Range Report Noob Question

[icor1031]

Hello, new guy here.

I have been wondering, what makes for an accurate round?

Specifically, group spread. I'm not talking about how flat it shoots to 600yd, how immune it is to wind, how much energy it retains, etc.

Is it just the rifle build quality, or does one have an inherent advantage over the other, i.e. 223 vs 308 vs 6.5?

If any round (normally) has an advantage, why? What makes the round better? I'm not sure, but I assume a boat tail makes it more stable.. But you can do that with any of them.

Thanks.

 

[The Mechanic]

Re: Noob Question

way to complicated answer to give in less then 450 pages.
I will break it down for you.
1. You have to be accurate.
2. You have to have an accurate rifle
3. You have to have ammo that is accurate in your accurate rifle.
4. You have to know how to measure and compensate for ENV conditions.
There you go. 450 or so pages condensed into one paragraph.
The best money you can spend to accomplish at least 2 out of four items on the list is only one click away.
http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=subscriptions

 

[LawnMM]

Re: Noob Question

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: icor1301</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Hello, new guy here.

I have been wondering, what makes for an accurate round?

Specifically, group spread. I'm not talking about how flat it shoots to 600yd, how immune it is to wind, how much energy it retains, etc.

Is it just the rifle build quality, or does one have an inherent advantage over the other, i.e. 223 vs 308 vs 6.5?

If any round (normally) has an advantage, why? What makes the round better? I'm not sure, but I assume a boat tail makes it more stable.. But you can do that with any of them.

Thanks. </div></div>

It has to do with the shape of the bullet and how 'slippery' it is in flight. The higher the ballistic coefficient, the lower the drag on the round in flight, and thus...the more energy it retains and the better it fights through the wind.

Having an accurate bullet is only part of the equation. You need to load an accurate round for your rifle. The barrel vibrates like a tuning fork when the rifle is fired. Stiffer barrels flop less. I doubt you could see any of it with the naked eye and it happens so fast you would probably need high speed photography to see it.

Some loads are more accurate based on how evenly the powder burns, how consistently the rounds accelerate through the barrel, etc. Generally velocity is the only variable you can mess with loading the round. When you get very consistent velocities out of it, the rest is up to you.

Then YOU need to shoulder the rifle properly, maintain a consistent position, drive it through recoil, manage good trigger control, etc. That way your accurate rifle, will fire its accurate load, at the target instead of being pulled, pushed, or torqued off target by the shooter.

Rich

 

[azimutha]

Re: Noob Question

No one round (load) in any caliber is going to shoot great from every rifle. But a few things:

1) bullet type matters - quality bullets, generally boat tails that don't have to much angle on the back end, heavy-for-caliber (so they have a higher BC) - but then you still have to winnow it down to a particular one or two that shoot well from your rifle

2) quality brass and primers...and that brass needs to be properly prepared and carefully loaded with little variation in powder charge, runout, and weight (applies to handloads and commercial ammo)

3) variations in powder charge, seating depth and even the type of primer used. These, of course, are typically options available only to the handloader.

 

[The Mechanic]

Re: Noob Question

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: azimutha</div><div class="ubbcode-body">No one round (load) in any caliber is going to shoot great from every rifle. But a few things:

1) bullet type matters - quality bullets, generally boat tails that don't have to much angle on the back end, heavy-for-caliber (so they have a higher BC) - but then you still have to winnow it down to a particular one or two that shoot well from your rifle

2) quality brass and primers...and that brass needs to be properly prepared and carefully loaded with little variation in powder charge, runout, and weight (applies to handloads and commercial ammo)

3) variations in powder charge, seating depth and even the type of primer used. These, of course, are typically options available only to the handloader.</div></div>
Have you ever seen 1,000 yard Black Powder Matches? An aerodynamic bullet does not an accurate shot make. That sounds stupid but dang you should see some of the shots these guys make with big lead slugs, iron sights and a lot of smoke.