Re: Group size at various distance
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: kolkio</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Some bullet designs take time to "settle down" or "go to sleep" as some may refer. There is a reason that most benchrest shooters shoot flat based bullets at short distances. Think of it this way, if a bullet is unstable at 100yds then between 100 at 200yds becomes stable, where will the best groups be? Additionally, a unstable bullet is more affected by wind etc.., once it settles down and goes more pointy end forward - better groups. </div></div>
^^^This is why. The longer the bullet in a given twist, the longer it takes to fully stabilize. You see this in a 243 Win shooting a 115 DTAC, 7mm shooting a 180 VLD, 308 Win shooting a 208 A-max. It doesn't have to do with the crown, and other reasons. The bullet comes out of the barrel with a little bit of yaw, and needs 200-300 yards to "settle down". This is why long range bullets need to be tested at distances further than 100 or 200 yards. I test ALL competition rifles at 300 yards or further for this reason. I've seen my personal 300 WM shooting a 208 A-amx group .5" at 100 (1/2 moa), and shoot less than an inch at 300 yards (less than 1/3 moa). So, in comparison, the 300 yard groups tighter or more consistant at 300 than it does at 100. I have also seen a .2" group at 100 yards and 3 inches at 300 with the same load.
Remember, it's not how much the bullet weighs for stability, it's how long it is. The longer the bullet, the more twist needed to stabilize it. Longer bullets are naturally heavier. But the weight is not used to calculate the stability of the bullet. Flat base bullets are easier to stabilize. The boat tail on a bullet increases the length, and does induce some variation on the base of the bullet, which makes it inherantly less accurate than a flat base. But flat base bullets have a much lower BC for longer range shooting. So boat tail bullets are used.