What caliber? My .243 is an excellent shooter, and my friend's 7-08 is a solid MOA rifle. However, I bought a used 7-08 that I couldn't get to shoot well. So, I sold it and bought a Ruger American instead. While not spectacular, it's been at least acceptable.
It's a fair question, Paul. I'm stating the obvious by saying that my expectations are based on ideal conditions, ie. from a bench, no wind, etc. Shooting under field conditions is almost always less than ideal, so caveats apply. On the flip side, the relative size of the target comes into play...
I know we have a good collection of excellent hunters and shooters here, so I want to throw out a completely subjective question for discussion. I'm curious to see what everyone has to say.
In your mind, and with your shooting skills, what qualifies as an "accurate rifle" vs. an "average rifle"...
That's what the next round is for. Those are currently seated at .020 off the lands. I loaded another test at that depth, another batch at .045 off the lands, and a third batch at .070. Hope to shoot them soon.
Here's a good example of the benefits of reloading, and how quickly the group can tighten up when you find the sweet spot that your rifle likes. In this case, a Browning X-Bolt Medallion in 6.5CM.
These 3 groups were part of a load development ladder that I shot yesterday. Bullet is 140gr...
My experience with the X-Bolt is pretty limited, so take that with a grain of salt. It's the Medallion edition (walnut stock, etc.), which I call my "old man gun." I haven't hunted with it, just poked holes in paper. That said, it seems to be of good quality and workmanship. I'm playing around...
Dan,
I'm not a .308 guy, so I have no input on the caliber issues. However, I would highly encourage you to add the Tikka T3x to your list. I bought my son his first deer rifle, but allowed him to research and pick the caliber and rifle (within reason). It's a well-built, fine shooting rifle...
I lucked out yesterday on a trip to my LGS. They had gotten some powder in, and I managed to get a pound of Varget and 2 lbs of H4350. Wasn't out of either, yet, but a little extra won't hurt.
So, I have decided to start with 45.0gr and work up to 47.0gr in .5gr increments. That's starting a little below the min Hodgdon load (45.5gr), but this brass I'm using (Perfecta) seems to be thicker/heavier than my Winchester brass. I'm guessing that internal capacity is less, and I'll probably...