Point of impact help

[chains1240]

I ran out of my 150 grain NBT that I was shooting out of my .308. The two that I used on deer performed spectacularly. Alas, I am short on money and had a brand new box of 165 grain Fusion. After cleaning the ouil out of my barrel the 165 grain fusion were dead on at 200 yards without adjusting the scope from when I was shooting the 150 grain NBT. What gives? Shouldn't the 165 grain have dropped a few inches due to the higher weight? I am perplexed.

 

[rcmodel]

There is no hard and fast rule concerning where any change in bullet brand or weight might hit on target. More enters into it then just velocity.
Barrel harmonics or vibration is a huge factor, and might sling the bullet up, down, sideways, or a combination of both from another bullets barrel vibration.

That you came out like you did just means you were really lucky and must have a good rifle barrel.

You can account for the heavier bullet hitting higher because it is slower and stays in the barrel longer.
That gives the rifle a chance to recoil upward imperceptibly more with the heavier bullet, so it ends up in the same place on target as the lighter faster bullet that clears the barrel sooner.

The other thing is, the 165 grain bullet has a higher ballistics coefficient then the 150 grain, so even though it starts out slower, it gets to 200 yards with about the same drop as the 150.

rc

 

[Al Thompson]

Ditto to what RC said. I have a rifle that, while it is not a tack driver, is very forgiving of bullet weights.

 

[chains1240]

Thank you for the great explanation. I will have to remember to dry patch the barrel before shooting it again too. It is unclean from my range session this afternoon because I will hopefully be harvesting 2 does tomorrow morning.

 

[unwise11]

My Howa .308 doesnt shoot well fouled, I would clean it and use a copper solvent, and It shouldn't change your POI very much.
Is yours the model with the 22" sporter barrel?

 

[Freedom_fighter_in_IL]

Chains1240, I was looking on Federal's site to look up the BC difference for you thinking that is more than likely why you have the same POI as your Nosler loads. I found all these charts and such but have YET to be able to find what the actual BC of them are. Maybe you can figure out the reason from looking at their published data here.

http://www.fusionammo.com/ballistics/rifle.aspx?id=654

Good Luck and Shoot Safe!

 

[chains1240]

My Howa .308 doesnt shoot well fouled, I would clean it and use a copper solvent, and It shouldn't change your POI very much.
Is yours the model with the 22" sporter barrel?

yeah, 22 inch barrel. My thought is that if it is shooting dead on I shouldn't clean it before shooting it the next day. Something is bound to change.

 

[J.Boyette]

No,

do not change a thing.

Next question.

How well is well in that rifle? What is dead on?

IF you shoot 3 MOA at 200yds, most bullets will fall in a 3 MOA target. So its kind of pointless for us to talk to you when we do not know whats good for you, because it might be diff for whats good for me.

 

[chains1240]

How well is well in that rifle? What is dead on?

By dead on I mean at 200 yards I am shooting between 2 and 2.5 inch groups about a half inch low and one inch to the left. I really should have explained that better in the beginning. The $20 Fusions shoot just as good as the $36 Nosler Ballistic Tips. I found out how well they performed on deer this morning. 220 yard shot, in the shoulder DRT.

 

[unwise11]

I havent had alot of luck shooting paper at 200, I'm gonna try again after I get my handloading setup ready.
Until then I know a guy working on a load for me and If it works I'm gonna copy it in my loading.