Critique my group

[Westside]

Hi guys,

Looking for a little help here. Seems like i am recently chasing my tail at the longer ranges. The video is a 5 shot string.

Rifle is .338 Lapua custom by ATRS
Load is 92.8 grains H1000 with a 300 gr SMK
Average velocity is 2820-2840 fps
Range is 1135 yards
Wind is pretty close to zero
Target size is 24" x 36"

Everytime i shoot the recoil/body position pulls the barrel to the right and i loose sight picture so i know i could improve my body position. It is a modified rest, shore line is rocky as hell so i took a old door and threw that down on the rocks. The door isn't leveled, sandbags maybe ?

[youtube]CPZ1DbZfeJM[/youtube]

What i am expecting to get is a horizontal string of shots within a 6" high by 12" wide area. Am i expecting too much ?

 

[catnthehatt]

Hi guys,

Looking for a little help here. Seems like i am recently chasing my tail at the longer ranges. The video is a 5 shot string.

Rifle is .338 Lapua custom by ATRS
Load is 92.8 grains H1000 with a 300 gr SMK
Average velocity is 2820-2840 fps
Range is 1135 yards
Wind is pretty close to zero
Target size is 24" x 36"

Everytime i shoot the recoil/body position pulls the barrel to the right and i loose sight picture so i know i could improve my body position. It is a modified rest, shore line is rocky as hell so i took a old door and threw that down on the rocks. The door isn't leveled, sandbags maybe ?

[youtube]CPZ1DbZfeJM[/youtube]

What i am expecting to get is a horizontal string of shots within a 6" high by 12" wide area. Am i expecting too much ?

The problem , of course is that without actually seeing the group, we cannot comment reliably on just what is going on, but here are my thoughts.
If that is real time shooting, you are shooting way too fast.
You muscle groups are not having enough time to get back into their original shape, but are tightening up as you shoot, so Ii would expect to see some stringoing to the right , for sure.
The table not being level could also be a factor as well, but I really think it is a body kinetics thing.

I have been told this is hogwash by more than a few shooters, because they use a brake, but it is one if the big factors in smallbore position shooing, letting your body cool down between groups is important , especially when you are shooting at extended ranges, because every mistake is compounded with the distance.
The gun BTW, can only come straight back so far, then it is going to go tom the right, because you are a right handed shooter.

Make sure your automatic alignment is right as well as your follow through , and this should help with those low shots.
However. like I stated , get us a picture of a ten shot group on the steel and we will have a better idea of just what is going on - that is if your gun set up/ ammo are a well balanced unit.
Cat

 

[Westside]

If that is real time shooting, you are shooting way too fast.
You muscle groups are not having enough time to get back into their original shape, but are tightening up as you shoot, so Ii would expect to see some stringoing to the right , for sure.
The table not being level could also be a factor as well, but I really think it is a body kinetics thing.
Cat

What sort of cadence should i be expecting to achieve?
How would i be able to know i am ready to take the next shot?

Currently as long as the sight picture is good and the thermals are reasonable then i will send another round, when i play with my .223 i am generally burning through 250 rounds in under 2 hours.

With the .338 my average round count is 30-50 per session.

 

[catnthehatt]

What sort of cadence should i be expecting to achieve?
How would i be able to know i am ready to take the next shot?

Currently as long as the sight picture is good and the thermals are reasonable then i will send another round, when i play with my .223 i am generally burning through 250 rounds in under 2 hours.

With the .338 my average round count is 30-50 per session.

I try to wait at least 1 minute between rounds when I am not "plinking away" and such!

Sometimes we have to try and shoot through a condition, but for the most part if things are calm, I try and wait.
I think I may have detected a bit of uneven tension in your right hand as well, and it is not consistant and if the follow through is not correct, this will tend to throw low right or hard right shots.
Making certain of your automatic alignment ( i think David Tubbs refers to it as "natural alignment") is perfect is also very important, even when shooting form a bipod or bench.
What are the groups like, anyway?
Cat

 

[alberta tactical rifle]

Hard to tell from the camera angle but it does not look to me like you have a repeatable body position. Shooting amongst a bunch of large rocks is probably les than conducive to getting into the same shooting position repeatably.
I despise that style of bipod as they skate on any smooth surface. You have great footage of this happening. It does not appear that your door is level and the bipod seems to skate away from your body during recoil which will certainly give you stringing. Used on sand or dirt they may work ok, but will never allow the rifle to operate as well as decent set of bags will. I know that a lot of the F Class guys use these bipods, but I suspect only at the range in less rugged conditions.

It also looks like you may be "pulling" on the pistol grip. Hard to see well enough to be certain, I barely touch the grip preferring to rest my hand very lightly on it using my thumb as an anchor to allow my trigger finger to pull the trigger straight back. If my rifle were to be dusted for fingerprints on the grip only a small bit of thumb print and a tiny touch of trigger finger on the trigger shoe would show clear contact with slight smudges from the very light contact the rest of my fingers touching the grip. Just enough contact to establish a repeatable hand hold.
Follow through is also critical, removing your face from the stock as soon as the shot is off is not ideal.
Normally I try to leave 2 minutes between shots so that 1 the barrel stays constant temp but more importantly to allow the body to recover.

Shooting over water in difficult as you have no easy way to get wind readings. There may be some wind and certainly will be thermals over the water that you can not detect.

 

[Westside]

Thanks Rick,

I am limited to where i can shoot and stretch my legs out beyond 600 yards.

If i want to repeatedly shoot at 1000 + yards it has to be over water or i have to drive a hell of a long way. This location is 25 minute boat ride from my house, it is closer to home than my local rifle range time wise and i dont have to deal with the damn tourist traffic.

I will invest in some ground clearing and set up a better lay in rest area. If i were to "bed" the door to the beach and lay a carpet on the door would that make for a better shooting platform ?

Body position of straight back behind the rifle sure seems to set me up for a major "crick" in my neck, i noticed that the guys that are shooting at the long distance rifle ranges seem to always be laying on a incline "berm".
Does this inclined position make it more comfortable ?
Is there a magic angle i should look for ?