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groups at 500yrds

yocka

Private
Minuteman
Jun 16, 2009
5
0
41
Lincolnshire UK
hi all me and me mate have started some target shooting were using a 22-250 sako 75 as standard,home reloads also, after zeroin at 100yrds off bi-pod we had some shots at 500yards 5 each and we had the same size groups which were 5" we was impressed as we never shot at this range before what could we do to close them groups up a little. many thanks great forum!!
 
Re: groups at 500yrds

What was youre load formula??? There is plenty of little things you can do to increase the accuracy of you're rifle I would keep trying that formula and work on trigger control make sure its grouping consistent and its not you pulling shots before you go spending money or something...
 
Re: groups at 500yrds

Sounds like you've loaded up a pretty good batch of ammo there, and your rifle must like it also. Anything you can do to make the rounds more uniform will help. If you're new to shooting past 100 or even 300 yards, I'd be willing to bet that practice will help more than anything.
 
Re: groups at 500yrds

we are located in Lincolnshire UK, some nice hilly backdrops and long valleys for shooting
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the loads we use are 35.5 grains VARGET with nosler 55grn ballistic tips, (3650 fps over the chrony)

the rounds are neck resized only (trimmed/cleaned etc) with LEE handloading tool. and all charges are individually weighed out on the LEE safety scales too.

the rifle is factory standard, with an OPTIMATE 6-24 x56 scope. Leupold mounts/rings.

reasonable optics for the budget price.

what tips do you suggest for shooting position and trigger control? at the moment we lay prone using a MGM predator bench rest, pulling the rifle into the shoulder, and gripping the forend with the left hand, bracing the rifle into the rest, to take up the recoil.

we have tried different holds, but found so far this grip gives best results for us. its lucky we both shoot the same so sharing the rifle works very well, and our groups are always very similar.

also.. how much different is the first shot on a cold barrel usually going to differ from the follow up shots on a 5 shot group for instance? (firing 5 shots within 2 minutes..ish)

thanks for your tips and patience for the noobs!!
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Re: groups at 500yrds

If im working out a load or really trying for the tiny groups, i use a rear bag under the butt to steady things up. This allows you to really concentrate on your breathing, sight alignment and trigger control. But 5'' at 500 is pretty good out of a hunting rig, only major accuracy jobs could do much better.
 
Re: groups at 500yrds

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: remmy</div><div class="ubbcode-body">hi all me and me mate have started some target shooting were using a 22-250 sako 75 as standard,home reloads also, after zeroin at 100yrds off bi-pod we had some shots at 500yards 5 each and we had the same size groups which were 5" <span style="color: #FF0000">we was impressed as we never shot at this range before what could we do to close them groups up a litt</span>le. many thanks great forum!! </div></div>

Best bet is to leave the reloading the same and practice some more at 500yrds. 5" group is very acceptable, just keep shooting and the groups will get smaller

kt
 
Re: groups at 500yrds

Your load is ok but have you tried heavier bullets? 69gr or 77gr Match bullets should help a little, whats the twist rate on your barrel though? I would also recommend deburring the primer flash hole if your not doing so already.
 
Re: groups at 500yrds

thanks, we have been wondering about a bag for the rear rest, although its the front rest where we feel the movement lies.

it took a while to find a load combination that the rifle liked,
i had to switch powder because it didnt like H380 AT ALL!!

as soon as i hit 35.5gr the groups closed up from 1 MOA to 1/2 MOA straight away, and also had some nice .25" groups too!!

so i know the round is good for the rifle.. its just our shooting technique that needs a workover!!!! phrases like 'bedding the rifle' still sound a bit scary lol.. but we are still interested in taking the accuracy as far as we can
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Re: groups at 500yrds

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MarioM</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Your load is ok but have you tried heavier bullets? 69gr or 77gr Match bullets should help a little, whats the twist rate on your barrel though? I would also recommend deburring the primer flash hole if your not doing so already. </div></div>

i have never tried heavier bullets, mostly because my local gunshop generally only has 55grns or lighter hunting bullets for the .224, (i can only buy hunting bullets on my certificate, not solid target bullets)

i guess i could ask them to special order some heavier ones, but i still need a round that i can varmint shoot with, rather than a specific target round. (maybe we are expecting too much out of one round??)

i have cleaned the flash holes before.. but dont regularly, as i didnt know how much this affected the round, and never really noticed any difference. ??

twist rate... i dont know
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