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Home on the Range with the .300 B.O.

nortac

"Can't Raise an Eyebrow"
Well, truth be told, I hope to eventually shoot much better than that. And although the gun seems to like the Hornady load, I hope to improve on that with handloads.
 
Why 10 shot groups? Is there a reason for that number? I always use 5 shot groups to look at precision. Most of my hunting friends only 3 shot groups. 10 just seems like a lot.
 

nortac

"Can't Raise an Eyebrow"
More shots, more data. If you shot say a 5 shot group, and three of those were in a close cluster, but the other two open up the group significantly, were the two errant shots shooter induced, was it the wind, was it the ammo? Shoot ten shots, there might be a cluster of seven shots, maybe not. A deer hunter doesn't really need MOA level of accuracy for close to midrange shots. So three is good enough, because he's shooting at an eight inch kill zone for a classic broadside heart lung shot. Now if he is shooting across a canyon, he probably wants better confirmation of accuracy and consistency in his ammo. I want to know not only what I can do, but also what the gun can do and what the ammo can do consistently.
 

OkieStubble

Dirty Donuts are so Good.
What he said. 3-5 for sighting in, 10 if you want to see what your gun will do with what loads. Cold & Hot.
 

nortac

"Can't Raise an Eyebrow"
Most target shooting disciplines use at least a 10 shot group, F-class uses a 20 shot group.
 
Very cool. Is there a general rule as to how much bigger a 10 round group should be compared to say a 5 shot group if your gun shoots a load well?
 

nortac

"Can't Raise an Eyebrow"
Well ideally, it should not be bigger. But of course it could be. There may be a few fliers, but the majority of shots should fall in a tight group.
 

nortac

"Can't Raise an Eyebrow"
Thanks, but I think it can do better. The downside of firing 10 shot groups is, that it becomes tiring, particularly with a low power scope. Probably most of the fliers are shooter induced. And unless you can "call the shot" and identify which shots are shooter error, then it becomes difficult to dismiss the fliers and say, for instance, "oh that's really a 1 MOA group" when a couple of fliers open it up to much larger. While I'm trying to wring "target rifle" accuracy out of my AR "pistol", it's form factor makes that difficult. The short barrel is not the challenge, the short "stock"/arm brace and the low powered scope with tight eye relief at 8X is. It is a bit awkward to shoot from the bench. With a normal stock, I would place my rear sandbag under the toe of the stock close to my shoulder. That is not possible with this AR. While I hold the "arm brace" against my shoulder and steady it with the off hand, the only place to put the rear bag is under the trigger guard. Not ideal. See the picture in post # 38.
 

OkieStubble

Dirty Donuts are so Good.
Thanks, but I think it can do better. The downside of firing 10 shot groups is, that it becomes tiring, particularly with a low power scope. Probably most of the fliers are shooter induced. And unless you can "call the shot" and identify which shots are shooter error, then it becomes difficult to dismiss the fliers and say, for instance, "oh that's really a 1 MOA group" when a couple of fliers open it up to much larger. While I'm trying to wring "target rifle" accuracy out of my AR "pistol", it's form factor makes that difficult. The short barrel is not the challenge, the short "stock"/arm brace and the low powered scope with tight eye relief at 8X is. It is a bit awkward to shoot from the bench. With a normal stock, I would place my rear sandbag under the toe of the stock close to my shoulder. That is not possible with this AR. While I hold the "arm brace" against my shoulder and steady it with the off hand, the only place to put the rear bag is under the trigger guard. Not ideal. See the picture in post # 38.

You don't have a spotting scope?
 
Thanks, but I think it can do better. The downside of firing 10 shot groups is, that it becomes tiring, particularly with a low power scope. Probably most of the fliers are shooter induced. And unless you can "call the shot" and identify which shots are shooter error, then it becomes difficult to dismiss the fliers and say, for instance, "oh that's really a 1 MOA group" when a couple of fliers open it up to much larger. While I'm trying to wring "target rifle" accuracy out of my AR "pistol", it's form factor makes that difficult. The short barrel is not the challenge, the short "stock"/arm brace and the low powered scope with tight eye relief at 8X is. It is a bit awkward to shoot from the bench. With a normal stock, I would place my rear sandbag under the toe of the stock close to my shoulder. That is not possible with this AR. While I hold the "arm brace" against my shoulder and steady it with the off hand, the only place to put the rear bag is under the trigger guard. Not ideal. See the picture in post # 38.
I bet! I have trouble taking my time and focusing with the last couple shots in a 5 shot group. I’m going to try 10 shot groups next time I’m shooting rifles. It will be a good test of my patience. Maybe it will improve my 5 shot groups in the future? I agree that a 1.5 inch group with a short barrel is pretty darned good. Very cool. I don’t reload, but I love testing factory ammunition in my hunting rifles just for fun.
 

nortac

"Can't Raise an Eyebrow"
You don't have a spotting scope?
Yes, I do. A fairly nice Brunton, you can see it in the background of post #38. I need to be more disciplined in using it, perhaps even recording each shot in a shooter's log. But then it starts to become like work. Problem is, I try to shoot too many groups (not too many shots per group), with too many different loads each time I go to the range. As I begin to work up loads with varying powder charges, bullet seating depths, etc., I need to be more methodical. Shoot perhaps 50 rounds total, instead of 100. As it becomes tiresome, I begin rushing things a bit. So the results are less than optimal, just sending rounds down range instead of taking enough time to ensure a best effort with every shot. I have work to do in that regard.
 
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OkieStubble

Dirty Donuts are so Good.
You need one of those spotting scopes that also can take a pic of your target. Come to think of it, I need one too. :)
 

nortac

"Can't Raise an Eyebrow"
If I had my own range, I'd have a protected CCTV monitor of the 100 yd. target, or any other distance. If I were a rich man. Que Fiddler on the Roof.
 

OkieStubble

Dirty Donuts are so Good.
If I had my own range, I'd have a protected CCTV monitor of the 100 yd. target, or any other distance. If I were a rich man. Que Fiddler on the Roof.

Lol'd, you're funny. :)

I also need a LabRadar chrono

look at the bright side, if you drop the $600 on this, you can get the rechargeable battery power unit with a USB!

For the meer sum of $23.99. :)
 

nortac

"Can't Raise an Eyebrow"
Last time I ran the rifle range as an RSO, a guy had the LabRadar. Very, very cool. As mentioned previously, I have a PACT chrono with sky screens that is very dependent on sunshine and is a PITA to use. I also have a MagnetoSpeed chrono, that attaches to the barrel like a bayonet, no screens, but doesn't fit on all firearms. When it works, it works great. Doesn't fit on my .300 B.O. The LabRadar is beginning to look less and less extravagant. I will have one some day, or something similar.
 

nortac

"Can't Raise an Eyebrow"
Ran the rifle range again today as an RSO and the same guy had his LabRadar chrono set up. Instead of using a printer like most chronos, it stores the data in an SD chip that you can download to Excel in your PC. So freaking cool. It is now on the short list for major firearm related purchases!
 

OkieStubble

Dirty Donuts are so Good.
Ran the rifle range again today as an RSO and the same guy had his LabRadar chrono set up. Instead of using a printer like most chronos, it stores the data in an SD chip that you can download to Excel in your PC. So freaking cool. It is now on the short list for major firearm related purchases!

That is pretty cool. I want the one that automatically downloads it to your iphone via bluetooth. :)
 
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