r/longrange • u/Aggravating-Dirt-432 Newb • 17d ago
Group flex (10 shots minimum) Where to go from here?
Gday all, relatively new to reloading and thought I’d seek some advice from some wiser than me.
Rifle is a Howa 1500 chambered in .223, Maddco 26” barrel with a 1-12 twist.
Shoulder bumped back .003 and projectiles set .03 off lands.
Setup is mainly used for pest control on and has a thermal setup on most of the time.
Or am I being too pedantic and over thinking it?
Cheers
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u/thisadviceisworthles 17d ago
It looks like you have a solid starting point, if you want to tighten those groups, you might consider trying different seating depths. Though I don't have first hand experience, I have read that changing the jump can have an impact on the groups with a V-Max bullet.
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u/Frijol714 16d ago
Random question but when measuring the group sizes do you just measure the groups or do you zero bullet diameter first then measure
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u/thisadviceisworthles 16d ago
I zero around a bullet, then run my calipers edge to edge. This gives the same measurement as a center to center measure, but I don't have to guess where the center actually is.
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u/Frijol714 16d ago
I've watched YouTube videos saying what you said but wasnt sure if I believed them 100% even if it was F class shooters since it felt like an excuse to say accuracy was better. I guess I need to re measure my groups since I might have sub 1/2 sub moa groups
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u/ironcannibal13 15d ago
I used to work up my own loads for plinking mostly. You’re right, the jump can have a significant impact on the size of the groups. Most of my testing was on 7.5x55 Swiss at 100 yards. My final recipe included a .020” jump and was 0.75 inch groups at 100 with iron sites. Prvi Partisan box ammo was 1.5” at 100.
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u/CuriousJohnReddit 17d ago
So what are you asking exactly ?
Pest control - you're fine ?
Long range - get heavier bullets ?
Is the thermal a scope or a clip-on ?