Accuracy deminishes w/ increased speed

[blzeye]

Hi guys,
My Remington 700 SPS Tactical w/ 20" barrel will shoot 1/2 MOA all day at about 2450 fps. I decided to try to get some more speed out of it, so I loaded 3 each of .5 more grains of H4895. My original load is 40.5 gr under a 168 gr SMK w/ 210M primers. 41gr shot well, but 41.5, 42, 42.5 All opened up to at least 1" or more. What do you suggest I try next? Or should I just be happy w/ the gun's accuracy at 2450 & just shoot the damn thing?
Thanks

 

[JLDickmon]

Hi guys,
My Remington 700 SPS Tactical w/ 20" barrel will shoot 1/2 MOA all day at about 2450 fps. I decided to try to get some more speed out of it, so I loaded 3 each of .5 more grains of H4895. My original load is 40.5 gr under a 168 gr SMK w/ 210M primers. 41gr shot well, but 41.5, 42, 42.5 All opened up to at least 1" or more. What do you suggest I try next? Or should I just be happy w/ the gun's accuracy at 2450 & just shoot the damn thing?
Thanks

what I would do..

 

[Reloadron]

You found the sweet spot, of bullet, powder and load, be happy and let it go at that.

Ron

 

[RandyP]

They say things you have lost will be found in the last place you look. Seems to me you have already found what you were seeking, so continuing to look seems rather futile?

I fairness I am not much for the constant experimentation that a lot of reloaders consider enjoyable. If it goes bang and is reasonably accurate, I happily stop searching.

 

[hentown]

IF you're not varying the distance from the bullet to the lands, you don't know whether you've reached your optimal load or not.

 

[Sam1911]

1/2" at 100 yds is quite likely to be very near YOUR accuracy potential, unless you are a skilled benchrest shooter. I'd say that's a very, very accurate load and if you're asking yourself if you should keep tinkering or not, the answer is probably "not."

Now, get it out on the 300, 500, 600+ yard range and you might be able to see more of a difference between very precise loads, as the group sizes naturally increase with distance.

But you have to decide what the rifle and load are FOR. What range will you be shooting, realistically, and at what? If this is your "putting holes in paper" rifle, might as well tinker to your heart's content. If this is your deer rifle, you've got all the load you'll possibly need for any distance you ethically shoot at an animal. The next step is practicing to improve your own skills from various field positions.

 

[blzeye]

I've messed w/ bullet jump in the past, but it doesn't seem to effect accuracy in this gun. Now I just load them all at 2.800.
I appreciate the input. I have been thinking along the same lines you who responded. Load up a bunch of what works & shoot the damn thing!
Thanks again.

 

[918v]

Try Varget. It shoots .5" in my LTR with 44.4grs and a 168 Amax.

 

[Strongbad]

I have a friend with the same identical gun and he gets groups under 1/2" with Varget and 168 gr. Nosler Custom Competition. Varget might be a good one to try. My DPMS LR-308 likes Varget as well, but my bolt gun does not. It does however like AA2230. I don't know if either of those would make any difference, but it might be worth a shot. If you're getting honest 1/2" out of a factory rig like that, as the others have said, you're doing darn good already but tinkering is all part of the reloading process! Never hurts to try!

 

[Sam1911]

but tinkering is all part of the reloading process! Never hurts to try!

Well, sure, but some folks buy a rifle so they can spend days and weeks tweaking infinite load combinations.

Others reach some level of acceptable performance that will accomplish the task they bought the rifle to do -- and go shoot. Not looking for every load that will work, or for the one that will print 7/16" groups instead of 1/2" groups.

My bigger question that I tried to pose above, is if the OP is already shooting 1/2" groups -- can he personally shoot better than that with ANY load? Putting another 500 rounds downrange in load testing off the bench may be a huge waste of time and money if he doesn't have the technique down to be able to shoot a 3/8" group anyway. Or, if he didn't buy this rifle for bench shooting so his 1/2 MOA precision is already considerably better than he'll ever be able to realize in the field.

1/2" at 100 yds is quite likely to be very near YOUR accuracy potential, unless you are a skilled benchrest shooter. I'd say that's a very, very accurate load and if you're asking yourself if you should keep tinkering or not, the answer is probably "not."

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Varget (or Reloder 15)...more speed, same accuracy.

 

[Ky Larry]

You've discovered a very important lesson about shooting. Higher muzzle velocity doesn't mean better accuracy. Faster is not always better. Why do you shoot? If you just want to shoot tiny groups, then have at it. It's your time and money so have a ball. If you are looking for critter control, then .5 MOA is as good as you will ever need in the real world.

 

[joneb]

Another vote for a different powder. I use Varget and BL-C(2).

 

[LeonCarr]

Unless you are hunting animals larger than deer or hogs with this gun and load combination (Sierra does not recommend Matchking bullets for hunting applications), I would leave it be since you are shooting excellent groups with a load that doesn't beat you up as bad as the 2700-2800 fps loads do shooting off the bench, and is cheaper to shoot. Yes, with a different powder such as RL15 or Varget you can get higher velocity, but the various 4895 burning rate powders (IMR 4895, H4895, AA2495) have a long standing well deserved reputation for accuracy in the .308.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[Ken70]

OP, what kind of scope and reticule are you using? Even at 100 yards, the crosshairs in my scopes subtend at least an inch on the target. So it's "That looks about right" without really being able to see if I'm aiming at exactly the same place. I could easily be off 1/4" and not see it.