A question before I shoot my loads again

[RAY]

On Seirras Facebook post and other places, I've read about going to the range shooting great groups and the next visit not so great.

Have any of you experienced this before and what did you do to fix it ?

Thanks , Ray.

 

[longrangehunter]

Sure have had that issue, hard to nail down, usually the gun itself #1. I would usually try another load. I found having a super accurate gun built, solves most of this issue, and saved me from countless trips to the range searching for an accurate load. Once I realized this, everything fell into place much faster, and I could get down to shooting the gun in the field for precision. Honestly I'd rather have one super accurate gun because of the high cost, then 2-3 or more that weren't, food for thought IMO.

 

[Guy Miner]

Good thoughts Cole.

When I take a rifle to the range, that I know is accurate. And my ammo has been accurate. And the scope hasn't gone screwy or anything...

If the groups aren't good - it's me. Weakest link in the chain is often the shooter. We all have good days and bad...

I think the years with my "Green Machine" .308 rifle has taught me that. It can be relied on to shoot great... When it doesn't... It's me. :grin:

Guy

 

[Cleveland48]

I'm have noticed the wink leak is me sometimes lol I usually rule that before I do the rifle. Some days your just on point and some days you ain't.

 

[RAY]

Thanks guys , I know you guys have been doing this for years and your answers sound a lot more logical than other mumbo jumbo I've read.

It makes since , to have an accurate rifle to begin with and keeping things consistent seem like a reliable formula.

Thanks again !

Ray.

 

[Alderman]

I find if I am shooting more often it is easier to determine if I am shooting well. (By my standards). If I am away from the bench for a while it is a guessing game.

 

[Horsethief]

Some days the accuracy or luck isn't there, for what ever reason or compounded reasons. Mirage, cross winds, swirling winds, distractions from other shooters such as a loud-mouth range snob filling the air with his "guidance" or "experience" can erode otherwise good times.

 

[RAY]

I find if I am shooting more often it is easier to determine if I am shooting well. (By my standards). If I am away from the bench for a while it is a guessing game.

Good point.

 

[RAY]

Some days the accuracy or luck isn't there, for what ever reason or compounded reasons. Mirage, cross winds, swirling winds, distractions from other shooters such as a loud-mouth range snob filling the air with his "guidance" or "experience" can erode otherwise good times.

Good point as well.

What does the mirage do ?

 

[Horsethief]

Heat rising from the ground alters your view of the target. Many times the target appears to have a wave-like movement. The more heat rising from the ground, the greater or heavier the wave motion. Add to this a cross wind and the waves will appear to move at an angle. The greater the wind, the more angled or horizontal the waves.

A rising mirage will make the target appear higher than it is. A cross wind and mirage will make the target appear to be to the right or to the left of its true location.

If you hunt in cold weather, you're likely never to encounter mirage. It is possible if the sun breaks through and the air begins to heat up quickly. Last but not least, the greater your distance from the target the more the mirage will throw you off the true target.

 

[RAY]

Heat rising from the ground alters your view of the target. Many times the target appears to have a wave-like movement. The more heat rising from the ground, the greater or heavier the wave motion. Add to this a cross wind and the waves will appear to move at an angle. The greater the wind, the more angled or horizontal the waves.

A rising mirage will make the target appear higher than it is. A cross wind and mirage will make the target appear to be to the right or to the left of its true location.

If you hunt in cold weather, you're likely never to encounter mirage. It is possible if the sun breaks through and the air begins to heat up quickly. Last but not least, the greater your distance from the target the more the mirage will throw you off the true target.

Good to know, thanks !

It was cloudy the day I shot my handloads until the last target , then the sun was shining for the last hour of the session and then I could see the heat rising up from the ground through the scope , but I didn't notice anything unusual taking place.

Maybe it wasn't hot enough for the heat to rise to any great length to affect the targets.
It was only 70* for the last part of the day.

Thanks for the info.

 

[RaySendero]

S__tuff, happens.
Things can go south for you at unexpected times from unexpected reasons.
Part of the "FUN" of shooting is the trouble-shooting learning process.

I do have a rifle that is very finicky.
One load - I can't get to shoot under 2.5".
While another load will do 1/2".
Figuring one out took patience and range time.

Yet, have another rifle I use for both targets and hunting:
This rifle was accurate even unusual in that it would shoot a variety of different weight bullets into what would look like the same group at 100 yards under 3/4". I had over 400 cases but with 5 different mfgs. I would batch load these cases by head stamp in quantities of 60 to 90.

After a couple of years accuracy really when south - I tried everything I could think of to figure out. Finally, changed the scope and that seemed to fix it. But after another 2 yrs the problem returned. That's when I found that the Federal cases in my reloading rotation were causing accuracy the problem as I had, coincidently, use up all those reloads the 1st time trying to figure out the problem at the same time I changed that scope.

 

[RAY]

S__tuff, happens.
Things can go south for you at unexpected times from unexpected reasons.
Part of the "FUN" of shooting is the trouble-shooting learning process.

I do have a rifle that is very finicky.
One load - I can't get to shoot under 2.5".
While another load will do 1/2".
Figuring one out took patience and range time.

Yet, have another rifle I use for both targets and hunting:
This rifle was accurate even unusual in that it would shoot a variety of different weight bullets into what would look like the same group at 100 yards under 3/4". I had over 400 cases but with 5 different mfgs. I would batch load these cases by head stamp in quantities of 60 to 90.

After a couple of years accuracy really when south - I tried everything I could think of to figure out. Finally, changed the scope and that seemed to fix it. But after another 2 yrs the problem returned. That's when I found that the Federal cases in my reloading rotation were causing accuracy the problem as I had, coincidently, use up all those reloads the 1st time trying to figure out the problem at the same time I changed that scope.

What was wrong with the federal cases ?

 

[Kodiak]

I anneal case-necks about every 2-3 years, to keep case as they were when new. Rifles have a tendency to stay "zeroed" and groups remain the same as in the past.

YMMV,

 

[RaySendero]

What was wrong with the federal cases ?

I don't think there's anything wrong with Federal cases. I use still use Federal cases for several rifles.
But THAT rifle didn't like THAT batch, for whatever reason I don't know.

1st time it happened they were 1X fired in that rifle, neck sized only and trimmed just like the others - Same reload recipe as others (i.e. powder, powder charge, primer, & COL). It wasn't case capacity - I check that before I chunked'em. Been thru the other 4 brands 2 more times and I can't tell any difference it them.

 

[Guy Miner]

Thanks guys , I know you guys have been doing this for years and your answers sound a lot more logical than other mumbo jumbo I've read.

It makes since , to have an accurate rifle to begin with and keeping things consistent seem like a reliable formula.

Thanks again !

Ray.

Ray - I was a law enforcement sniper for almost 20 years. My rifle HAD to be on. Always. So I got a great rifle-builder to put together a very simple, rugged rifle.

I kept the same scope, mounts, sling, ammo, and sight-in distance for the 19 years, doing very little experimenting with anything. I made a very few minor changes over the years, but minor. And in the case of swapping a scope - it was just temporary.

That rifle taught me that the rifle/scope/ammo could be incredibly consistent.

Yet some months my training targets were really, really good. Sometimes not.

Sometimes I'd win a rifle match with it, other times I'd be middle of the pack. Sigh...

It wasn't the rifle/scope or ammo... :mrgreen:

Regards, Guy

 

[RAY]

Thanks guys , I know you guys have been doing this for years and your answers sound a lot more logical than other mumbo jumbo I've read.

It makes since , to have an accurate rifle to begin with and keeping things consistent seem like a reliable formula.

Thanks again !

Ray.

Ray - I was a law enforcement sniper for almost 20 years. My rifle HAD to be on. Always. So I got a great rifle-builder to put together a very simple, rugged rifle.

I kept the same scope, mounts, sling, ammo, and sight-in distance for the 19 years, doing very little experimenting with anything. I made a very few minor changes over the years, but minor. And in the case of swapping a scope - it was just temporary.

That rifle taught me that the rifle/scope/ammo could be incredibly consistent.

Yet some months my training targets were really, really good. Sometimes not.

Sometimes I'd win a rifle match with it, other times I'd be middle of the pack. Sigh...

It wasn't the rifle/scope or ammo... :mrgreen:

Regards, Guy

I bet you have some stories to tell !!!!
Thanks for sharing your history and your experience and thanks to all you guys for helping me out , I'm really learning a bunch.

Ray.