Best 180 grain+ .308 hunting ammo

Tommy87

ejg wrote: »

Tommy87, what kind of grouping are you achieving with varies 150gr? (maybe I over saw it)
What kind of grouping are you hoping for?
If you find a cartridge that does 1.5" or better, then practice with it. Sometimes a barrel
and the shooter gets better over time when sticking to one thing. Adjust your stalking to your and the rifles ability. ....and get on with it
I have a custom 1/10 twist 308 which shoots 150 to 190gr without a difference. 308's are normally not that fussy.

I have seen very accurate rugers but also a few lemons just like other brands.
edi

Hey ejg,

I was using 150grain hornady softpoints, shooting a target at 240 yards, I was putting 3 shots inside the size of a fiver. I have a few pics but can't get them up off my phone. The 3 shots are stretching the length of the fiver ( nearly 5inches) but no difference in elevation, all in a straight line across.

I was thinkin the 3 shots should be closer together at this range???

dev110

Tommy87 wrote: »

I was using 150grain hornady softpoints, shooting a target at 240 yards, I was putting 3 shots inside the size of a fiver. I have a few pics but can't get them up off my phone. The 3 shots are stretching the length of the fiver ( nearly 5inches) but no difference in elevation, all in a straight line across.

I was thinkin the 3 shots should be closer together at this range???

Vertical spread is usually the fault of the shooter/ammo. Horizontal spread is usually down to wind.

Was it windy the day you tested them?

Tommy87

dev110 wrote: »

Vertical spread is usually the fault of the shooter/ammo. Horizontal spread is usually down to wind.

Was it windy the day you tested them?

There was a breeze alright, nothing major. I can send a pic of it if anyone wants to pm their number.

I suppose for my needs it is good enough.

dev110

There is two 3 shot groups in the middle. The other four were zeroing.


I think these could be tightened in. There is little to no vertical.

How do they perform at 100 yards?

Tommy87

Dev, I started at 40yards, 3 shots pretty much in the same hole. Then ar 100 they are nearly identicle to the picture only closer together.

So I put it down to ammo??

dev110

I'm thinking it could be done to your hold or maybe a heavy trigger.

Here is a thread from the target shooting forum from a lad with a .243:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056491309

Then here is the result after changing hold:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=76248649

Here is a post from Ezridax explaining the difference from curling your thumb around the stock vs leaving it resting behind the bolt:

Ezridax wrote:

Trigger weight is important. I usually set mine for between 1.5 - 2 lb. For the target rifle it is much lighter.

Other than that the first thing i would recommend, as i have done to others with immediate and significant improvement is hold. The average hunter/stalker has the same grip. When it comes to target shooting either at a bench or prone you need to adapt your grip/hold.

First thing i would recommend is the position of your thumb. Most people place the thumb across the back of the stock, curl it round, and get a good tight grip on the stock. See pic A.



When out in the field shoot in a standing this grip is fine as you need to be on target, but not pin holing the shots. A deer is bigger than a paper target. However when you hold the rifle with this grip you put push/pull pressure on the rifle/stock. By this i mean the natural gerip of a person wants to twist the stock. Now while holding the rifle this motion is not evident however the very second you fire this "twisting" movement is exaggerated by recoil, and results in shots going off. In this case, as with a right handed person the shot normally goes high and right.

To resolve this i always tell people that when shooting in a target environment to move the thumb, and fight the natural urge to grip the stock. The best place for the thumb i find (with a hunting style stock) is along the back of the stock/grip with the thumb tip and the back of the bolt. See pic B;



This style of hold eliminates the majority of "twist". The other tip i would give is the position of the fingers around the front of the grip. You have two choices here depending on your personal choice.

You can wrap the hand/fingers around the front of the grip as is natural. However do not press the fingertips into the stock. IOW do not clench your hand and use a death grip. See pic C;




The other option is, as i would use, the fingers straight out and using the bottom of the fingers (palm side of knuckles) in a straight pull action. This pulls the stock back into your shoulder in a straight line, and without any pressure from the fingers you get no twist. Really its what feels comfortable. See pic D;




I have shown this to a few lads, including tommyboy26, and dev110 here and they saw an immediate improvement. After that they work on the specifics that best suits themselves. It'll take a while because your natural instinct is to grasp the stock. Thing is to take your time, move the thumb, then pull the stock straight back into you.

Do not try and stop the recoil. Its not possible. You need to get your body position in such a way that the recoil comes back into the shoulder, the shoulder goes back, then forward, and the gun returns to its original firing position or as close as possible.

The last final tip i would give is the position of the gun and stock. You want the recoil pad and your shoulder in as true a line as possible with the boe line of the rifle. This will reduce or eliminate muzzle flip as the recoil comes straight back into the shoulder. If the shoulder is below the boreline the recoil wil push the rifle back, and when it gets resistance with the shoulder it will lift the muzzle to "continue" the recoil.

In the picture below the blue line represents the barrel/bore, the red line represents the bore line, and the green marks the ideal position of the butt pad. See how the boreline disects the position of the butt pad to give a good body/shoulder position.




Hope some of that helps, and is clear.

Tommy87

The rifle is in at the minute getting the trigger changed to an adjustable one so that will help anyway! The old trigger,which was non adjustable, was 7lb! It was a nightmare!

That's very interesting information. I can't wait to try it out. Thanks very much dev!

dev110

7lb :eek:

You should see a big difference when you get your new trigger.

Cass

With 7lb of weight on the trigger you would be pulling so hard that you would pull the rifle to the side, and as we all know any small movement at the rifle is exaggerated at distance.

You will find that you have increased "tension" in your arm, and shoulder as you try to pull the trigger. Are you right handed? If so the shots would always be pulled right due to natural movement of the arm, hand, etc. Ideal weight for a hunting set up (for me anyway) would be between 1.5-2. Some prefer a little heavier and that's fine, but 7lb is ridiculously heavy. You done well to hold the groups you were getting with the trigger at that.