Some .243 load development

KATTRAKER

KATTRAKER

Active member
I am looking for a powder for 70 Gr Sierra Match Kings. I tried Varget with mixed results. I made a Youtube clip of my testing-
 
Watching your video, the rifle butt drops sharply during recoil. A slight change in rear bag/front rest to allow more horizontal movement should reduce the vertical dispersion, as will powder charge tuning.
 
Hodgdon says that Varget and IMR4064 are identical burn rates, but I've never had a rifle they were interchangeable in...
 
I appreciate all your comments, and the Sierra load book. My .22-250 LOVES 4064, that gun goes sub MOA all day. I also thought about trying some H380 I have on hand...
 
KATTRAKER said:
I am open to suggestions, tips, and tricks...
Click to expand...
It could be the load, but for sure your technique is hurting your shooting. You are completely breaking your shooting position after every shot and losing consistency, sitting up, lifting your head up, using both hands to hold the rifle and work the bolt, and then starting over from scratch for the next shot.

Your rifle sits very high off the bench. Get lower on the bench for better stability. Ditch that Caldwell front rest (I bought one about 20 years ago- it's garbage) and ditch the block of wood it sat on. Move your big brown rear bag up to the front as a front rest, it will be more stable. Use a smallish sized squeeze rear bag, or make one from half an old sock filled with rice or sand. Squeeze the rear bag to aim. Get your shoulder and body in better position to absorb recoil. Maintain your body position for all 5 shots, build your position with natural point of aim and keep it. Do not remove your cheek from the stock between shots, do not sit up, do not move your left arm or hand. Simply use your right hand to work the bolt between shots, the rest of your body does not move. Building a lower and steadier position will help you work the bolt one handed.
 
DiRTY DOG said:
It could be the load, but for sure your technique is hurting your shooting. You are completely breaking your shooting position after every shot and losing consistency, sitting up, lifting your head up, using both hands to hold the rifle and work the bolt, and then starting over from scratch for the next shot.

Your rifle sits very high off the bench. Get lower on the bench for better stability. Ditch that Caldwell front rest (I bought one about 20 years ago- it's garbage) and ditch the block of wood it sat on. Move your big brown rear bag up to the front as a front rest, it will be more stable. Use a smallish sized squeeze rear bag, or make one from half an old sock filled with rice or sand. Squeeze the rear bag to aim. Get your shoulder and body in better position to absorb recoil. Maintain your body position for all 5 shots, build your position with natural point of aim and keep it. Do not remove your cheek from the stock between shots, do not sit up, do not move your left arm or hand. Simply use your right hand to work the bolt between shots, the rest of your body does not move. Building a lower and steadier position will help you work the bolt one handed.
Click to expand...
I appreciate all of that.
 
Building a lower and steadier position will help you work the bolt one handed. That makes sense and is the kind of advice I was looking for.
 
Another thing that would help, is to put your cross hair on one of the corners of the red box you drew on your target. Shooting in the center of that red box leaves a lot of room for error.

Best of luck to you.
 
A stable rifle doesn't move off target alignment, unless you physically move it. It should not take muscular effort to hold the reticle on the aiming point. Light weight rifles are less resistant to rotational torque, so grip is important. Once you figure out the best available rest/support you have , consistency from shot to shot(breathing is part of it), will reduce experimental loads. Wind reads are important, even at 100 yards, during load development.
 
Good advice so far.

I would add to place your right thumb on the back of the trigger guard and 'pinch' the trigger between your thumb and index finger. That should help to take out any inadvertant wrist torque.

And, of course, try a different combination, whether it's a primer change, powder type and/or charge.
 


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