Ammunition and accuracy

blueskies

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I have a Remington 700 SPS tactical 20" heavy barrel with a Bushnell 4200 6-24 x 40 scope and Harris bipod.

I was at the range on Monday and managed to get 1 1/4" groupings at 100 yards using Federal Power Shok SP 168 gr ammunition.

I am new to precision shooting and was wondering how much difference it would make to use match ammo.

I was also wondering what ammo would work well with my setup and a place to buy it in the greater Vancouver area.

Any advice would be appreciated.
 
Impossible to predict results. Match ammo only uses a different bullet. It still uses the same brass and powders - and in the same quantities.

Try a variety and see. Each gun likes a particular combination of bullets, powders and seating depths for the bullets in relation to the lands, and every gun is very different - even the same models.

There is also no substitute for a great deal of practice. 1/4 inch groups are not a given, with even the best of everything equipment-wise.

For the GVRD, Reliable gun is a great place to start, so is Wanstalls
 
Hey Blueskies - Reliable and ISG usually carry Federal Gold Medal Match. Try a box of 168gr and I would expect you to be able to bring that group down to just under an inch. I will be up at PoCo on Saturday and can let you try a few of my loads to help you find the sweet spot for your rifle.
 
'Obtunded' hit the nail on the head , but , If you have a 1/12 twist here is what seems to work in my 700P

South African 'surp' 1" + -
Portugese 'surp' 1.5" + -
IVI 'surp' 2.5" + -
Hunting Shack Montana 168 BTHP .5" + -
Federal Fusion 165 .8" + -
Hornady 'Moly' 168 BTHP .5" + -
Speer Gold Dot 168 .6" + -
 
You may also want to look at reloading. Match ammo, I believe, runs at something like $2 a shot. At that rate, the money you'd save reloading would pay for the gear pretty fast.

It also allows you to match charge, components and seating depth to precisely what your rifle likes in terms of accuracy.
 
Before spending too much on ammo, consider bedding the action in the stock properly and use a solid pedestal rest and proper rear bag.

The bedding allows the rifle to be as consistent as possible.

using a pedestal rest and rear bag lets you handle the rifle under recoil a whole lot better then a bipod.

shooting a bipod well is a learnt skill and is not easy to do. If you don't have alot of trigger time, consider using the best shooting aids to let you extract the most from your rig mechanically.

once you know the rifle and ammo will perform to a certain level, you can use any shooting form and learn how to shoot.

Reloading is likely the quickest and least expensive way to reach the best your rifle can give you.

Jerry
 
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