Surprised myself today

[3one5]

I've had a few 'precision' rifles over the years but I always sucked pretty bad with them. It was discouraging so I usually have them up pretty quickly and bought another firearm type. But today I surprised myself.

Over a year ago i bought a Remington 700 AAC SD in 308. I've shot it here and there with some surplus Turkish 308 if had laying around. It has been the same story as before 6"-8" groups. Today I changed a few things. I usually shoot off my left shoulder. I'm right handed but left eye dominant. I decided I would give shooting off my right shoulder a try. Another board member gave me 5 rounds of match grade ammo and I gave it a whirl and was quite pleased.

The first shot is the one to the top left of the orange dot. This was a cold bore / cold shooter shot out of a completely scrubbed barrel. The other four shots came in just over .8"! This is incredible for me. I'm super stoked.

I feel like I can work on this. Now there is hope!

 

[ShtrRdy]

It's always incouraging to see some improvement. Keep it up.

 

[gstaylorg]

Congrats, you're onto something good! Stay with it.

 

[DeadSilence]

The ammo really does make a difference in consistency. I like you used to shoot using inexpensive (what I could get for cheap) ammo, however once I made the change to good quality ammo that all changed.Practice, practice, practice. Dry fire practice may not be to your liking but it is a real key to getting small consistent groups. Dry fire is where you will focus on relaxed muscle, trigger pull and follow thru, then that muscle memory becomes habit which you can then take with you to live fire.

 

[winxp_man]

I can give this advice. A box of 168gr Federal Gold Medal Match ammo will surprise you out of this rifle. This being I dont know if you reload. I have shot groups in the .300's and .200's out of my SPS Tac with this factory ammo. Or maybe try a box of the 175gr FGMM. Heck why not buy a box a each and give that a shot.

 

[3one5]

Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it.

For dry fire practice, is a snap cap recommended?

I do not reload at this point but I plan to in the future. Until,then I'll give the Gold Medal Match stuff a try.

Again, thanks for the advice. I cannot wait to get back out to the range.

 

[winxp_man]

I don't use snap caps but if you feel that you need to or want to then its okay to. But trigger control is one of the fundamentals of shooting with precision. So some time just dry firing will help and remember to use the pad of your finger not the joint. Squeeze the trigger instead of snapping it to fire. Breath control, and try to consistently get behind the rifle the same way each time you fire.

Anyways hope everything improve and if you have been doing what I stated above well all there is left is a bit more practice it only makes you better

 

[Slim Chance]

I will add this; go to the range with an experienced shooter. If you shoot with someone that can consistently shoot small groups, that person can teach you a lot. Even if all you do is observe his technique.

 

[devldogs55]

I've only recently become halfway decent. All my rifle shooting was on a deer or elk at <300yds and I could do that. It's very encouraging to see results like that.

 

[JoshcBoucher]

It feels nice, yes? Good for you! Now go do it again!:] And no. You don't need a snap cap. Won't hurt the gun. Only hurts rimfire.

 

[3one5]

It feels nice, yes? Good for you! Now go do it again!:] And no. You don't need a snap cap. Won't hurt the gun. Only hurts rimfire.

Absolutely, I have some ammo on the way. Also ordered a bipod because it was a pain trying to balance my rifle on my bag. I'm wondering if that was the best choice in upgrades though.

I'm running the hogue stock that comes with the AAC-SD and a Bushnell 3200 Elite in Badger Ordnance rings (with reducers) / base. I'm thinking I should be working towards a stock and glass upgrade but figured I could move the bipod to whatever I get. The clearance AICS 1.5 chassis is really tempting but with 6 little shooters around the house a Police take off is probably a smarter option.

What do you guys think? What is a good upgrade path? Which items make the biggest difference? I suppose reloading gear would probably make the biggest difference...

 

[JoshcBoucher]

UH-OH. A man, standing at the edge of the cliff......... I think reloading , first. Kinda makes/ helps you begin to understand the finer points of accuracy, and pays for itself in the long run. Work on your fundamentals. After you shoot for a while, good glass is a treat, and it can move, like the bipod. Keep on shooting and reading and talking. Move forward slowly, and you'll probably save some cash if ya don't rush the upgrades. Shoot "other guys guns" to see what ya like. Good luck. We are always here.

 

[3one5]

UH-OH. A man, standing at the edge of the cliff......... I think reloading , first. Kinda makes/ helps you begin to understand the finer points of accuracy, and pays for itself in the long run. Work on your fundamentals. After you shoot for a while, good glass is a treat, and it can move, like the bipod. Keep on shooting and reading and talking. Move forward slowly, and you'll probably save some cash if ya don't rush the upgrades. Shoot "other guys guns" to see what ya like. Good luck. We are always here.

Thanks, I've always appreciated this community because of the squared away no bullshit atmosphere.

I had to put some new rubber on the mommy assault vehicle so I'll have to be patient for a bit here. In the mean time I'll start digging around on Craigslist and see if I can find a some inexpensive reloading equipment.

 

[Shoots 700's]

I would get rid of the stock and find something a bit more rigid.

 

[D_TROS]

Hey looks like you are on the front range, as am I. I would be glad to meet up with you and give you some pointers. PM me some time and we can meet up. CRC also has a monthly friendly prone match that would be great experience.

You have to eliminate variables. If I were you Id start with a decent repeatable scope. Something like a SWFA 10x or 12x for $299. Then get a good chassi that doesn't need bedded like an XLR element (give kyle a call who happens to also be from CO) for $600 or a Mcree for $650. That should get you to be VERY competitive faster than anything.

Good luck and remember dry firing helps more than anything and is free.

Regards
DT

 

[3one5]

Hey looks like you are on the front range, as am I. I would be glad to meet up with you and give you some pointers. PM me some time and we can meet up. CRC also has a monthly friendly prone match that would be great experience.

You have to eliminate variables. If I were you Id start with a decent repeatable scope. Something like a SWFA 10x or 12x for $299. Then get a good chassi that doesn't need bedded like an XLR element (give kyle a call who happens to also be from CO) for $600 or a Mcree for $650. That should get you to be VERY competitive faster than anything.

Good luck and remember dry firing helps more than anything and is free.

Regards
DT

Yes Sir, I am a little East of Fort Collins / Loveland. I usually shoot out in the grasslands.

I'll have to look up CRC.

I appreciate the offer to help me out with some pointers. I'll have to take you up on that offer.

 

[DeadSilence]

UH-OH. A man, standing at the edge of the cliff......... I think reloading , first. Kinda makes/ helps you begin to understand the finer points of accuracy, and pays for itself in the long run. Work on your fundamentals. After you shoot for a while, good glass is a treat, and it can move, like the bipod. Keep on shooting and reading and talking. Move forward slowly, and you'll probably save some cash if ya don't rush the upgrades. Shoot "other guys guns" to see what ya like. Good luck. We are always here.

I agree wholeheartedly with the go slow and figure out what you like first. I have deffinately been a victim of buying twice after rushing to buy something to fill a need and then learning more about filling that need because I ended up getting equipment that did not really fill the need I was trying to fill. Going slow allows you the time to learn what you want so that you can buy once rather than twice or three times. Very good advice given in the quote above. Oh and by the way there will still be times when you buy more than once, but being patient is a skill that has to be learned and nurtured also.