt shots on day with less than 10MPH winds. I use a laser range finder.
SOOOOOO, after all that, what advice would you guys have for me? Besides build a 6.5-284, which might be down the road...
Thanks all you long range gurus!
[ 12-21-2001: Message edited by: rogerinneb ]