Dang flyers

Put up 5 identical targets at your chosen range and fire 1 shot at each. Then walk up the range, take your time, have some fun, and then lay the targets on top of each other in numerical order and it will tell you exactly where each shot falls without the need for a spotting scope or having to walk up each time. Id say your rifle is shooting great, no need for some fancy new, big scope, 7x is fine. And stop cleaning it so often, just shoot it some more.
 
I hate to tell you but if you have a "flyer" every group of 3 you shoot, then that is the accuracy potential of your combo of rifle/ammo/shooter. I would venture to say that if you shot a 5 or 10 round group that you would se that the "flyer" is indeed just part of your group.
 
Let's push through a few simple assumptions:

you have reviewed the rifle and tightened all bolts. Nothing is cracked, loose or suspect.

The hay bale you are shooting from can be super steady but a couple of bags under the front and rear will make things more consistent.

Is there anyway for you to check the throat length on your barrel? Any idea how many rds were fired? Any idea what the chamber is?

Let's assume that the barrel is not burnt up, then next thing I would suggest is getting some 150 or 155gr loads and shoot them. If my suspicisions are correct, these lighter bullets will shoot without any flyers.

I would assume you see flyers more often with the 175gr then the 168gr load?

As long as the machine is working, then you look at the shooter and you feel very confident in how you are doing things. Then you look at the bullet. Zingers like that with a slow for cal twist is a good indicator of bullet instability. Sometimes barrels have a slower twist then advertised. Bullets spun on the verge of instability will group tight then for no good reason, zinger...

Give that a try and let us know.

Jerry
 
3-5 shot groups are just about useless. 10 shot groups minimum as far as I'm concerned.
I spent a lot of time chasing random fliers with my F-class rifle that finally turned out to be scope related. To me its now the first thing to investigate, but yes a few other things can certainly cause them as well.
 
I was just out back and updated that photobucket library. 3 shot group on left small diamond target is 175grn

3 shot group on right small diamond is 168grn. Both are at 100m in the mud and aiming upward from prone. Not a nice spot to shoot from.
4 shot group at centre large diamond off hay is 175grn at 342m. I didn't correct for wind but is 7moa up with a 100m zero
 
Let's push through a few simple assumptions:

you have reviewed the rifle and tightened all bolts. Nothing is cracked, loose or suspect.

The hay bale you are shooting from can be super steady but a couple of bags under the front and rear will make things more consistent.

Is there anyway for you to check the throat length on your barrel? Any idea how many rds were fired? Any idea what the chamber is?

Let's assume that the barrel is not burnt up, then next thing I would suggest is getting some 150 or 155gr loads and shoot them. If my suspicisions are correct, these lighter bullets will shoot without any flyers.

I would assume you see flyers more often with the 175gr then the 168gr load?

As long as the machine is working, then you look at the shooter and you feel very confident in how you are doing things. Then you look at the bullet. Zingers like that with a slow for cal twist is a good indicator of bullet instability. Sometimes barrels have a slower twist then advertised. Bullets spun on the verge of instability will group tight then for no good reason, zinger...

Give that a try and let us know.

Jerry


Not sure how to measure throat length but I may be able

Flyers are with both 175grn and 168grn
And the guy at the local gun shop just said the same thing. I have some 155grn hornadys around here somewhere so I'll give that a shot.
 
Put up 5 identical targets at your chosen range and fire 1 shot at each. Then walk up the range, take your time, have some fun, and then lay the targets on top of each other in numerical order and it will tell you exactly where each shot falls without the need for a spotting scope or having to walk up each time. Id say your rifle is shooting great, no need for some fancy new, big scope, 7x is fine. And stop cleaning it so often, just shoot it some more.

I'll have to try that. How often should I be cleaning the bore?
 
An easy way to tell would be to shoot a few 5 or more shot groups. Are all but one round per group in a 1/2" circle, with one flier? Is the flier consistent in how far it flies and does it fly in the same direction? I can't speak for all rifles, but in my experience my cold bore shots are repeatable. I know my 6.5 when clean/cold will shoot .75 MOA high and .5 MOA to the left. It settles back down to zero on the fourth shot. When it's dirty/cold, it shoots .5 MOA high and .25 MOA to the left. Settles back to zero after five shots. My other rifles have all had similar POI changes for cold bore. Variations of 2" - 7" for a cold bore shot seems extreme in my experience.

IMHO, i'd say you have far too many variables in play to really diagnose any issues with your groups. I'd recommend bringing it back to 100y where you could clearly see the finer lines of the target even at 7x on your scope. Get yourself either on a bench or prone, with a solid front rest of some sort and a good rear support that will really let you hold zero perfectly. If you're comfortable and relaxed when pulling the trigger, and feel its perfect every time you shoot under those conditions, you'll start to see trends that can tell you what your rifle is capable of.

In any case I think it comes down to time and money. I'll have to determine everything and write it down memorize it live it breathe it lol
 
3-5 shot groups are just about useless. 10 shot groups minimum as far as I'm concerned.
I spent a lot of time chasing random fliers with my F-class rifle that finally turned out to be scope related. To me its now the first thing to investigate, but yes a few other things can certainly cause them as well.

A new scope is definitely on the menu. Bushnell optics are 30% off right now but I may go a different route
 
A 1-12 twist will stabilize 178grs just fine. Just ask all of the TRG/AI/etc shooters.

Go buy some Federal 168gr GMM - it should should well in just about any gun. Maybe get a buddy who can shoot give it a try as well.

As for cleaning - I will go anywhere from 200-400rds. The accuracy will drop off at some point and that is when I will clean it.
 
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