I am just about to finally sight in my 6.5 Creedmoor Ruger Precision Rifle, and I bought a selection of ammunition to evaluate and gather data on to try and determine what it likes so I can zero with the best one. My plan is to fire all shots at 100 yards, and through a Caldwell Ballistic Precision G2 chronograph, and collect weather and wind data through a weatherflow precision shooting meter which I have jerry rigged in to a Kestrel wind vane. Using the data I collect, I can then program my geoballistics app and also start the process of developing a hand load since I should have a reasonable starting point.
My planned course of fire is to fire 3 rounds, wait 10 minutes to allow the barrel to cool, fire 3 more shots, fire another 3 round group with the bore warm, wait another 10 minutes for cooling, clean the bore, switch ammunition, and repeat until all ammunition has been tested. Then evaluate the groups to find the tightest and most consistent, then zero with that ammunition with the 11 remaining rounds.
The ammunition I am going to be testing is:
Hornady ELD Match 147 grain
Hornady ELD Match 140 grain
Hornady ELD Match 120 grain
Federal Premium Gold Medal 140 grain Berger Hybrid
Federal Premium Gold Medal 130 grain Berger Hybrid
Winchester Match 140 grain Sierra Match King
Sellier & Bellot 140 grain FMJ
The Sellier & Bellot is mainly to get on paper and do any trouble shooting that I may need, I’m not really expecting much from it, but I’ll test it anyway. I would have preferred the Federal Gold Medal 140 grain SMK but it was out of stock at Midway (free shipping plus 15% off code made it the cheapest, and ordering the out of stock ammo elsewhere would have not only been more but would have had shipping on top of it) so I substituted the Winchester Match. 4 Different bullet types, 4 different weights, 4 different manufacturers. I have 20 rounds of each.
Any predictions, critiques, or suggestions of what I could or should do different?
My planned course of fire is to fire 3 rounds, wait 10 minutes to allow the barrel to cool, fire 3 more shots, fire another 3 round group with the bore warm, wait another 10 minutes for cooling, clean the bore, switch ammunition, and repeat until all ammunition has been tested. Then evaluate the groups to find the tightest and most consistent, then zero with that ammunition with the 11 remaining rounds.
The ammunition I am going to be testing is:
Hornady ELD Match 147 grain
Hornady ELD Match 140 grain
Hornady ELD Match 120 grain
Federal Premium Gold Medal 140 grain Berger Hybrid
Federal Premium Gold Medal 130 grain Berger Hybrid
Winchester Match 140 grain Sierra Match King
Sellier & Bellot 140 grain FMJ
The Sellier & Bellot is mainly to get on paper and do any trouble shooting that I may need, I’m not really expecting much from it, but I’ll test it anyway. I would have preferred the Federal Gold Medal 140 grain SMK but it was out of stock at Midway (free shipping plus 15% off code made it the cheapest, and ordering the out of stock ammo elsewhere would have not only been more but would have had shipping on top of it) so I substituted the Winchester Match. 4 Different bullet types, 4 different weights, 4 different manufacturers. I have 20 rounds of each.
Any predictions, critiques, or suggestions of what I could or should do different?
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