how can i improve my grouping?

Let me add....

If a 180 Nos Partition over 74-76 grains of RL-22 (work up carefully) wont shoot the rifle has a problem....Or maybe the shooter does. ;)

Everybody has different eyes, but I've never had a problem shooting MOA or slightly better with a plain old 5-10X scope at 200 yards. That said target selection is very important...don't go so small that the reticle covers the too much of the target alignment area. If the cross hairs are hard to line up you have the wrong target.
Switching to a 20X scope usually gains me about a 1/4 minute increase in accuracy and quite a bit more consistency.

FWIW I have a 8-32X Nightforce that usually delivers the best 100-200 yard groups I can shoot. It doesn't seem to increase accuracy "way out there".
 
aaronfisher said:
can anyone tell me what the principals of marksmanship are again please
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A good quality set of bags is very important to keep your rifle as steady as possible, always try to keep the front end of your stock 2-3 inches infront of the rest.
You can wait a few minutes between shots to let your barrel cool. FS
 
Fassteel said:
Set it 14 power for your 200 yard shooting. FS
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+1


I am unsure if you are using a round or square aiming point. I found that having a target with a square aiming point and aiming at one of the corners instead of the center significantly reduced my group size. I seem to be able to more consistenly aim at the same point especially with lower magnification scopes such as my 3.5-10 for example. With my 8.5-25 scope, groups are still better but not as much.
 
The majority of my chrono'ing and group testing is done at 100. Using a scope at 15X, or 20X, or 25X, I'll usually use a 1" square black target patch as an aiming mark, on a large piece of white paper as a background. Instead of aiming in the middle of the patch, I aim at a corner (lower right, for no particularly good reason). I choose a small but consistent amount of white gap between the corner of the patch and the corner of the crosshairs. In this way I am able to tell where I am aiming and am able to call the actual point where the shot broke, to within about .05 MOA.

For shooting at 200y with a 14X scope, I'd either use a larger square aiming mark and aim at the corner (e.g. 2" square, either made with black target patches or with a magic marker), or I'd use a 200y Benchrest target, which has a mostly-white centre, but the outer few rings are heavy black - this gives a "hollow circle" to aim at, and usually works well, even if it is designed this way for very high magnification scope with extremely fine reticles.

Another suggestion (I can't take credit for it, but I use it ruthlessly!) is to set up your scope so that your bullets do *NOT* strike where you are aiming; I usually give the elevation knob a crank so that the group forms either a couple of inches higher or lower than my aiming point. The idea here is that you don't want your developing group to interfere with your aiming.

For testing ammo, look at what BR shooters do, and see which of their techniques you can take advantage of. For example - a *solid* shooting bench; a good front support (sandbag, or rest, or bipod); a good rear bag; rifle fully supported and on aim in firing position; pull trigger with minimal disturbance to rifle; hold rifle consistently (consistent cheek, shoulder, hand pressure), etc.
 
What kind of rest are you running? A heavy forend rest like thise you can buy from Sinclair International that are used for BR shooting and good sandbags from the rear will further steady the rifle and give you a better hold as compared to shooting off a bipod or one of those truly horrid MTM triangular rests. Also, make sure that you're watching the wind. Try to shoot when conditions are the same as your previous shot. Obviously this is easier if you're dealing with a light breeze and, ideally, you'll be shooting on a calm, clear day. If there are clouds floating by, make sure that the light on the target is the same for all your shots.

I also double up on hearing protection - plugs and muffs always. Helps cut down the noise from other shooters nearby and from your own shooting. If the rifle is smacking your shoulder too hard (though this doesn't sound liek the case) a folded up towel between you and the rifle can cut down on recoil.

Honestly, I wouldn't fret about a load that gives 1.5" at 200 yards. Higher magnification scopes, better rests and reading the conditions can cut down that lateral spread a lot of the time. But for the average hunting rifle that's pretty good performance.
 
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