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shot conformation

Totally agree the first cold bore shot is the most important in a hunting rifle. However, I enjoy shooting and confirming consistency with say 30 or so shots from a rifle in a range session. I still believe the weakest attribute of a hunter and rifle is the hunter. More time shooting typically improves the weakest link. Now if I was lucky enough to have a range on my property, I could focus more on the cold bore shots.
Agreed. Weakest link in my world is me. I can honestly say that the hunting shots I've missed were due to me, not my rifle/load combo. In fact the large majority of my shooting has been from a bench or prone with a bipod, but recently, since I know my load/rifle combos are good, I've started shooting more from impromptu field positions…because that's what I'm faced with in the field! I learned this the hard way because I was obsessed with shooting 1 hole groups and then missed a deer completely that I should have nailed with an established 1 hole accuracy combo. So freestanding, shooting sticks, prone over pack, etc. is my current habit…until I fancy some new component.
 
Got a bunch of stuff loaded up to test now. 6ARC, .30-.30, 6.5CM and 6.5x284. Gonna be busy. Still need loads for .30-06 and the .308 at the gunsmith. Too many pokers in the fire right now and waiting for my .243AI barrel from McGowan.
 
When doing single shot testing does anyone do 2 shot per for conformation? I state this as maybe the 2nd shot could be further away? Are the single shot test you do for velocity nodes and pressure test or accuracy? All I've done is load, shoot and zero optic. Reading so much of what most have done on this forum is driving me to the nut house o_O o_O :eek::eek:🤫. I'm not overthinking unless it's math involved word problems that I know too much about. You know the ones about flying from 1 place to another? Factor in taking off from the west coast (Long Beach Airport) requiring you to fly out 2 miles over the Pacific before coming back over land. Then you have clearance authorizing for altitude change, time loss due to altitude change going from 10k to 40k. The it's vector change and decent for landing. See what I mean!

I've never tried any ladder or pressure test, but will need to as I've accumulated more than just the pre'64 to shoot.
The only time I have done single shot testing was after shooting multiple groups (hundreds of shots to get the load perfected and BC trued). I did one shot every day for two months to get an idea oa what my cold bore did over varying climate conditions. That was April and May of 2020. So far the only appreciable benefit of COVID pandemic. I had time to go to the range every day. 😂 and for me the only useful "one shot group". I used the same target for two weeks. Laid the 5 targets next to each other and was surprised at how consistent my h1000 load was.
 
I shoot here in texas, Rem 700 5r 300 win mag, in an AI AX chassis. 5 shot groups, but there is always a flyer, only 1 minute between shots after cold bore. I always thought it was pretty darn accurate, maybe a .8 moa if I took the flyer out. Went up to nightforce in idaho on a cabelas experience in 2018.. shot with 2014 PRS champ Bryan Morgan.. he has AI 300 win mag, shot this group cold bore and 2 follow up at a little over 100 yrds.. So now i am thinking the rifle build has a lot to do with how it performs shot after shot. The 2 follow ups were probably within 20 seconds total of the first shot. So i am thinking my rifle doesn't have a tight fits.. but i might be wrong.
 

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Next time I am NC can we make a $1000 bet that you can shoot 3 5 shot groups that average .07"? The only caveat is if you win, you name your gunsmith so I can use him. It would be worth $1000.
Gunsmith is L3 Rifles in August, Ga. Give him a call, you won't be disappointed. Ask him about me and my friends. But we hunt and shoot in SC. The bet should be "Can you outshoot me"!
 
I put together a low cost ar15 in 5.56nato (16" faxon pencil barrel) with an intermediate gas system. 300 rounds @ 100 yards under 3 minutes with a $50 2X optic. It never got more than 1.5moa with m855. Could it be better under that volume in that amount of time.................possibly if I did my part and didn't hurry shots? Also, it had poly receivers (ATI). Custom build by those you love too buy from should hold (if done correct) sub at strings/follow-ups. Factory builds, who knows? When I get time I'll check many different procedures discussed to see what works and doesn't for my rifles. Leaving for NM today as hopefully cooler weather than my area has 106* today.
300 rounds fired in less than 3 minutes!!?? Is that with the rifle in a vise and an automated trigger puller? Under 1.5 moa? That's some **** good shootin!
 
300 rounds fired in less than 3 minutes!!?? Is that with the rifle in a vise and an automated trigger puller? Under 1.5 moa? That's some **** good shootin!
It was at an indoor range. At that range you can't ly, kneel or use a vise (not enough room on the platform). Nice range at Austin south side on yhe east side of I35 (not far from either Bass Pro or Cabela's)(not sure which store it was).
 
The Mike Davidson testing in prior posted video is an easy enough test.
I like that he uses 200yds as well.
There are things that can help with results.

1. A cold clean bore shot can be a lot different from cold fouled -depending on your cleaning.
If you leave a petroleum product in the bore, it can take 5 or more shots to burn out, and form a stable fouling in it's place.
I address this with dry pre-fouling with every cleaning (which I do often).

2. Ammo temperature needs to managed as load developed.
Some folks think that cooling ammo is the answer but I submit that this can be wrong. Here in the Carolinas, pulling cool ammo out would lead to chambering wet ammo. The ammo really needs to acclimate to prevent this.
I solve this problem by keeping ammo in my front pants pocket, including during load development and for any season. I pull one shot at a time from my pocket, when I'm fully ready to kill something. No magazine use, all my guns are true or converted single shots.
In the field, I keep a towel over the gun until spotting my next mark.
 
Please note this is how I do it and involves my opinions only. Take it for what it's worth.

Let's say that I'm starting out with a new big game hunting rifle and no idea how it will handle my hand loads.
I will decide which Nosler Partition bullet will probably fit my needs the best because I don't hunt big game with anything else. Using a bullet of equal weight (but not the cost!) I will try several different powders that are the most likely to give me the highest velocity I can get. Once max velocity is established (using a chrono), I will load up 3 round batches of the good stuff (read = $$$) with the Partitions and the different powders and shoot these off the bench at 100 yards.

Ok, a little pause here. I am at a big advantage over most guys in that my 100y range is in my back yard. My chrono is usually set up right outside my basement sliding glass door, literally 20' from my loading bench. Of course it makes the entire process a whole lot easier for me. But then, I planned it that way.

So, 3 round groups. Anything that looks like it has potential will get further load development, maybe drop the charge by 0.2 gr and see if there is any improvement. If yes, drop a couple more tenths and check again. Vary the seating depth a bit (always seating deeper because I always start out at max magazine length).

If I can't find a load that shoots well with this set up, I might try some other powders but if I don't see any potential, I sell the rifle (which I have only had to do a couple of times, just because they didn't like the Partitions... it happens). If I can get a nice group out of the rifle, I will try a 5 shot group. If things go well, I will clean the rifle down to bare metal, fire 4 or five foulers (back to the cheap bullets for this task) then run a patch of synthetic oil thru the bore, just as I always do if not cleaning the bore, such as when hunting. While I've never taped my barrels, it's a very good idea and today I would do this.

Now I wait for whatever conditions I expect I'll be hunting in. Living in the State of Misery (MO - it really isn't quite that bad but almost!), you'll get just about everything eventually. I'll put the rifle (in it's case) in the garage overnight, along with the ammo, and when conditions are as bad as I think they'll get, I go out and shoot a cold bore shot. Target is brought in and marked and the barrel gets one pass with some oil on a patch (not soaked and dripping, just damp). Then it's a matter of waiting at least a couple of hours and if conditions remain the same, shoot another round. I do this a third time so I can hopefully eliminate any loose trigger finger screwups. If the group is still centered where I want, oh happy day we're almost done! If not, adjustments must be made and cross checked (conditions seldom last long enough to do this in one day here, as the weather changes quickly and often dramatically... and somehow, it always seems to get worse!). Once all that is done, then I'll try (again in the same conditions if possible) a two or 3 shot group, just to make sure everything stays in an actual group, instead of playing "shotgun!" I will also test in other conditions, of course, although with my luck, shooting in the worst conditions usually matches what actually happens! I also use a ballistics computer to set up a point blank range chart - *based on the velocity and accuracy of that particular round!*

If you set up your AR or any other rifle to shoot at some phantom point blank range (36 yards is the most often quoted for the AR), you're doing it wrong! Without knowing the actual velocity of the ammo you're using that 36 yard target is mostly a guesstimation! There are numerous point blank range calculators online but like anything else, garbage in, garbage out!

So even with my range being close at hand this process can take time, which being retired I have lots of! I know the average hunter probably won't take this much time to get his/her rifle dialed in but in the long run, it can make for some serious confidence when you're up to your knees in snow, laying down in it and shooting that big bull or buck and knowing that your bullet is going exactly where you want it to go and that it will it's job perfectly when it gets there. And I like that!

I always do my best to get as close as I can to a big game animal and admittedly, the majority of my shots are pretty close. While I never plan on taking the longest range shot I can find, I like to have the ability to do so if necessary, so I practice that, too. So far the longest shot I've ever taken on a game animal is 700 yards, totally unplanned and unprepared for (someone elses wounded antelope... it's a really long story I won't bore you with! Aren't you glad?!). Please note, jack rabbits are not big game animals! Oh the stories....!!!
Cheers,
crkckr
I have had to do follow up shots, mostly because of somebody else. Not all the iime it somebody else. Sometime I missed the mark. If there anything I can do to finish the animal off I will do. Track all day or until I have losted it tracks and can't pick them up again. Go back a 2nd day and try it again in trying to figure it out where they are. Go back to the area that somebody else shot up several animals. Pickup another track and work on it. I have but other friends that they pickup another track and get an animal was able to retreive it. I don't have much use for people that don't put in the time to try and track the animal out.
 
This is an interesting discussion. It is a bit worrisome to be honest. I guess I need to change my process when I head to the range. Paying more attention to those first fouling shots for my hunting rifles is in order. I generally hunt with a fouled barrel, but never with a warm barrel unless I am varmint hunting. It makes a great deal of sense when I think about it. I probably need to invest in a barrel cooler, but it's hard to replicate the actual temperatures I will be hunting in.

Perhaps I am a weirdo. I purchased one of the little red barrel coolers and don't fire the next shot until the chamber is 85* or cooler. I discovered early mornings I fire a shot and check the camber temperature and it is little more than ambient. Warm mornings like yesterday the temperature started at 67* and went up to 73*. I fired fifteen shots in a primer test. The test took over an hour and a half.

The barrel is a carbon fiber. I don't know if that makes a difference or not.

If anyone is interested in the results, I will post them.
 
Perhaps I am a weirdo. I purchased one of the little red barrel coolers and don't fire the next shot until the chamber is 85* or cooler. I discovered early mornings I fire a shot and check the camber temperature and it is little more than ambient. Warm mornings like yesterday the temperature started at 67* and went up to 73*. I fired fifteen shots in a primer test. The test took over an hour and a half.

The barrel is a carbon fiber. I don't know if that makes a difference or not.

If anyone is interested in the results, I will post them.
During the heat of the summer months, I would carry bar mops in an ice chest and wrap one around the barrel while shooting. Change them out as needed. Works well.
 
Perhaps I am a weirdo. I purchased one of the little red barrel coolers and don't fire the next shot until the chamber is 85* or cooler. I discovered early mornings I fire a shot and check the camber temperature and it is little more than ambient. Warm mornings like yesterday the temperature started at 67* and went up to 73*. I fired fifteen shots in a primer test. The test took over an hour and a half.

The barrel is a carbon fiber. I don't know if that makes a difference or not.

If anyone is interested in the results, I will post them.
Have you timed the minutes it takes to cool the barrel down?
 
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