30-06 BAR 18.5" barrel Oryx 180

[badaxeriverman]

Yep. Just make sure the forend dosent move or flex when resting or holding it. My pump loolked floated till i rested the forend on a bag or lead sled.

Take it out amd ladder test it now. Fimgers crossed it tightens up your groups.

 

[Chesty Puller]

Yeah Im liking it! floats a dollar all the way now without being tweeked. Except at the block of course. Thanks see if it shoots better when the wife gets home. Thanks BX

 

[badaxeriverman]

sweet!!!!

Sounds like they are 1.5" to 3 moa 100 yard guns on average. Hopefully yours will beat the odds.

If I cant find a load that shoots sub moa with all holes touches my gun goes down the road....but that normally doesnt happen.

 

[Chesty Puller]

I am hoping for better, loaded my two hunting rifles and helped brother with his this year all bolt actions and they went really well. Fell in love with it. I saw a gentleman on youtube shooting his 25-06 and 300wm bars and getting good results so I figured I'd give it try.

 

[Chesty Puller]

Well not where I want to close the book at but moving in the right direction. Shot factories and my point of aim was off, but grouping about 2+". So moved on to testing. 55.5 gr was best group but worst sd/es. Got great sd/es on next 2 groups with about slightly under 2moa groups and I believe some was me as it was getting darker and have a 1×4×24 scope on it. I know this is not great but I have alot to go off now and feel much better. I think I can get this to moa possibly next go rd.
Positives: good deviation, groups getting better, and speed is getting close to 2600fps with no pressure issues I see on brass.
Negatives: mostly just group size although I think that will get better when I start messing with seat a bit more.
Gonna try and hit it tomorrow and hope to improve, not sure where Im going from here but may try a couple different seats at 56gr and keep ladder testing at -.055 seat.
some range pics taken, all groups at 100yards. Imput welcome! Chesty

 

[badaxeriverman]

First of all, I would put a 2 x 10 optic on it or at least a 2 1/2 x 10 . Four power is not a target scope and neither is that gun by any means. Sounds like those guns are at best of one and a half inch shooter and that’s pushing the envelope. The 2 MOA is more realistic grouping with than gun unfortunately. Start doing some research on that gun and how accurate it doesn’t shoot and you’ll find out real quick it’s not a target gun. My guess is you can get it to shoot close to MOA It’ll do it “one time”…by accident…but won’t never do it consistently. There’s no gun on the planet that I’d be happy with if I can’t shoot get it to shoot half inch groups. To each his own though. I don’t like ARS, but I have a few. But if you’re a semi auto man that might be a route to go. They feel awkward to me and bulky and I have problems lining the scopes up, but I can tell you your help will print groups in the same hole out to 200 yards. They all have 2 1/2 pounds CMC single stage triggers. They all have 4 1/2 x 14 optics on them as well. Two of them are chambered in 243…and are cheapy Bear creek arsenals. Never hunt with them because I don’t like ARS. They’re too heavy. They’re too bulky and I don’t like semi automatics for hunting. A 30-06 is one of my favorite calibers. But I wouldn’t own one in a semi auto.

All you can do is grab about five powders, pick a more accurate bullet than the one your using, and work up about a 100 ladder tests and that should tell you if the gun is capable of shooting under an inch. Also make sure you put on a more powerful scope for testing even if you plan on taking it off afterwards. I put big target scapes on my guns when I test them. Then I’ll put on a less powerful optic for hunting if needed. I would also do some research on how to lighten that trigger a little bit. I’ve taken the trigger groups out of my 7600s and polished them. I’ve also even replaced the springs that I have since put the springs back in just because they’re light enough for my liking with just polishing.

I would tell you to buy a 100, 180 grain Nosler ballistic tips ( 2 boxes) , pick 5 Powders, and start ladder testing them. Whether you shoot those for hunting or not I will guarantee you they will shoot tighter groups than just about any bullet you’ll test out of your gun. If I can’t get a particular gun to shoot accurately I normally will grab some Nosler ballistic tips to check accuracy issues. For some reason, they are super easy to get to shoot accurately in every gun I own. Vmax are the opposite and are super finicky. My 7600 pump 30-06 everybody will tell you it’s not an accurate gun will print core locks in the hole at 100 yards. I had it shooting .5 to .6” groups with ballistic tips without hardly doing any testing. My bone stock Winchester 1917 lee Enfield was shot Under an inch off the bench with 2 random powder charges I picked to load using 165 and 180 grain Nosler ballistic tips with the first try!…and that’s with using the battle peep sights!!!

So that’s my tips you.

If you don’t want to go 180 try the 168 or 165 grainers…. but I’m 180 grain guy. I hunt the big deer woods and probably one out of 100 shots will be 100 yards or more. The rest are always under 50. That kind of accuracy of course not but I wouldn’t accept a gun that shoots as wide as MOA…or larger. It’s too short and there’s too many other options out there that you could actually buy a lot cheaper and would shoot way better.

Believe it or not I even think Walmart had 308 caliber Nosler ballistic tip sitting on the shelf the other day in bulk they started carrying reloading equipment, but I don’t think there were 180s. I think they were lighter which kind of turned me off. I would tell you Guare your way to get the 180 versions. I have shot some pretty big white tails with them and they drop on the spot but they do make a mess inside. I’ve also seen them shot into black bears out of 300 RUMs pushed HARD ….and drop them in theirs tracks and still exit.


Realistically, that’s probably the best that gun is gonna shoot into me. That’s not acceptable and it sounds like it’s not to you either. So more powerful scope, get some ballistic tips, and ladder test with at least five powders. That will tell you what that gun is capable of or not because after that, you put it through the ringers and did everything you possibly could so you’ll find out really quick if it’s the gun or you… and I’m sure it’s not you. I also would borrow a lead sled if you don’t have one. Or a a rest that’s similar. That way, the gun is rock solid still so you can make sure all human error is out of the equation while your ladder testing. Sitting in the rest, make sure that the stock is not touching the barrel as well. That’s how I found out my pumper was hitting the barrel in my groups were all over the place besides barrel coming loose of course. The sandbags, I would set aside and sit at a table or a bench a lead sled type rest. If I’m lighter testing, they all go in a lead sled type rest. Then once I buy a group that shoots if I can’t shoot tight enough, then I know it’s me and not my gun. Maybe ask Santa for one! If you’re reloading, you need one anyways to test all your guns in while doing ladder tests. My 300 rum that the barrel heats up in will shoot better groups at 500 yards in my sled. My TC OMEGA muzzle loader will print 2.5” groups at 2.5” out my sled ALL day long in my sled using 150 grains of 777 pellets and a 300 grain original shock wave. That gun didn’t cost anywhere near as much as what your gun did brand new. I think it was $299 back in the day. So long story short is if you can’t get it to shoot it sell it to somebody else that will think it’s acceptable and then go buy a shooter for a lot less money.

I do like the browning gold 10 gauges. I’ve had quite a few and still have one. The turkey edition I bought knew the first year of production. I like their buck mark pistols as well. I still have a target model. To be honest with you I wouldn’t buy anything else they offer. To me they really don’t make an accurate hunting rifle unless you do tons of modification to them. But to each their own. I used to know guys that would run out and buy those bars and none of them could hit better than 2 to 3 inch groups at 100 yards. They just were not made for being accurate. But if you’re in the thick woods trying to pull the trigger as fast as you can at 50 yards who cares.

 

[badaxeriverman]

Kind of reminds me of when I bought my second Bear Creek arsenal upper for around $289 chambered in 243 Win.

The first one I bought was a 22 inch stainless heavy barrel, which weighs as much as a pick up truck…lol. I had it shooting .3 inch groups at 100 yards with Nosler 55 grain ballistic tips. I forgot what the twist was maybe one and eight? All I know is it said in every magazine I read, every YouTuber, and in forum I also read you cannot get light bullets to shoot tight groups in that fast of a twist. I had several of my ladder test, shoot way under an inch in that gun off the bench 100 yards using those light bullets. Two or three different loads of my ladder test shoot that tight.


So I decided to buy another one in a lighter 20 inch version in the same caliber from them. They did short runs of them and then they didn’t offer them again for a few years. Story short is I shot over WAY over a 100 different ladder tests in it with both the same 55 grain NBT and also 60 grain HP Seirras. Average group was 1.75 MOA. I had two groups that I finally got down to .7” and .8”. That’s with almost 200 ladder testing groups. I only had two groups that were under an inch. I had 10 or so groups that were floating around the MOA mark… but I would call them MOA.

After testing the first one with less than half the effort and having tons of groups shooting half inch and smaller of course I didn’t feel this was acceptable.

At that time they still offered an MOA guarantee ….which I feel responsible for making them go away from personally. lol.

They sent me a return label and said they would test the upper and send me a replacement. They got it back. They said the throat was cut rough….real ruff. They said their tooling was worn out and they didn’t wanna buy it another one chambered for 243 so they weren’t gonna make them anymore. Had to be seven or eight plus years ago. Seven of the uppers left in stock. They went out and tested all of them and none of them pass their MOA guarantee. They offered to send me a different caliber or refund my money and I said I would wait until they get the tooling in which they were on the fence of doing. This went on for almost a year. Every time I called to ask if the new tooling arrived yet for .243 Win I told that was an order. The last call I placed they said the .243 tooling was now canceled. It was another new employee again i talked with. She went through and searched the warehouse for about 2 weeks straight and would find an upper mis marked or coded differently laying around to test. Each time she told me it wouldn’t pass the guarantee! I think she found another 7 or more of them in the warehouse over the course of that year that were boxed incorrectly. They ended up getting another new female employee that went out and found three more that had a different code on the box. This literally was like eight or nine months later. Both were tested and they said neither of none of passed the MOA and those were the last three they had an existence. I told them to send me the one that shot the better of the two. That was when the AR prices went through the roof and I told them that if I can’t get it to shoot it, I would at least use it for parts cause I can’t buy the parts for that kind of money. AIt was shortly after the AR prices rocketed and were $2500 for an $399 Oricle.

I did ask them what they were doing with all the ones that did not pass the guarantee. They told me that they destroyed them. I bet you they probably threw out according to them over a dozen and a half uppers that probably shot just fine because they had some idiot that didn’t know what they were doing when testing them.


Long story short when it came back, I tested the 13 tightest grouping loads that shot the best in the upper I sent back in the new replacement upper. Every one of those groups that were .7 to just about MOA in the junk upper all shot under half MOA in the new replacement upper that they said would not shoot MOA…accept for one group shot 1.1 inches. So I think 11 out of 13 ladder tests shot half inch or under.

Called back and talked to them personally. I also sent them by targets and ask them what bullet and powder charge they were using to test their groups.

They said their tester was a shooter from the military. I forgot their fancy term they used. He was testing these uppers with some junk bulk full metal jackets in 243 and some random powder charge he dreamed up. I would assume they probably fired him after that ordeal. lol.


So long story short, you could’ve just picked the wrong bullet in powder charge to test. I have tried certain projectiles. I wanted to make sure and they shoot just as poorly as your do. You need to let the gun pick the bullet and not the shooter.

 

[Chesty Puller]

Honestly the first day was a total wash (aside from speed and pressure data) only shot like 9 oryx loads and I'm pretty sure I was way over torqued. So really yesterday the 9 oryx rds I shot is basically the start and I have about 180 more where they came from lol. Im not trying to make it do what my 7rm and 300wsm bolts can do with reloads but from what I saw yesterday 1.25 to 1.5 moa 5 shot is doable and repeatable with h4350 and the 180 Oryx, yes it may take alot of materials but I am fine with that within reason (want about 60 for hunting). I would like a 2-10 power burris verocity if you have an in with Santa lol. I might put my leupold 3-9×40 on it for short term however, as it is just sitting in a box and would be helpful. Not gonna do it today as I am confident I can see good enough in day light hrs. It gets tougher at sunset to be accurate for sure but for the most part I know when I pulled a shot at 100. Yesterday I think the 56gr was gonna be my best group but came off center hold just a touch as I squeezed.
I have 9 pieces prepped plan on going up to 56.5gr today at same seat -.055. Then go back to 56gr and mess with seat on 2 groups see which direction from -.055 it likes better.
I actaully could hunt with one of those groups yesterday as they are probably already as good and faster than my factory rds I was using. But I enjoy the process and learning my rifles.

 

[Chesty Puller]

Im very close here and will probably load this. Its a hunting round and the sd was great so 1.350 will do. Perhaps with better optic we get tighter as well. If anything I might move seat +5k -5k to see if it gets any tighter. but seemed to really like getting closer to jam.

 

[RL338]

Given that you’re running a 4x scope I think your results are respectable. The numbers look good.

 

[Chesty Puller]

Not sure if the operation improves as more pressure gets built but both loads at my max charge the necks looked like they had been shot from bolt kind of a cool little bonus.

Final load will be close to this
H4350 56.7g
.002-.003 bump
3.295 OAL
Seated -.020/Jam

Thanks for your help guys, and I will see you around.

 

[Chesty Puller]

CCI LRM #250

 

[wvbuckbuster]

Your continued dedication to the process has resulted in improvement for sure. That load shown by the group size would result in deer kills for you all day long.