What Make Ammo Accurate

[Lightshot]

I recently got a new rifle in 30-06 and was shooting some reasonable 1.5 moa (100 yd) groups with Federal Powershocks.

I had also had some surplus POF 30-06. I didn't expect it to be super accurate but was surprised by how bad it was. The groups opened up to ~8 in at 100 yards. Is this typical for surplus ammo? A result of bad storage over the years? Uneven Loading? I am really just curious what the physics are that cause the point of impact to change so much round to round.

 

[newfalguy101]

Consistency is the key to accuracy

 

[Rule3]

Probably the biggest is the actual bullet itself, then the powder. You can have the best powder in the world but if the bullet is junk well then so will the accuracy.

Load a quality bullet with the same powder as a bulk poor bullet and easy enough to test.

Assuming all other things are equal.

 

[243winxb]

quality bullets #1

 

[Average Joe]

Not all bullets are balanced, poor balance makes them unstable in flight. Look for a good quality bullet to start with. Hornady checks all their bullets for a good balance before they leave the factory.

 

[49willys]

Good bullets and good barrels are the foundations for good accuracy.

 

[rcmodel]

They way the bullet is made makes a whole lot of difference.
Probably more then any other factor.

The Federal load you used has a conventional lead core with a copper jacket.
Since the exposed lead is in the tip, the base can be made perfectly flat, and leave the barrel with equal gas release around the base of the bullet.

The Surplus ammo you shot was probably FMJ, with a solid tip, and the jacket hole and exposed lead in the base of the bullet.

Firing swaging, the base of the bullet deforms and is more offer then not slightly off square.

So when it exits the muzzle more gas escapes on on side then the other.

That starts the bullet off wobbling, and it don't get much better down range!!

Buy good bullets, Get good accuracy!!!

rc

 

[sammy]

Consistency period. Same as drag racing.

 

[Welding Rod]

quality bullets #1

This. I have never had BAD accuracy with Sierra Match bullets regardless of powder, charge weight, crimp, COAL, primer, case brand, sizing method, or so on.

 

[ljnowell]

Consistency is the key to accuracy

Quality components is a given. The key thing is consistency.

 

[Sunray]

Milsurp isn't made for great accuracy. It's made for reliability and to be accurate enough. Pakistani stuff is just made with lower QC standards.

 

[GRIZ22]

8 inch groups are horrible even for milsurp ammo. Milsurp does not mean inaccurate. I can shoot 2" groups with my VAR barreled service grade Garand and Greek HXP ammo just about any day of the week.

 

[Reloadron]

I would have to say consistency and the quality and consistency of each component used to make the ammunition. Obviously considerable attention paid to the bullet. Like they say, quality ingredients.

Ron

 

[Skylerbone]

Accuracy of the shooter can also degrade during long range sessions.

 

[Old Checkered Wool]

A whole boat load can effect accuracy, to a certain degree.
1) Bullet design effects trajectory
2) Ballistics coefficient effects trajectory
3) Off center, unbalanced, and non concentric bullet heads will without a doubt effect accuracy. (that's why many competition shooters in F-Class, Sniper's hide cup and other long range shooting meets use concentricity gages to check each individual's bullet for being off center.
4) A bullet that is seated in a case that is not concentric inside the case neck will result in almost the same lost accuracy as a bullet that is out of center.
5) uneven thickness in case walls
6) Bullet diameter too small (not fitting well enough to the rifle's throat)
7) improper excessive head spacing ( which could also lead to the malfunction of your rifle or injury to the shooter.

There also is more that can be nit picked to death especially over long, long distance type shooting. But for your specific situation it could be that the surplus ammo had bad (non concentric bullet heads) IE (cheap for mass production) It also could be that the bullet casings where also non concentric IE (another cheap mass production concept) It also could be that the bullet diameter was not true to your bore and undersized for your rifle's throat and grooves.

It sounds to me that there could have been many factors at play here. And with surplus ammo you cant always expect the best components to be used in the production. And as someone else has mentioned, long shooting sessions can play a part on the shooter's ability at the range during a long drawn out session.

 

[345 DeSoto]

With Military ammo, if you can hit the enemy ANYwhere, and take him out of action, then you've done the job...especially in the heat of combat.

 

[Welding Rod]

Besides the bullet, The other major thing that makes ammo accurate is a good barrel. I was astounded how well my Rock River match barrels shot anything. Even the cheapest ammo produced good results. Changing hand load recipes had minimal effect too.

 

[Lloyd Smale]

a good gun first, then a good bullet and a powder and primer that work together to give your exact gun the right combination. Now for the most part in a good gun this will buy you moa or a bit better. You don't have to get into all the anal loading practices unless you need 1/2 groups and there aren't to many hunters that need that. bottom line is the gun itself is the biggest variable. A crap gun wont shoot no matter what you put in it.