HD Tactical

Accuracy: basics with a bad gun

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  • wildrider666

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    This is geared for the average shooter with limited experience. Sometimes old dogs learn new tricks too!
    Ever since man threw the first rock we have been trying to perfect putting projectiles on target. We have come a long way. In fifty years your kids kid may shoot a laser or pulse energy weapon and drop an elk a mile away. Until then we have to make do with what we have. The old saying "Fear the man who only has one gun as he probably knows how to use it." carries a world of truth. If you put just about every round you have fired as an adult with the same gun you would know the trajectory, effects of wind, rain, snow, temp, up/down hill and so forth. Even if that gun only grouped 3 inched at 100 yards you could take care of whatever needed to be done.

    We would love to have all our rifles shoot one hole groups at 100 yards. But I didn't start this with "Once upon a time..." Your accuracy needs are driven by what you want to hit and at what distance. Hogs at 25 yards: 3 inch group, elk at 200 yards: five inch group, prairie dogs at 300: one and a half inch group or bench rest at 100 yards: one third inch group.

    You need to know up front that some calibers and rifle designs are not going to deliver sub MOA accuracy no matter what you do. A round nose 30-30 round designed for use in tube feed lever actions (so bullet tip will not fire the primer on the casing it rests against) will never group like a 22-250 with ballistic tip Nosler bullets. Same goes for pistol cartridges chambered in long guns. They will group better then when fired from a revolver or pistol though with less down range energy. To every rule there are exceptions and when you find firearm that delivers outstanding accuracy compared to the norm for that cartridge/weapon: hang on to it. I had a Remington Old Army cap and ball in .44 that would clover leaf at 25 ft. It was nasty, smokey and greasy but won a lot of beer back in the day when the .38 Super was the darling of the range. There have been vast improvements in accuracy with semi-auto actions in the last two decades. In the same caliber and purchase price area: a bolt action will deliver better accuracy then a semi-auto with the same ammo. A well made single shot is more ridged then its repeating bolt cousins and will often deliver better accuracy for less money.

    Let's talk accuracy with out the burden of specific calibers or ballistics, bullet coefficients, and all the rest of the tech stuff. Let's just say your deer rifle factory "Combo" is a Savarby in .308, bolt, standard barrel with a 3X9 mil-dot Ranger Rick scope. It groups five inches at 100 yards. You say its a dog and want to get rid of it. If it shot under 2 inches at 100 would you keep it? Most of us already know to CLEAN IT, and Clean it again then prep chamber and bore for a range session. MAKE sure the main fastener for the stock to action is very tight and the others are snugged down but only firmly, do not torque/flex the stock. Also buy a wide variety of ammo that matches the twist rate of your barrel. Lets say our gun has a 1 in 12 twist rate. Select bullet weights (I found eight for the .308: 110-200grs), bullet types (16 without looking hard), brands and even some match ammo. If you take all this to the range now, your just wasting your time and money. You may find some improvement but not what the gun can really do. The rifle is what we must evaluate first. If you have a $450 rifle and install a $60 scope you have $60 accuracy. Remove the scope and replace it with a known good scope with the highest magnification, adjustment for parellex and the finest cross hair you can find. I use a VariX III6.5X20 with target knobs. These are good chunk of change but you can find used ones for under $500. There are also some older scopes out there that are jewels too. Like the Redfield 10X FCH. Its about 18 inches long and precise as a Swiss watch. You need a GOOD Glass in your armory even if it is dedicated to another gun. With a bore site kit you can document the settings, remove the scope use it somewhere else then re-install it on the primary gun and reset the "Zero".
    Cross hairs: standard plex, heavy plex, Mil-dot, SVD and German reticle either cover to much or float without a true center cross.
    Ammo: Mil 7.62 (.308) Ball, M59 with a vel. of 2750+-30 fps, 150grs will shoot 5" mean radius @ 600 yards.
    Mil 7.62 " " Match, M852 with a vel. of 2550+-30fps, 168grs will shoot 3.5" radius @ 600 yards.
    *Note: The heavier bullet with slower vel. (and much better quality control specs)fired the better group. Cartridges tested from bench firing machine not a true rifle! So twist rate and bullet weight should be compatible from the start so you don't wast time and money. Info is abundant on the internet and reloading manuals regarding twist rates, bullet weights and barrel length. Research then buy. Varmit ammo is real close or equal to match ammo. You can't go wrong with a plastic tip boat tail round if you gun can use it. If you want to get techy here, do some research on bullet ballistic coefficients. In the .308 you want something in the .390 range for a 150gr bullet.

    Pick a calm day. Get a few grid targets and what you need for a solid rest and go to the range. Take you other fun gun and warm up. Practice your fundamentals. With the test gun, at 25 yards: fire one fouling round and adjust scope to 2 inches high and on center per 1/8 or 1/4 clicks of the scope. Recheck all scope mount screws. Fire second 25 yard shot minor adj if needed. Set up for 100yds with the grid target 45 degree's off level: with a black sharpie: draw 1 1/2 circles around several of the intersections on the grid (do not black them out. If an open range I set another target to play on while the primary gun is cooling down. Punch the bore with a dry patch.
    Note: Take a video cam or use your cell phone to record Your shooting habits. You may think your good but the cam will be your critic. Have pen and paper and plot where you think ever shot went when the gun let off BEFORE you look at the target via the scope. If you knew shot two went of when the cross hair drifted slightly high or right you can factor that in and not just say its a bad group. be honest; if you rush a shot, jerk the trigger or anticipate the bang and push your shoulder forward write it down. Even with glasses, I can't shoot as well as I did 20 years ago. There is no shame in putting someone on the gun who can do better with it. As my Marine and LE shooting skills fade I use my Son (SWAT Team) for the fine work nowadays.

    Here's the deal: With the high magnification you are going to shoot the center of the intersections you circled. the grid lines and the fine reticle will work together in pulling your focus and alignment to the center. normal upright target grid blends in with cross hairs. B.R.A.S.S. don't rush, if it don't feel right get off the trigger, breath and come back. Rest your eyes between shots. I do three shot groups rest five then another group, then wait 15 min and shoot a third. At this point it doesn't matter if we put rounds into the intersections but how the rounds near the intersections grouped. I always start with the ammo that was used by the owner when he had the problem, then move to to other stuff. I run a wet patch, brush, dry patch, wet patch then patch till clean/dry. Re-shoot next set. Still all over the place? Free floated barrels are common today. It might no be best for your specific gun. You can also loosen the main stock bolt, fold a dollar bill several times and wedge it between the barrel and stock fore-end at the tip, then re-tighten the bolt. This will change the barrel pressure point and alter the harmonics of the barrel when firing. If this makes an improvement then you can build up the stock later. If the barrel is not free floated; doing so may help but it requires more work as does glass bedding. Shoot your fun gun while the test gun cools down. When complete you should know what the gun can do if you have done your part. Evaluate you old scope: take the best grouping ammo and test the grouping with the old scope. Replace if warranted.

    Reloading ammo is another endeavor. You can do it for saving money and to improve accuracy. I think reloading for accuracy is at its best when you are trying to reduce a 2-3 inch group to 1 or sub MOA. If the gun (with good glass) delivers larger then 3 inch groups then I think the return on your efforts would be minimal. You will get some improvement but it is rare to make that size group into a tack driver just by reloading.

    With a pistol I don't shoot for the center of the chest. I aim at a button, the intersection of the shirt at the bottom of the neck "V" or the edge of a pocket. Aim in the general area: you hit in the general area. Aim with precision and hit where you want. Use a 1 inch black dot for your pistol training out to 25 yards. You will improve. Train like this until it becomes reflex, and speed will increase too. The same way you should scan a threats hands, posture, eyes; you will subconsciously include the neck "V" aiming point. If you don't think so do this test: Put your shooting hand in your lap and point your index finger like a gun. As soon as you finish reading this line close your eyes then point to the light switch in the room your in. Do it! Your subconscious knew where the switch was and didn't your eyes to target it.

    Last note: if you want to improve your long gun shooting skills get a copy of The Ultimate Sniper by Major John Plaster, USA, Ret.
    Three guns that I found to be tack driver (one hole groups) at 100 yards out of the box are Ruger VT 22-250, .300 Whby Accumark (Reg not lightweight). Marlin 880 SQ 1/3 inch (@ 50 yards) Glock 35 (.40 Machine rest 1.5 inches @ 25 feet).

    Comments are welcome.
     
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    JohnAL

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    Pretty good primer in my opinion. I have had many friends over the years that cussed a rifle for not being accurate. Most of the time it was the shooter, loose scope hardware, or cheap scope. I have not found a "bad" rifle yet that I could not cut the groups in half with just a little tinkering and a steady trigger finger.
     

    wildrider666

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    Thanks for the comment. One of the first threads I did on this Forum. I was not sure at that time what the level of knowledge was among users. I could ramble on with more info but threads are limited to 10K characters. Had to cut this one down. Maybe someone will reply that they turned there mutt into a pedigree show winner.
    WR
     
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