Having grouping problems

GhostsoftheGrass

GhostsoftheGrass

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I don't know where else to put this thread topic. I went to the range yesterday and shot some test loads in my 6 DTI and my 300 Win Mag. My buddy also shot his 6 DTI. I was shooting some prior loads plus some new trial loads, trying to find that perfect recipe. Well my prior loads in 6 DTI that shoot accurate before, now won't shoot under an inch group. None of my test loads shot under an inch and my 300 Win Mag loads shot under an inch. All these are being shot at 100 yds of a sled and showed promising results before. Weather temperature was about the same. I don't think I did anything different on my reloading steps. Both guns shouldn't been dirty that fast. You guys ever shoot some days and your groups just won't group tight? I've noticed that with all my guns. Some days all bullet holes be touching, the next day the group is an inch or so. Guess I'm coming out n saying I'm not a good precision shooter. Lol.
 
Yep...
Some days I can shoot pretty good ,other days drive me crazy...

Can be lots of things, weather, a persons mind set that day ie; stressed, tired, in a hurry. Other things like you want things to be so good you try harder instead of being relaxed. Plenty of little things can wreck your day ...
 
More...
I'm not a fan of the shooting sleds, esp if you are strapping the gun in. Uneven pressure from day to day may cause issues aswell.

PS... A hunting rifle shooting 1" groups is gonna get the job done.
 
Ya I don't ever use the strap on my sled. The last time I shot these loads, I can't remember if I used my sled or if I was using my bipod off the bench. Just irritated me last night that my groups opened up pretty bad. Me saying inch groups is probably on the nice side. Pry more like 1.5-2". I'll do some seating depth tweaking and see what happens.
 
if they were shooting good before.....

have you checked your scope rings/bases? its possible something came loose.


as others have said... sometimes we just have days. been there, done that.
 
Parallax, mirage, wife cheating on me and not loading inside of a wide node have caused my groups to open up in the past.

I've now learned to avoid all of those things and have a nice little trio of rifles that don't exist according to the Internet. That is to say they will shoot under 1/2 MOA YEAR ROUND with the same load. They've also all got one thing in common, Hodgdon Benchmark.

There's a million things that could cause the issue that you have, but I'd put being on the edge of a node at the top of the list.
It is important to remember that the smallest group on load testing day isn't always the one to go home and plug into the progressive.
 
I would think a cheating wife would improve ones aim, just sayin, nuff said!
smile.gif
 
I actually had the same kind of day myself yesterday. At least I don't have to travel to the range, well about 50 yards. It is frustrating. If it's a well proven gun-load, I would pin it on me. If a new set-up, usually figure the load needs some work.

What bullets are you trying in the dti? Look up Venatic's loads, he seems to have that one pinned down.
 
I'm really wanting the 55 gr Nosler BTs to shoot good. I think I'm settling on IMR 8208 right now and fine tune around it. I'm getting about inch groups and that's actually about the best I got right now out of 8208, 3031 and H335. My buddy is trying Nosler 70 gr BTs along with 75 gr Vmax. Nothing is really blowing our minds right now on accuracy. But we're only just getting started.
 
What brass?

I have been shooting a 6 WOA coming up on 6 years and a third barrel that is very tired.

The powders that you listed probably work for some but aren't my favorites.

Benchmark up to 70 grains and RL-15 or varget for the heavier stuff and you will be a happy camper. There's not enough case capacity difference in the two to necessitate a powder change for similar results.

I wasted a lot of time with 8208. It was mighty fast but never shot well at higher speeds.
 
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Originally Posted By: GhostsoftheGrassI'm really wanting the 55 gr Nosler BTs to shoot good. I think I'm settling on IMR 8208 right now and fine tune around it. I'm getting about inch groups and that's actually about the best I got right now out of 8208, 3031 and H335. My buddy is trying Nosler 70 gr BTs along with 75 gr Vmax. Nothing is really blowing our minds right now on accuracy. But we're only just getting started.

give some varget a try under them.
 
Hornady brass. Remington 7.5 primers. I got CCI 450 primers that I can try to. I'll look into Benchmark. What velocities are you getting with Benchmark or Varget?
 
I wouldn't use a magnum primer with benchmark, but I would with varget or RL-15.

UNDERSTAND THAT THE 6 WOA AND 6 DTI DONT HAVE THE SAME CASE CAPACITY, and I don't know which is greater. I think it's the DTI.


These loads are MAX or near max. My rifle has a short 20.5" barrel.

65 vmax, 29 benchmark, ssa brass (sucks but good enough and I don't care about losing them.) 1/2 MOA @ 3345
70 Sierra blitzking, 28.3 N135, BR4 hornady brass, unknown velocity. 3/8 MOA, my favorite steel banging load
70 Varmageddon, 28.4 benchmark, BR4, hornady case, 1/4 MOA at 3230


80 Berger MEF, 28.2 RL 15, 2.300" CCI 450, hornady brass 1/4 MOA at not fast enough.
80 Sierra Varminter bt spitzer, 27.9 RL-15, CCI 450, hornady case, sub 1/4 MOA, unknown velocity, I'd say 3100 based on the drop at 200. This is my deer load, funny it shoots the best of all.

Reduce and work up, you're welcome.

Last time I posted this someone thought it odd that I didn't know the velocity of my long range steel load. I used the drop table for my 65 VMax and made adjustments as I went along. Fairly easy to do on freshly painted steel.




 
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Got out again today and things looked better for the 6 DTI. Wind was blowing cross about 10 mph with 68° temperature.

55 Nosler BT 33 gr 8208 CCI 450 primer
Velocity around 3670 fps. Shot #1 up high was my cold bore shot. Not sure what to think about that. I'll keep my notes on those.

55 Nosler BT 31.5 gr Benchmark Rem 7 1/2
55 Nos BT 31.8 gr Benchmark Rem 7 1/2

55 Nos BT 32.1 gr Benchmark Rem 7 1/2.
This group doesn't show hope but I don't want to be the guy that just puts up my tight groups. The gun did shoot all four groups(12 shots) within that 1.56" spread on the 4th image. I guess that's something to be proud of. I had 1 spare case prepped so I loaded it above max load of Benchmark at 32.4 grains and chrony'd at 3628 fps. It had no pressure sign so I might load a few more of that n see how it does.
 
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