varget,22-250,hornady 50g v-max,and real cold

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dozernomore

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I have just recently got into reloading,,worked up a good load with hornady 50 grain v-max,36.5 gr varget,win brass,cci Lrp,in my rem 700 sps varmint 22-250 ,bull barrel,26" with a 1 and 14 twist,,,when I was at range working up my loads,it was around freezing,,0-c(32-f),,,and finally was getting around .31 moa,,I even got a .81 at 300 meters,,,extremely proud of my work,,,anyway's ,I went to the range today,,absolutely no wind,figured it was a perfect morning to zero my scope with my hand loads,,,no wind but extremely cold though,-14 celcius(6 deg farenheit),,,my first shot was where I expected to be,,the 2,nd low and right,3.rd lower and righter,,,they were all over the place,,,thinking maybe it was my scope,,I shot 3 winchester 45 grainers and easily got sub moa,,,now i'm thinking maybe my scale is bad,,I put three rounds in my pocket to see if some what warming them would help,,and it did slightly,,,,so I left the range angry and puzzled,,went to work for a bit,,,then home and cleaned my rifle went back to range,,the afternoon warmed up considerably,,if you consider -4c warm(lol),,,and the grouping was substancially better for a breezy afternoon,,7 shots and 5 were all moa,,the other 2 shot's were just a little off,,,,VARGET is called an extreme powder,,meaning suppose to be good in temperature extremes,,,,is -14 cel. to EXTREME for varget,(lol),,Anyone got any ideas???
 
The first variable I would look at is your shooting. Because you knew this ammo would shoot so well, is it possible that you did not have the degree of focus as you might have previously? Did you fire the rifle with a soft contact under it? Are you shooting from a bi-pod on frozen ground? A soft mat under the bi-pod may help. Did the cold interfere with your trigger control? Heavy winter clothing interferes with proper cheek weld etc, so perhaps your eye did not line up with the scope exactly the same way for shot to shot.

If none of these things is an issue, then check you scope mounts to ensure the screws are tight and the same for the rifle's action screws. I have shot Varget at -35 without an issue, but I don’t anticipate bench rest accuracy when I shoot in the cold either.
 
DOnt think it would be a problem with the scope since you shot other ammo just fine after shooting the 50 grainers.

Maybe the cold had an impact on you more when you were shooting the varget compared to when shooting the others. I have also noticed somewhat inconsistent results when I am shooting in the cold. Eg, shoot good right after I get out of the car, but after an hour and I'm done.

Cheers
 
Boomer said:
The first variable I would look at is your shooting. Because you knew this ammo would shoot so well, is it possible that you did not have the degree of focus as you might have previously? Did you fire the rifle with a soft contact under it? Are you shooting from a bi-pod on frozen ground? A soft mat under the bi-pod may help. Did the cold interfere with your trigger control? Heavy winter clothing interferes with proper cheek weld etc, so perhaps your eye did not line up with the scope exactly the same way for shot to shot.

If none of these things is an issue, then check you scope mounts to ensure the screws are tight and the same for the rifle's action screws. I have shot Varget at -35 without an issue, but I don’t anticipate bench rest accuracy when I shoot in the cold either.
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as I mentioned before,,,I was thinking the same,,maybe it was me or scope mount's,,BUT THAT is why I thought I would shoot some winchester 45grain factory ammo I had,,,and it shot .5 moa,,from the exact set up as my hornady handloads
 
dozernomore said:
,no wind but extremely cold though,-14 celcius(6 deg farenheit the grouping was substancially better for a breezy afternoon,,7 shots and 5 were all moa,,the other 2 shot's were just a little off,,,,VARGET is called an extreme powder,,meaning suppose to be good in temperature extremes,,,,is -14 cel. to EXTREME for varget,(lol),,Anyone got any ideas???
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-14C is extremely cold!?!?!? :p Bhahahahaha.....


Seriously;), I have seen cold temperatures do things to loaded ammo, but it's usually more obvious over a wider temperature differential, say, from a 15-20C afternoon in the late summer to -25C in winter. If I read your post correctly, you go from a shotgun pattern at -14 C to subMOA at -4?

I'm gonna side with the others here and point my finger at your shooting. Were you chilled at the extremely cold temperature of -14? (Don't take my razzin' the wrong way, it was -37 here this morning.:D) Shooter comfort can easily open up groups. Any chance you were concentrating more with the 45gr stuff?

Any chance the barrel is touching the stock forend when it is cold and free floating after it warms up?
 
You have to accept the fact also that just because you shot 15 rounds into 1 hole on Saturday does not mean you can go to the range the following day/week and do it over and over again. We all have our good days and we all have our bad days.

I shoot the same load week in and week out, 4 - 2 sighter and 10 shots for score on targets every Sunday, and no 2 groups are the same size.

Your barrel will also play into it. A barrel at -14 will shoot differently than a barrel that starts out at 0. I know that my match barrel, as it warms up, has the POI move down 1/4-1/2 moa over a 12 shot string.

Another trick I use on cold days is to "cook" the round in the chamber using heat from the previous rounds to warm up the components while I wait for the target to be scored (cooks anywhere from 15-40 seconds).

Since Metal will shrink and expand in hot and cold I would have to assume that a cold bullet will shoot differently than a warm bullet. I do not know to what degree the bullet will shrink when cold, but a little may make a big difference.

Johnny G1 said:
Would over cleaning have anything to do with it, I have ben told a rifle with a few rounds through it will shoot better than one that was just cleaned, Just my thoughts.
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Yes, this could also affect things but every barrel is different, some like to shoot dirty, some clean. I know my current barrel, before being cut down, would take 15 or so rounds to come back around after a thorough cleaning.
 
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alrighty then,,I think I'm gonna go with the temperature affecting my barrel then,with my hand loads,,,I know the cold wasn't affecting me,,because the factory ammo grouped nicely in the minus 14,,,,and later the in the afternoon when I went back at minus 4,,,and a clean barrel,,,the grouping was substancialy better,, with my hand loads,,how ever though when my grouping was all over the place at the start of my morning,,,,and I shoved three rounds in my pocket to somwhat warm them up,,the grouping wasn't great,,,but the pocket warmed ammo was better then the cold stuff off the bench,,,thanks everyone for your input,,,
 
-14 is not extreme for varget. i'd have a look at your seating depth and possibly your scale- just pull a loaded round apart and weigh the powder charge.
 
well,,I'm still thinking about my bad day I had at the range earlier this week,,,and am starting to wonder if my problem was excess die lube in throat,and my $40 digital scale.with batteries that were weakening,,,BECAUSE,,,lol,,,I went back to the range today with same,temperature and recipe as originally posted,,,,except new batteries in scale ,and neck sized only,,no LUBE,,,,,and shot fantastically,,,3 out of 5 shots,were 1 big .34 moa,,2 flyers made .75 moa,,,,,BECAUSE,,,I kinda remember now that when I loaded my cases,,a few had powder clinging to throat,from what was excess lube,,,and now I am wondering,that the excess lube hardened a little in the cold,,there for affecting my propellant parameters,,,ps,,just purchased a rcbs 750 rangemaster scale,,,,that work's aff AC power,,((no more batteries getting weak)),,,and am only neck sizing with lee collet neck sizer die only
 
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