Anyone else have a hard time setting a rifle to the side and saying you're "done" with load development for it? Early on I was happy getting a box of 100 bullets and getting them to shoot MOA or better. I think I had lower expectations at that time and now seem to be on the extreme other end with very high expectations. More and more I find myself unable to stop tinkering with things in the never ending search of that undefined "perfect" combo. I can't be the only one with this affliction.haha
I'm sure you can all relate and also have countless test loads worked up that are at or below MOA. However, I am not happy with my results unless I'm half-MOA or better. ...and then when I do manage to get a rifle to shoot half-MOA, it's either not repeatable or this devil on my shoulder tells me to tweak the seating depth further, try a crimp, don't crimp, crimp more/less, try a different primer or brand of brass, tighten/loosen the action screws, maybe it'll like a different weight/profile bullet better, and on and on the cycle seems to go.
I'm not a PRS shooter and the main goal of my load development is for hunting purposes. I obviously don't need to be going this far down the rabbit hole.lol For those of you perfectionists out there, at what point do you call it good enough or feel happy with your results?
Silverbullet, I shoot a lot of Remington Hunting rifles, bedded, freefloated, good trigger and glass. 7RM is one heck of an accurate round in a Remington with a factory sporter barrel. I shoot a lot of Nosler bullets, 140-160g ballistic tips and accubonds. Typically, I will seat the bullet .005 off the lands, work with the powder charge, and then tweek the OAL using ogive gauge to measure with. Remingtons will shoot 3/8" and smaller without much fuss. The 140g Accubond and ballistic tips are ungodly accurate with bug holes abounding.
Now, most guys never need this kind of accuracy for hunting. When you are shooting beyond 400 yards, this is where the accuracy is needed. Also, hunting rifles like the 7RM, have high velocity long bearing surface bullets, so cleaning down to bare metal every 20-30 shots is an absolute must.
I use Remington brass, and practically no brass prep other than neck sizing new brass with a very heavy chamfer on the case mouth to help start the bullet. I have RCBS full length sizer, and Forster Benchrest bullet seater. I have less than .002 run out on my loaded rounds, but I did find that using a little bit of Lee sizing wax in the inside of the case neck did reduce run out substantially as the expander ball did not yank the case out of alignment. I also have a set of Redding competition dies for the 7RM, and did not shoot any better groups with them.
Stock designs can be a huge part of accuracy. The synthetic stocks flex in the pistol grip and just in front of the recoil lug. So, I put on Boyd's laminate, and I love Jewel, trigger tec triggers.
To shoot bucks at longer range, you also need to see if they have broken off any brow tines, so I shoot a minimum of 4x16 scopes, and prefer higher power. Kansas puts out some tremendous bucks and they fight all the time.
For those of you that struggle, the Rem 700 in 7 Mag with a Boyd's laminate, bedded, floated, muzzle break, good trigger and glass will shoot 3/8" with very little load development with 140g Noslers or tipped triple shocks(seat .050 off the lands) using R#19, IMR 4350, or R#22. There is a node with the 150-154g bullets at 3250 with R#25 and win mag primers. Also, 160-168g bullets at 3100 with Retumbo and fed 215's.
Basics on hunting rifles is the same with bench rifles.
Start with the bullet close to the lands, develop your best powder charge. 140g ttsx .050 off the lands
Next, tweek the seating depth, use Comparitor or Ogive gauge!!!!!
Change out a primer at the end, and this can make one heck of a difference!
Clean your barrel down to bare metal every 20-30 shots
Shooting three shot groups puts a whole lot less copper fouling in the barrel as those 4th and 5th shots are shot in super hot bore, this also helps increase barrel life not shooting a barrel so hot.
Don't work up a load in a scalding hot barrel, cool the barrel with rubbing alcohol and water 50/50, rubbing a wash cloth on the barrel with liquid dripping off the bottom of the barrel.
Typically accuracy of a tuned Rem 700 in 7 mag the way I have described with a 6x24 scope will be in the 2.5-3.5" area at 600 yards with 140g. This translates to 1.5-2" at 300. My whole family shoots 7 Mags, some savages, some browings, all shoot similar loads with fantastic accuracy. Head/neck shooting does at 300 is a hobby in the family, and our limits here are liberal.
Some factory barrels shoot a lot better than others. Fouling tendencies from barrel to barrel are as different as people are different. My cousin's Savages need de coppering every 7-9 rounds to keep shooting tiny groups.
For the average guy and short range, his biggest limiting factor is how much he gets to practice with his rifle. 1" groups will suffice for deer and elk hunting under 400 yards, with out a doubt. The vast majority of guys have accuracy issues because their bores are fouled badly, very badly. This issue in conjunction with using Factory ammo, in a non bedded rifle with the barrel not freefloated bumps the accuracy in most rifles up to 1.5" at 100, which is more than adequate for 300 yard shooting without much fuss.