Old grunt trying his hand at precision shooting

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05-21-21, 22:33
daddyusmaximus

Old grunt trying his hand at precision shooting

Heading out to the range tomorrow. OK, that's nothing new, except this time I'm gonna try my hand at precision shooting. Spent 28 years wandering the globe with some type of AR platform M16A1/A2/M4 in my hands, so I'm used to that. I have had lever guns and bolt guns in the past, but never really took precision shooting seriously, so I'm gonna give it a shot. (pun intended) I picked up a few Remington 700s. A Classic in 7mm Mauser is on the way, I have a .243 in a MagPul Hunter stock, and my latest finished project is a .223 SPS in a KRG Bravo chassis that I'm taking out to the range tomorrow on it's maiden voyage. It has the Primary Arms GLX 4-16x50 scope, and a single stage Trigger Tech trigger. Hoping to zero it, and test a few different loads in it to start the process of finding out what it likes.

https://i.imgur.com/ba1PNeA.jpg
05-22-21, 06:45
gaijin

Betting you'll enjoy "Precision" rifle. What is twist rate on your .2223 SPS, will it stabilize heavy bullets?
We have a Hell of a time with wind drift beyond 600 yds here in Kansas, particularly with conditions in the 15 to 20 sustained, gusting to 35+.

My shooting background had been Pistols/Carbines. A "Long Shot" was 300 yds.
The Long Range Precision game has been an excellent opportunity for growth as a shooter/reloader and has been been most enjoyable.

Enjoy the journey.
05-22-21, 08:20
daddyusmaximus

Quote:

Originally Posted by gaijin

Betting you'll enjoy "Precision" rifle. What is twist rate on your .2223 SPS, will it stabilize heavy bullets?
We have a Hell of a time with wind drift beyond 600 yds here in Kansas, particularly with conditions in the 15 to 20 sustained, gusting to 35+.

My shooting background had been Pistols/Carbines. A "Long Shot" was 300 yds.
The Long Range Precision game has been an excellent opportunity for growth as a shooter/reloader and has been been most enjoyable.

Enjoy the journey.

I believe it's only a 1/9 I got the action used. Not worried about the wind at 600 yds. That's what the .243, and the 7mm Mauser will be for... maybe. Not getting into long range shooting just yet, only precision shooting for now. Just want to see if I'm capable of nice small little groups first. This thing is only a 16.6" barreled .223. I know it's limitations... trying to find mine. Sad thing is with my poor close up vision, and the nerve damage I have from my injuries in Iraq, I'll probably never get into hand loading.
05-22-21, 09:24
gaijin

Understood.

Hang in there DM.
The beauty of magnified optics are their ability to correct for lousy vision.
05-22-21, 17:45
Pappabear

Don't count out your 1/9 twist barrel just yet. I have a Stock Rem 700 5R 1/9 that will stabilize 80 grain bullets. So the twist rate is a good guideline but not the end-all. The bullet don't lie. Ive never had a 1/12 shoot anything but 55 grainers, but the 1/9 can surprise you given a longer barrel. In AR's, the 1/9 has not proven good with the heavies. Like Gaijin said, the optics make shooting sooo much more enjoyable.

People talk about 22LR trainers all the time, however I think the .223 bolt guns are the best trainers to learn to read wind and all the long range stuff (fundamentals). Give us a range report, I bet that .223 will go much longer than you expect.

Best of luck.

PB
05-23-21, 14:45
C-grunt

Like Pappabear said, dont discount a precision 223. I have a 16 inch BCM build that Ive taken out to almost 1100 yards now with 77 grain ammo. Is it as good as my 6.5 or 308? Hell no, but it gets there.

Truthfully though the majority of the time Im just shooting 55 grain ball ammo out of it. It shoots American Eagle 55 grain to right around or a little under 2 MOA. With the steel target sizes at my range that gets me out past 600 yards without much effort. When I went to shoot with Pappabear and Markm at their range I was hitting a steel IPSC at over 700 yards with the 55 grain fairly regularly. Probably about 50-60 percent hit rate. Good cheap fun.
05-27-21, 21:39
daddyusmaximus

Wasn't able to get out that day I said I was going to, but I finally did today. It was not a fun time on the range. Getting old, and forgetful sucks. I had slapped the scope on it without boresighting it. Didn't even think about it. Just expected it to at least be on paper. Well, it was... sort of. Problem was, it was keyholing. One round even broke up and made 2 holes. I started thinking all kinds of stupid shit. (I had bought the action used, and put it in a new chassis, with a new scope. OK, maybe the rounds was striking the brake, so that thing came off. Nope still sucked. Took the bolt out, and looked down the bore, compared it to the scope. I was hitting WAY in front of the target, and skipping the rounds up onto the paper. LOL. Felt like a complete dumb ass, even though I was the only guy out there. Thank God I'm a crippled unemployed vet, and everybody else was at work during a weekday. I blame the PTSD, and TBI. Anyway, even after I got her dialed in, I couldn't seem to hold her steady, and was shooting around 1.5". I was hoping for sub inch groups. I didn't try any match ammo though, so I guess that's not bad. I zeroed with PMC Bronze to get close then was shooting Fed Premium Tactical TRU Hi-Shok 55 gr SP. I do have a few other loads to try, but none that I have enough of to make them the chosen duty round, and with the ammo scare still on, it's not like I can go out and pick up a case of whatever it likes... It did do a sub MOA group with Cor-Bon 62 gr DPX, but I only have around 200 of those in my stash... Decided not to put that funky little brake back on when I got home, but went with a leftover Surefire Socom brake. Fits perfect in the little AIM Shooting Sports 40 drag bag.

Spent some time with the 77/22, and a couple hand guns. I was even plugging the targets at 50 yds with my S&W Model 10, and my Dan Wesson 1911, so that made me feel better. Then I put in some time with my AR pistol, working both with, and without the 3x magnifier. (zeroed with) Got a vacation coming up, and it comes with when we travel.
05-28-21, 06:09
gaijin

Odds are high that factory .223 won’t get you the precision you’re hoping for. Most I’ve tried have too great SD and are too inconsistent.

The <1/2 MOA is probably going to be a handloading endeavor.
05-29-21, 01:15
daddyusmaximus

Quote:

Originally Posted by gaijin

Odds are high that factory .223 won’t get you the precision you’re hoping for. Most I’ve tried have too great SD and are too inconsistent.

The <1/2 MOA is probably going to be a handloading endeavor.

Most likely, but I'll keep experimenting. I have bad vision up close, and ain't too good holding on to small things with my nerve damage, so I'm not planning to get into hand loading, not that it's even an option to start right now with panic buying still in full swing. I guess I was expecting a lot because my 18" Larue Tactical Stealth 2.0 will do just over 1/2" (about .62) with the 75 gr Hornady TAP, and my .243 can do .75" all day long with Winchester 95 gr Dear Season XTP, so I'm hoping I'll find something this little thing likes. I have some others to try at another time.

The .243
https://i.imgur.com/yfgS6AW.jpg