Hunting load accuracy

ChewyChewbacca

ChewyChewbacca

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Port Edward BC
Ok heres the deal. I've been working up a load and this is what I have found. With the first two shots on one load they will touch for .218. On the third round without fail it will shoot about three quarters of an inch off give me a group of around an inch. If I wait for the barrel to cool it will keep the group to .220
Another load will give me a three consecutive shot group of about .600
I want to sight in my rifle to a 200 yard zero with my comfort zone at 500 yards.
My question is, should I use the load that touches with two shots or the .600 load for my hunting round.
My rifle is a single shot.
 
I'd say consistency is key for hunting rounds, for me I'd stick with the 3shot .60 load. But I'd suggest you test some 5 shot groups with both loads. Have have found that some times a cooler burning powder offers less heat and therefore less change of POI.
 
Personally I usually trade a bit of accuracy for performance(velocity) when it comes to hunting loads. I will assume you are using this on big game, so either load is way better than MOD(minute of deer) even at 500 yards. Also, your first shot is the most important anyway and most animals don't like to hang around for 3 shots. Those are both great groups, congratulations.
 
Both are small groups. I would choose the higher velocity loading. For my hunting rounds if I can get ¾" with good speed that is all I need. Sure I would like smaller but such is life. I am not shooting f-class matches.

With that said sometimes everything just comes together and a load is very good. With my 7mm-08 I load 139gr hornady's with h4350 at 100 3 will be touching grouping into the .3-.4 range and at 200 in the .8-.9 range.
 
Again we are faced with a serious lack of detail!
What are you shooting? Rifle? Cartridge? Bullet? Powder? Velocity?
Do you have an opportunity to test it at 500 yards? Until you do you are telling us about 100 yard accuracy?
 
horseman2 said:
Again we are faced with a serious lack of detail!
What are you shooting? Rifle? Cartridge? Bullet? Powder? Velocity?
Do you have an opportunity to test it at 500 yards? Until you do you are telling us about 100 yard accuracy?
Click to expand...

Heres the dope
TC Encore
.280 Rem
23" SS barrel
Remington 9 1/2 primer
168 gr. LRAB
53.5g RL22
.020 off lands
2564 fps 15' from muzzle
+17 c no wind
Shot at 100 yards for load work up

With Nosler brass best three consecutive shot group .790
With Remington brass. 1.064
With fire formed 30-06 Remington .805
With all the brass the best accuracy was with 53.5g powder, velocities all right around 2564 fps average

This is what I found interesting. The Nosler brass 3 shot group was nice triangle.

The .280 Rem head stamp brass first two shots touched with the third high

The 30-06 Rem head stamp first two shots .220, third made it 1.024
This load gives the best first two shots consistently.


Just so everyone knows I'm not trying for bench rest accuracy. I'm not that good of a shot, so figure if I can get the best load for the gun it will help me out a lot. :)

As one poster said after the first shot the animal is usually gone so I wonder if I should go with the tightest first two shots.
I thought would ask what your thoughts were as RL 22 is hard to get and don't want to burn it all up developing a load.
I also heard that the LRAB like a bit of a run before the lands. Anyone have experience with this?
 
Personally I would want at least a consistent two shot group. But the other groups really are marginally better. Even the 1" grouping if it retains that to 500 yds is about 5". Double that for field positions and 10" would still be a kill shot.

On another note I've read a few bad things about the lrab. Certainly from shooting too close.
 
Only once in my life has a deer/moose required a second shot. That was the time I fell and knocked the front sight off the rifle, so my first shot was not an instant kill.

With a single shot rifle it is even more true - the first shot is the one that counts. Go with the load that puts the first shot where you want it.
 
Test each at 400yds and take the one that shines at that distance! You won't get much better than you are getting now. It is not a target rifle, and MOA is certainly ideal for hunting.
 
It seems like my line of thought is the same as most here. It's first one that counts. A pm I received said when your hunting and you here a shot it's a hit, if you here two it's a maybe. If you here three it's a miss. May be more truth to that than most realize. Put a grin on my face.
So I'll take door number one and take the round that gives me my best cold bore shot.
Don't want to forget my manners, so would like to thank you all for taking the time to reply.
 
Why are you working 250 fps below this cartridges capability? As a hunting firearm and cartridge you should be up in the 2800 fps area if you want the most effective kills this cartridge is capable of and especially if you wish to hunt game out to 500 mtrs as you stated. .200 and .300 groups are not needed to be an effective hunting rifle, but giving up 250-300 fps reduces your energy dramatically and will allow the wind to affect your bullets flight exponentially. Look at accuracy from a different perspective, if your rifle will put 3 shots into 1 moa consistently, then it is capable of hitting a sheep or deer in the HEART every time at 500 mtrs. You should be able to find at least one and probably 2 nodes at higher velocities than where you are working now, and I would highly recommend you look for them if your main intent for this rifle is to hunt with it.
You also reduce bullet performance as you reduce velocity, and don't believe everything the manufactures say about minimum velocity performance of their bullets. The higher the velocity, the greater the bullet disruption and the greater the energy transfer to the animal...........the quicker death arrives !!!! Super accuracy does not kill.........a principle many on this sight need to learn, bullet upset, energy transfer and organ damage is what kills an animal...........And what pray tell gives one the greatest bullet upset.........energy transfer...........organ damage...........velocity. Magnumitis didn't just evolve for no particular good reason.....magnums are superior killing cartridges when coupled with the correct bullets, and they do it much farther out.
Your cartridge of choice although not technically a magnum, is the spawn of our modern day high velocity cartridges and is easily capable of over 2800 fps with the 168 LRAB. You are not doing yourself or the game you will chase with this rifle/cartridge combo any favors, by loading it down to 2565 fps, in fact at this velocity it would be a travesty to take a shot at a game animal at 500 mtrs..........JMHE.
 
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