Someone once said "Beware the man that has only one gun as he likely shoots it very well "
“Your groups are too small” vs barrel life
- Thread starter nksmfamjp
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That is the way I always practiced during deer season with my recurve or longbow. One arrow per day. Good or bad. Put everything into making that one good shot. Because that's likely all you will get on a hunt. It works
Fortunately I get to shoot a lot of different customers rifles when working on or zeroing them. Many are exactly as you describe. The most accurate hunting rifle I have ever shot is a bone stock factory Browning ABolt 270. If you shoot it once a day it literally will shoot in the same hole if you overlay targets from consecutive days. Shoot it twice and the second shot will be touching the first or better. After that she starts walking and you gotta let her cool. But that first one is the one that counts.
Jon Bischof
Well-Known Member
Your experience that rifle is conclusive data and illustrates the point I have been making in this thread. The fact that poi walks after the barrel warms doesn't make this rifle "garbage". It makes it "light"; which is great for a hunting rifle that will put the first shot into the same hole as yesterday time after time after time. For folks who have to carry their rifle any distance to hunt, this has been the holy grail.
Of course if I were shooting close to my vehicle across a wide valley I might opt for a 16 lb set up. As hunters we simply don't need to know where that 50th hot barrel shot lands because it is irrelevant to what we are doing.
Now for match shooters it is essential data.
Exactly. I have heavy and light rifles but I don't walk far to hunt for the most part. I can't walk far after my accident anyway. If by some crazy coincidence I do have to walk a long way I opt for the lighter set ups and my walking stick or cane.
I have seen several older Remington 700 BDL 30-06s that were almost as good as the browning I described with regular old Remington 150 grain corelokts for up to 3 shots before they start walking a little. Bone stock other than some trigger work. My routine for customers guns is to zero one day. Then come back on consecutive days and make sure it's zeroed to its cold bore shot with repeatability. It must work because more and more folks bring their rigs in for me to mount scopes and/or just zero.
QuietTexan
Well-Known Member
Yup, 100%.
When you start with a reamer designed to fit a case exactly, throated for a particular bullet, with dozens/hundreds of other guys running the same chamber, same brass, same powder, same bullet, there's emerges a pretty consistent picture. The JGS 1045 6PPC reamer is almost stupidly easy to get to shoot small. Group agging becomes mostly on the shooter at that point, because every one is starting from a similar baseline and running similar weight rifles.
RegionRat
Well-Known Member
Good comments @Turpentine21
It is very important to set the context on these threads. A light hunting rig with significant recoil is not the same subject as a 18 lbs PRS rig or an F-open match rig. Not from the load development view point, or from the shooting technique view point.
Strong field shooting fundamentals are required to get good performance from higher powered cartridges when they are used in light sporting guns.
I belong to several clubs and on many occasions when a High Master has tried to learn hunting in their middle or late age, they were shocked at how poorly they shot these hunting rigs from body supported positions.
It had nothing to do with the accuracy of the guns, it was all about shooting technique required when there is big recoil.
It takes patients to test light barrel sections that heat up fast, and that load development is far more difficult than the match gun context. It also takes lots of practice to learn to control that recoil and make humane shots under pressure. YMMV
It is very important to set the context on these threads. A light hunting rig with significant recoil is not the same subject as a 18 lbs PRS rig or an F-open match rig. Not from the load development view point, or from the shooting technique view point.
Strong field shooting fundamentals are required to get good performance from higher powered cartridges when they are used in light sporting guns.
I belong to several clubs and on many occasions when a High Master has tried to learn hunting in their middle or late age, they were shocked at how poorly they shot these hunting rigs from body supported positions.
It had nothing to do with the accuracy of the guns, it was all about shooting technique required when there is big recoil.
It takes patients to test light barrel sections that heat up fast, and that load development is far more difficult than the match gun context. It also takes lots of practice to learn to control that recoil and make humane shots under pressure. YMMV
Huntnful
Well-Known Member
Perfect example. Just watched a video "Speedy" did with his 6 PPC testing a new lot of virgin brass from a new manufacturer with an old load. First 5 shots was a .190" group.
I do think you can tune harmonics at long ranges to help tighten up vertical spreads. But I still haven't seen a significant change in my testing. But I see it in other's testing, that are much better shooters than I, with more stable platforms.
Right back at you and you are spot on. Some of the light rigs definitely take some serious technique to shoot accurately. It's much easier to hold and shoot, for me at least, with a heavier rifle. But essentially the two are designed for different tasks and have different niches.
AussieWriter
Well-Known Member
Many have forgotten that shooting can be a recreation and make too much of it. A rifle you shoot a lot because you enjoy the rifle, means that "maybe" one day, you may need a new barrel.
In the mean time, you get to shoot, enjoy shooting and hunting with that rifle, and learn the capabilities of the cartridge ad bullet.
My first .257 Weatherby barrel lasted 12 years. I shot 540 test loads at the bench, and 400 in the field hunting and culling so learned a lot about the cartridge. The remaining 70 rounds were shot off after I determined the accuracy was no longer meeting my hunting requirements. That's fine for 12 years of pleasure I got from thaf barrel.
When yoy find sonething that pleases you, enjoy it, familiarize yourself with it and use it often without worrying about the endth degree of accuracy or barrel life.
Too many shooters find a wonderful group, take and pic and put the rifle away to conserve the barrel never bothering to qualify that wonderful group, which was way beyond the needs of hunting accuracy, especially for usual hunting ranges.
In the mean time, you get to shoot, enjoy shooting and hunting with that rifle, and learn the capabilities of the cartridge ad bullet.
My first .257 Weatherby barrel lasted 12 years. I shot 540 test loads at the bench, and 400 in the field hunting and culling so learned a lot about the cartridge. The remaining 70 rounds were shot off after I determined the accuracy was no longer meeting my hunting requirements. That's fine for 12 years of pleasure I got from thaf barrel.
When yoy find sonething that pleases you, enjoy it, familiarize yourself with it and use it often without worrying about the endth degree of accuracy or barrel life.
Too many shooters find a wonderful group, take and pic and put the rifle away to conserve the barrel never bothering to qualify that wonderful group, which was way beyond the needs of hunting accuracy, especially for usual hunting ranges.
I like to keep my rifles "exercised". But I certainly don't put the wear and tear on a barrel that a match shooter does. No long strings. No hot barrels. When I built my 6.5-06 I did so with the Remage system, an heavy varmint contour, and a chassis. I flat out enjoy shooting it and it's taught me a lot. When she quits doing what I want I'll just screw another barrel on and proceed. But that's a good way off yet.
