Is your rifle partial to one particular load?

[86er]

I just got my new Leupold scope to replace the one that broke. I used a laser bore sighter to set it up. The first shot at 100 yds was in the bullseye. Less than 10 shots later I had it exactly where I wanted it. I was surprised to find this rifle, a 7mm Rem Mag, will put 140, 160 and 175gr bullets in the same hole at 100 yards. This is different brand of ammo and style of bullets.

My Savage 99 in 308 will put any 165 gr bullet in the same hole at 100 yards. I have used Fusion, Hornady, Federal Premium, and handloads. The velocity varies from 2450 -2675 with no effect on the 100 yd POI.

On ther other hand, my 1886 has a whole different point of impact if I change the bullet weight or even the velocity by only a couple hundred fps. Likewise, my Marlin 30WCF puts each bullet weight and velocity in a different spot.

The W94 in 45 Colt puts 250, 265 and 300 gr loads as slow as 1100fps and up to 1700 fps into the same group at 100 yards.

They are all accurate with the right load, but some are picky and some aint.

What are your experiences?

[2ndovc]

Same here. Different rifle, different results. My long time hunting rifle an 03 sporter that my Grandfather had made will shoot just about any bullet weight or style w/in half an inch of each other.

My one and only varmint rifle, a Sako .222 Rem. will ONLY shoot 50 grain JSPs or HPs and will do so into 1/4" groups at 100 yds if i do my part, go lighter or heavier and it's off the paper. Same w/ my AR-15, it shoots 62 or heavier grain bullets really well but go 55 or lighter and a 2" group will go to 6" or more.

jb

[Old Ironsights]

My experiences are that 30cal boattail spitzer rifles don't vary much in POI with any reasonable load at 100yds because that's still essentially well inside Maximum Point Blank Range.

The big 40s, not being boattails nor having the velocity of the 30s just have a shorter MPBR so by 100yds they are begining to deviate more and the differences in bullets begin to show..

Why the .45Colt is behaving contrairly is beyond me though.

OTOH ARs can be really finicky about their bullets because the length of the bullet is dramatically different with even small changes in weight and AR twists are pretty finicky about stabilization.

Don't know anything about .222s but I would guess they act much like the .223 for the same reason.

I'd say that if you were to shoot those 30s out to 300 you would find much more deviation between loads than you would expect from just looking at the 100yd targets.

[Tycer]

None of my rifles have multiple loads that shoot same POI. Factory stuff maybe, but I'm too cheap to buy factory loads.

[Ysabel Kid]

...but I'm too cheap to buy factory loads.

+1 - you're not the only one Tycer!!!

I may now have a few rifles that will do different loads to the same POI at relatively short distances, but sadly I have not got out enough lately to test them. Seems I'm doing a lot more collecting lately than shooting - as in "collecting dust"! This darn thing called "work" gets in the way of a lot of fun!!!

[Hobie]

Every gun is different. The only way to know what it will do is to try it out.

[Old Savage]

Win 30-30 shoots Federal or Win 170s better than anything else.

[meanc]

I've got a 30-30 336 and two Win94s. I've tried 6 standard factory loadings from Win/Rem/Fed in 150gr and 170gr. Each definitely has a preference as far as accuracy goes.

None will shoot the various ammo into the same group. They don't miss by much, but I wouldn't sight in with one and trust another for hunting.

[Charles]

I have never known a rifle that did equally well with all loads. Some are more tempremental that others though. A well bedded bolt gun,with everything straight, and a high quality heavy barrel will come closer to being accurate with a variety of loads than any other.

[papabear]

I have a 7X57 mouser that will shoot only Federal 170 gr any thing ells walks all over the target

[shawn_c992001]

The only thing I've got that isn't picky is a Ruger 77/22 Hornet.