GJgo
Member
I agree that the Bergers are better bullets & generally shoot better if you put the time into tuning them (seating depth). That said, I can't stomach $50 a box for target shooting so I settle for "less".
I'm finding that I'm more interested in consistency than all out accuracy, seems the most accurate loads (secant ogive) I come up with will float a lot with temperature, throat erosion etc. where some loads with tangent ogive bullets don't. Not always, but usually. I'm not shooting for money so I don't care to tune at each match.
Anyway on to some new info. Yesterday I shot these loads in very rainy / stormy conditions. The flags were full tilt sideways. I shot a gong at 300 yds, painted black to see hits. The 175 SMKs & the 175 BMBs were getting blown all over the place, and averaged being blown from the wind almost a full mil (mil dot scope). The groups were both pretty bad, probably 2-2.5 moa. I was expecting better from the sleek BMB. My 200 SMK load however was shooting right about the same .75 moa it does at 100 & 200, and it was only getting blown 1/3 mil from the wind.
Since the BMB is a secant ogive it's possible that I need to re-tune it for 300+ yds. This is my long range rifle so really I should be tuning at 300 yds anyway to see what it's going to do way out there. That said, and I've seen this before a number of times, it's frustrating when I see a load that's great at 100 & 200 but really starts to open up at 300+. (Granted yesterday the wind played a role.) While my 200 SMK load is only shooting around .75 moa, which isn't match material for 1K shoots, it's doing it consistently at all ranges AND is WAY less affected by the wind. I'm leaning towards consistency.
I'm finding that I'm more interested in consistency than all out accuracy, seems the most accurate loads (secant ogive) I come up with will float a lot with temperature, throat erosion etc. where some loads with tangent ogive bullets don't. Not always, but usually. I'm not shooting for money so I don't care to tune at each match.
Anyway on to some new info. Yesterday I shot these loads in very rainy / stormy conditions. The flags were full tilt sideways. I shot a gong at 300 yds, painted black to see hits. The 175 SMKs & the 175 BMBs were getting blown all over the place, and averaged being blown from the wind almost a full mil (mil dot scope). The groups were both pretty bad, probably 2-2.5 moa. I was expecting better from the sleek BMB. My 200 SMK load however was shooting right about the same .75 moa it does at 100 & 200, and it was only getting blown 1/3 mil from the wind.
Since the BMB is a secant ogive it's possible that I need to re-tune it for 300+ yds. This is my long range rifle so really I should be tuning at 300 yds anyway to see what it's going to do way out there. That said, and I've seen this before a number of times, it's frustrating when I see a load that's great at 100 & 200 but really starts to open up at 300+. (Granted yesterday the wind played a role.) While my 200 SMK load is only shooting around .75 moa, which isn't match material for 1K shoots, it's doing it consistently at all ranges AND is WAY less affected by the wind. I'm leaning towards consistency.
