Curiosity Test.. Brake VS No Brake and Expander VS No Expander

[Thumper580]

Wondering if running my brake had an effect on accuracy and also whether using a neck expander or not effected accuracy. My data set is very small, I understand that, but was wondering what the results might indicate... Results are 5 shots each at 100 yards.
Equipment:
Tac Ops XRAY-51 .308, ZCO 5-27 scope, Alpha brass, Berger 115 flat base target bullet, CCI small rifle primer, VV N-135, 44.0gr. 2.190 ogive, @3025 fps. SAC modular sizing die, 334 bushing, 80 degrees, overcast, no wind.
Results:
Left side is no neck expander with 4 port Hawkins brake and with no brake.
Right side is using a 306 neck expander with the same brake and then with no brake.....

Assuming all things being equal... Not using the neck expander with No Brake appears to be the way to go. At least with my equipment. 5 shots measuring 0.097".
Tiny data set, but interesting to me.

 

[oldrifleman]

Yeah it likes the mandrel and with the neck done doesn’t really care if there is a brake. Or just shoot without the brake

 

[Thumper580]

Yeah it likes the mandrel and with the neck done doesn’t really care if there is a brake. Or just shoot without the brake

The best group was no expander and no brake. I'll shoot that combo again and see if it hangs in there.

 

[Hawk in WY]

Your sample size is too small.

Any of those will do for my purposes.

 

[Harman117]

I wouldn't take any conclusions from this.

Run the exact same test again, change up the order in which you fired them from the first time. Even doing this just one more time, you'll likely see that the results will be different.

Ideally you would also be blind to which sample you are shooting to prevent your personal influence (someone else knows which is which) but that's a little difficult given you can see if a brake is attached or not.

 

[03machstock]

Wondering if running my brake had an effect on accuracy and also whether using a neck expander or not effected accuracy. My data set is very small, I understand that, but was wondering what the results might indicate... Results are 5 shots each at 100 yards.
Equipment:
Tac Ops XRAY-51 .308, ZCO 5-27 scope, Alpha brass, Berger 115 flat base target bullet, CCI small rifle primer, VV N-135, 44.0gr. 2.190 ogive, @3025 fps. SAC modular sizing die, 334 bushing, 80 degrees, overcast, no wind.
Results:
Left side is no neck expander with 4 port Hawkins brake and with no brake.
Right side is using a 306 neck expander with the same brake and then with no brake.....

Assuming all things being equal... Not using the neck expander with No Brake appears to be the way to go. At least with my equipment. 5 shots measuring 0.097".
Tiny data set, but interesting to me.
View attachment 8743194

The only thing I got out of that was your .308 fucking hammers regardless of whatever you did in your test.

 

[mark5pt56]

I would try a "no/low wind" day and hit it a tad further out, you can get away with a lot at 100, ES, etc. Still pretty accurate across the board though.
You know according to the internet, you must shoot this 5 times with 20 rounds each twice to have a good sample!

 

[BobinNC]

What I also found interesting was the POI change that was evident with the brake vs no brake.

Thanks for sharing

 

[kthomas]

Awesome shooting - bipod and rear bag?

Seems like you are pretty good to go either way If you want to tighten those groups up some more maybe consider a tuner

 

[Supersubes]

What I also found interesting was the POI change that was evident with the brake vs no brake.

Thanks for sharing

I expected that. The surprising part was how little the shift was. Depending on the rifle/brake/cartridge combination, the shift can be several times worse than the OP’s.


OP, just shoot it. Dont waste your time on paper at 100.

 

[Thumper580]

I expected that. The surprising part was how little the shift was. Depending on the rifle/brake/cartridge combination, the shift can be several times worse than the OP’s.


OP, just shoot it. Dont waste your time on paper at 100.

Oh, I wish I could... Long time ago I shot 1000 yard matches for 5 years.... Now limited to 100 yards... Pretty sad. With this setup I need to find some benchrest matches... Love to shoot this against the benchrest guys.