Benchrest Shooting

sharp shooter

sharp shooter

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Essex county (Ontario)
I’m not sure if I should post this here but I did anyways. I’ve noticed this year that my shooting is on and off. Some range days are fantastic, some suck. Some days at my buddies house on his plastic floppy table I shoot awesome. Others I shoot like crap. Some days at my house i on my solid table i shoot great, some days not as good. I think I’m done shooting off the plastic floppy table as I feel like I’m wasting ammo.

You guys have any rules you follow when trying to shoot groups? I have been playing with my trigger position on my finger this year and I think that has something to do with it. Where do you put your front test, how much do you lean in, etc.

I’ve been reloading for 10 years and shooting for much longer. My reloads are very capable I’m just in a funk right now.

Oh shooting 100 yards mostly and out to 300 when I’m on.
 
Best results are typically with a “two” part rest system (separate front and rear). Make sure the front rest is absolutely solid and does not rock fwd/back or l/r. Try to get the “saddle” of the front rest to fit (same shape) as the bottom/underside of the forestock that it contacts. As much as possible, you want the rifle to be somewhat resistant to the tendency to roll when discharged. Use some tape to mark the forestock so it can be reset to the exact same spot shot to shot. Make sure the rifle can recoil at least a half inch in the front bag.
Use a bunny ear rear bag with ears of moderate height. Use as little shoulder contact as is required to avoid eye/scope contact under recoil. Insure the “cup” contact at the shoulder is consistent each time….both in terms of position and contact force.
When you can just push the rifle back into position and find the reticle comes back on to the target, things are going in the right direction.
Use the “pad” part of your finger to contact the trigger and insure your “pull” is straight back (not pushing to the side).
I keep my forward hand off the forestock and use as little “grip” on the trigger hand as possible. Don’t worry about muzzle jump unless it is problematic as in jumping out of the bag.
 
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Only compare your results to what you've shot before, not what you see online. Some people feel ####ty with hitting 1MOA while others enjoy it.
 
Is there a significant difference in temperature? Ammo slows down with cold- even the "extreme" powders. Maybe you are slowing out of your tuned sweet spot? I'm the opposite- I normally develop loads in the winter/cold and have to slow them down for the summer.

I assume you have checked the simple stuff- action screws are adequately torqued, scope rings, scope rail etc...

You said 100 yards- so not too far. If it were further may also consider the bullet stability with the denser air, but 100 yards likely wouldn't show this unless really bad.

If this is something that has just started happening I'd recommend going back to basics- give the bore a heavy cleaning, go through all the screws with the torque wrench, check your scope is still working correctly (or swap the scope with another to test).

Whatever methods you use (light hold, leaning in etc.) the main key is that the loads you are shooting with are tuned to this method and you can do it consistently. You've been shooting a long time- so it could be the nut behind the stock, but check all the other nuts first...

You also didn't mention the nature of the problem- do you get 4 tight and one flyer or are you shotgunning it?
 
Carbon buildup?

I have been watching several expert F-class shooters on YT videos lately who are quite focused on cleaning out carbon. After watching these I tried going after the carbon, and was shocked at how much the patches keep coming out black.
Whatever I was doing before in cleaning was leaving behind alot of carbon. I need to buy a borescope to see what is going on in the barrel.

I have not tried the CLR treatment yet. Working up the nerve to do that later. Right now I am using bronze brush, and the "intensive" VGF felts with IOSSO paste and doing alot of scrubbing.
 
Biologist said:
Carbon buildup?

I have been watching several expert F-class shooters on YT videos lately who are quite focused on cleaning out carbon. After watching these I tried going after the carbon, and was shocked at how much the patches keep coming out black.
Whatever I was doing before in cleaning was leaving behind alot of carbon. I need to buy a borescope to see what is going on in the barrel.

I have not tried the CLR treatment yet. Working up the nerve to do that later. Right now I am using bronze brush, and the "intensive" VGF felts with IOSSO paste and doing alot of scrubbing.
Click to expand...

CLR for carbon ! It Wont hurt anything but the Carbon ! lol RJ
 
Might be worth a try….I switched to a different gun recently and was using the same grip as on the previous gun.
I was having a similar experience to what you’re dealing with.
I did a bit of dry firing and discovered I was torquing the gun a little.
Messed around with my grip until the reticle stayed on target through the squeeze.
Once I got that figured out, things tightened right up.
 
OP, the first requirement for "benchrest shooting" is a solid table.

The next requirement is a consistent and sturdy rest system for your rifle. This usually includes a rear bag with ears and a front rest, made of "steel" that is adjustable for height and if possible, windage.

The unit in the video is very heavy and for those that are super serious about keeping consistency between shots as tight as possible.

Once you have all of this in place, you need an "accurate rifle" The rifle should be built for the type or venue of bench rest shooting you intend to do and built within maximum weight parameters and properly fitted with an AO scope.

Then you need a set of Wilson dies, with interchangeable neck bushings, along with an arbor press.

Then, a bag of high quality brass, which needs to be sorted by weight, then have the necks turned so that after running them through the arbor press and seating the bullet there is less than .001 runout and less than .002 clearance in total around the neck of the chamber.

Once you have all of this together, then start choosing a place to start loading.

Now, all of this isn't necessary for the average hunting rifle, but as you've found out, accuracy is ADDICTING and what is likely a very acceptably accurate rifle for its intended purpose is now a worn out tire iron.

I have rifles that have good and bad days, just like most non match rifles.

There are a lot of factors that will cause the issues you describe, weather, new powder lot, new bullet lot, new primer lot and the list goes on.
 
bearhunter said:
OP, the first requirement for "benchrest shooting" is a solid table.

The next requirement is a consistent and sturdy rest system for your rifle. This usually includes a rear bag with ears and a front rest, made of "steel" that is adjustable for height and if possible, windage.

The unit in the video is very heavy and for those that are super serious about keeping consistency between shots as tight as possible.

Once you have all of this in place, you need an "accurate rifle" The rifle should be built for the type or venue of bench rest shooting you intend to do and built within maximum weight parameters and properly fitted with an AO scope.

Then you need a set of Wilson dies, with interchangeable neck bushings, along with an arbor press.

Then, a bag of high quality brass, which needs to be sorted by weight, then have the necks turned so that after running them through the arbor press and seating the bullet there is less than .001 runout and less than .002 clearance in total around the neck of the chamber.

Once you have all of this together, then start choosing a place to start loading.

Now, all of this isn't necessary for the average hunting rifle, but as you've found out, accuracy is ADDICTING and what is likely a very acceptably accurate rifle for its intended purpose is now a worn out tire iron.

I have rifles that have good and bad days, just like most non match rifles.

There are a lot of factors that will cause the issues you describe, weather, new powder lot, new bullet lot, new primer lot and the list goes on.
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I use Lapua brass and Bonanza FL dies. While I do not have a runout gauge, I am sure there is very little run out with this set up. I also salt bath anneal ever firing for these rifles at 530-540 degrees Celsius. I trim to the same length and seat the bullets to the same length. The lot of bullets and powder has been the same this winter. These guns with these loads have shot 1/4'' groups before and more than once. Except for the 204, that newish but have already shot 1/2" groups with it. I'm not expecting 1/4" every time I go out but I shouldn't be shooting any 1" groups like i have a few days this winter.

What has been mentioned that may effect my shooing is:
no rear rest with ears, I use bags.
I have shot crappy off a floppy table a couple times (also shot really dam good one day too).
Shot a couple really cold days.


I primarily use three guns to play with that are shooters but no custom target rifles. I have a Browning Safari HB 222, Browning Safari HB 243 and a CZ 527 Varmint in 204 with varmint stock and timney trigger. All wear 12x to 24x leupolds with AO. The guns have triggers cranked down crisp and light.

One thing I have noticed and will strive to do is that I shoot my best groups on diamond or square pattern targets and not the circle stickers. I buy large grid paper meant for an easel at school and do well when I draw my own targets with a sharpie and high lighter and keep my tagets square or trace smaller circles with X's through them. The 1" circle stickers I do my worst shooting.
 
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I have the same experiences, sometimes I'm hot, sometimes I'm not. If I'm not shooting well, I know the reason, which is: I'm not bearing down, not concentrating, not taking my time. Sometimes I feel a little recoil or noise sensitive.
 
I would look more at the loads. There is a reason those of us who shoot short range BR load at the match. Yes there are certain calibers like the 30BR that seem to shoot well enough preloaded with H4198. Loads change with the elements. What may be good today is not the same tommorrow.

The other thing, have you changed anything on your rifle? Had it appart recently? Torque specs may not be the same. Is the scope bases and mounts snug? Nothing that some low strength loctite won't cure.

Is the firing pin spring getting weak or dirty? You may not be getting consistent ignition by poor firing pin strikes. These are things that true BR shooters look for.

If you are using a front rest, is everything tight? How easy does the rifle slide on the bags? Some used dryer sheets solve that quickly.

Just a few things to look at.
 
I appreciate all the responses. I will take more consideration to the following next time out

Front rest - make sure gun slides nice. It’s a Caldwell rock I believe.
Take my time.
Practice trigger pull
Try to get a rear bag with ears
Solid bench at my place.

On a side note I’m using BR4 and BR2 primers. 222 IMR 4198, 204 8208, 243 Varget.
 
Swap scopes....

POI shift is a real thing and if you have a bad scope, it will drive you bonkers. This assumes the rifle and load are actually tuned to work in the conditions you are currently shooting in.

plan B, time for a new barrel. If you are truly shooting for accuracy and itty bitty groups, barrels do not last very long.

Jerry
 
Mystic Precision said:
Swap scopes....

POI shift is a real thing and if you have a bad scope, it will drive you bonkers. This assumes the rifle and load are actually tuned to work in the conditions you are currently shooting in.

plan B, time for a new barrel. If you are truly shooting for accuracy and itty bitty groups, barrels do not last very long.

Jerry
Click to expand...

I can’t see it being the scope Jerry, I think it’s me for now. Will keep everybody updated.
 
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