Inaccurate ammunition

Inaccurate ammunition fails in one or more aspects of which makes ammunition accurate.

Listing what makes ammunition accurate (precise) and troubleshooting based on a structured triage tree usually brings us out of the dark and into the light (not an exhaustive list of common aspects)

• Bullet weight/length matched to barrel twist
• Bullet diameter matched to bore
• Bullet consistency (dia, weight, bearing length, jacket uniformity, Ogive, etc)
• Uniform case capacity
• Uniform neck tension
• Cases sized well to fit chamber
• Powder well suited for cartridge & bullet
• Consistent powder charge
• Powder charge within node
• Bullet jump suited to construction & ogive

All we’re really trying to do is uniformly position uniform bullets in the chamber, then promote uniform combustion behind them.

Of course, all of the above can be negated if mechanical instability exists within the firearm.

I am with you but I wouldn’t jump in with

“• Bullet weight/length matched to barrel twist
• Bullet diameter matched to bore
• Bullet consistency (dia, weight, bearing length, jacket uniformity, Ogive, etc)
• Uniform case capacity
• Uniform neck tension
• Cases sized well to fit chamber
• Powder well suited for cartridge & bullet
• Consistent powder charge
• Powder charge within node
• Bullet jump suited to construction & ogive”

just yet. Lots of variables and unknowns from the OP.

Hockey7711 said:

I read a gun review recently, and they mentioned that they were using ammunition that wasn't accurate. They were 9mm reloads.
What would cause ammunition to ammunition to be inaccurate?

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The review only tested reloads, nothing else? If I have a firearm that is inaccurate, it won’t shoot anything accurately. If I only shoot one thing through it and it’s inaccurate, I can no more definitively say it was the fault of the ammunition than I could say it was the fault of the firearm.

Then there is the qualitative term “accurate”. Some people might say they have an accurate 9mm load because they can keep most of the rounds in a 3” circle at 15 yards. Same folks might say their rifle was accurate if it could do the same thing at 100 yards. Both would differ with others quantitative definitions of the qualitative word “accuracy”.

I highly suspect the OP is referencing a post I made in which I reviewed my P365 and my dad's Hellcat in a side by side shootout at the cabin range last weekend.

I stated in the review that the ammo I was using was not accurate in any gun I had shot it in, which thus far had been my P365, the Hellcat, and a Taurus G2c.

They were reloads I put together using surplus components. Namely 147 grain RMR plated bullets and Titegroup powder. Shooting off a rest at 25 yards, they produced 4" - 5" groups. That's pretty bad for my guns. The P365 will do 2" at 25 yards using Hornady 124 grain XTPs and Ramshot Silhouette powder.

But, I also sighted in my Glock G19 with a red dot on it while doing the review and it looked like it was doing just over an inch with that ammo, so it appeared that it's longer barrel and different rifling liked them just fine.

So many factors and variables with what affects accuracy.

Most people who target practice just go and shoot as fast as they can at 7 yards and claim a gun is accurate if all their shots end up on a 16" by 16" target. Very few actually do any real accuracy testing, or are capable enough shooters to do any real accuracy testing. Those folks are the first to scoff at those of us who try to explain what accuracy is and how to evaluate it.

Trey Veston said:

I highly suspect the OP is referencing a post I made in which I reviewed my P365 and my dad's Hellcat in a side by side shootout at the cabin range last weekend.

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Link? Thanks.

Trey Veston said:

They were reloads I put together using surplus components. Namely 147 grain RMR plated bullets and Titegroup powder. Shooting off a rest at 25 yards, they produced 4" - 5" groups. That's pretty bad for my guns. The P365 will do 2" at 25 yards using Hornady 124 grain XTPs and Ramshot Silhouette powder.

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That would fall into what I said in #23, plated vs decent JHP isn’t a fair fight, even if everything else is the same.

fxvr5 said:

Link? Thanks.

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https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/first-time-shooting-the-hellcat.890412/#post-11963523

Hockey7711 said:

I read a gun review recently, and they mentioned that they were using ammunition that wasn't accurate. They were 9mm reloads.

Click to expand...

Trey Veston said:

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/first-time-shooting-the-hellcat.890412/#post-11963523

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Hockey7711, was that the gun review (by Trey Veston) that you were talking about?

tightgroup tiger said:

Mine are to, once I weed out the inaccurate load recipes, that I find while searching for the perfect load.

There is something that is called an accuracy node where all the stars align and gun, the bullet, and the shooter all agree that "this is a good load!"

But, every once in a while I will load up a recipe that is the worst of all worlds, and just plain sucks in all dimensions.

I don't know why that load will suck as bad as it does, but it just does. Bad combination of components, my gun thinks so also, and the recipe doesn't agree with the way I want to shoot.
Usually it is a misuse of a powder burn rate for what I'm trying to achieve.

Doesn't matter what the reason is, but yes, sometimes I do load certain recipes that are simply no good. That's just the way it is.

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Yup. Starting load of 8.1gr Blue Dot in the 230gr. GDHP .45ACP. At 8.5gr it starts to be a good load - MOB-G good - but the starting load of 8.1gr wasn't even on the paper accurate in either of my testing .45's - a Star M-45 and an AO 1911A1. No idea why but the Gold Dots just need more "oomph!" out of Blue Dot than starting. At 9.0gr it was a really, REALLY good load - but about useless for a woke up at 3AM load.

On the upside, if you missed the B-G with the bullet, you'd get him with the flame.