Frustrated with Load Development

[shotgun 01]

Well, I think the title says it all. I bought a couple of 6.5 Creedmoors a while back, in hopes of being able to shoot steel targets and coyotes out to about 500 yards. I read everything I could about components, load development, etc., and invested in Bergers, Lapua, Redding.
So, I have tried all manner of things to get a tight shooting gun, but just can't get there. I have a notebook full of data and targets, and finally get something to shoot 1/2 MOA at 100 yards, only to have the same round go to 1.5" and three inches high the next week. I am almost ready to just go back to my trusty 7WSM that shoots sub MOA with factory ammo.
If there is anybody in the Grayson/Loganville/Snellville area that really knows a lot about it, and would be willing to meet up with me sometime to look at my data, I would really appreciate it. A little help and guidance would go a long way.
If you can help, drop me a PM.
Thanks, Shotgun

 

[Remmy]

PM Sent

 

[rockyfatcat]

I guess the suggestions would start with looking at like a mathematical equation and eliminating the obvious variables. Assume nothing! Is everything bolted down with loctite? Have we sandbagged the weapon to keep it from wiggling around? You have experimented with various loads. I have seen reloaders make supposedly identical loads that hit like a shotgun pattern.

Eliminate the variables and purchase some factory rounds and set your weapon up at 100 yards. Sandbag it with too many bags and set your crosshairs at zero adjustment and line up the center of the 10 ring and fire 10 rounds without changing either the aim point or anything on the scope.

What is it they say? It's a poor craftsman that blames his tools. The 6.5 Creedmoor is supposed to be wicked accurate. Set up like this your strike point SHOULD be virtually one hole. If it's not, you have learned something.

After adjusting your scope, repeat at 200 yards. Again if you eliminate as many of the variables that you possibly can, you should either prove something or learn something.

If you attack it like a mathematical equation and change one variable at a time. You should figure out where things are going sideways. What good is it to fiddle with your loads if something is loose? Again Assume nothing!

I am Not a professional. I have worked in a gun shop and seen guys throw tons of money at a problem without doing any of the troubleshooting necessary to identify the real problem.

 

[Bear44]

What rifle, what optics? How many groups did you get at 0.5MOA?

 

[shotgun 01]

Thanks for your help guys. I have a couple of PMs already. The ODT brotherhood at work.

 

[shotgun 01]

What rifle, what optics? How many groups did you get at 0.5MOA?

Savage model 10FCP-SR with Vortex HS 4 x16 scope. A couple of .5 moa groups. Everything is tight, and shooting in a Lead Sled DFT.

 

[Bear44]

Savage model 10FCP-SR with Vortex HS 4 x16 scope. A couple of .5 moa groups. Everything is tight, and shooting in a Lead Sled DFT.

Lead Sled might be the problem. When a rifle is attached to one it becomes part of the overall mechanism. If there is anything at all different from one set up to another it can change harmonics of the weapon and you get completely different performance, just as you are experiencing. This is especially true if you are strapping the rifle into the Sled. A relatively small change in strap tension can change everything.

Lead Sleds are not meant for precision shooting. They are meant for recoil reduction.

 

[shotgun 01]

Lead Sled might be the problem. When a rifle is attached to one it becomes part of the overall mechanism. If there is anything at all different from one set up to another it can change harmonics of the weapon and you get completely different performance, just as you are experiencing. This is especially true if you are strapping the rifle into the Sled. A relatively small change in strap tension can change everything.

Lead Sleds are not meant for precision shooting. They are meant for recoil reduction.

Thanks, but the rifle just sits in the Sled to take "some" of the human element out of it. There are no straps holding it in place. I am very particular about being consistent......almost OCD.

 

[sc951]

have you measured your chamber and tried coming off the lands and grooves at different intervals. One of my rifles likes the round .005 off and another prefers .014

 

[sc951]

oh and as hot as it's been in the last month, trying to keep your loaded rounds at a somewhat consistent temperature will help. If your ammo was taken from a/c house to a/c truck and fired in a short period of time vs your next time to the range the rounds had been sitting in the truck at 100+ degrees. There will be a difference