Can I go shorter??

[phil384]

I thought powder charge affects the velocity and COAL affects the accuracy?

[bullbarrel]

I like that mantra.

As long as the powder is somewhere in the middle of the range given in the books.

You haven't said what you are getting with factory?

If a lot better than something is wrong.

Are you using a lee neck die by any chance? If so you could be having inconsistent neck tension if you aren't giving it that last 10% of welly needed to finish it off. And turning it 90 degrees and doing it again can help.

It could be you jsut have to admit defeat and go get the right powder. I've never had a rifle shoot that bad which leads me to believe its something more than powder/COL.

It is the same manufacturer's brass?

[phil384]

I like that mantra.

As long as the powder is somewhere in the middle of the range given in the books.

You haven't said what you are getting with factory?

If a lot better than something is wrong.

Are you using a lee neck die by any chance? If so you could be having inconsistent neck tension if you aren't giving it that last 10% of welly needed to finish it off. And turning it 90 degrees and doing it again can help.

It could be you jsut have to admit defeat and go get the right powder. I've never had a rifle shoot that bad which leads me to believe its something more than powder/COL.

It is the same manufacturer's brass?

Yep always RWS brass

And the neck turning thing is worth a try.

[kennyc]

I thought powder charge affects the velocity and COAL affects the accuracy?

nope otherwise factory ammo wouldn't hit squat! get your powder charge sorted out and then if you must play with the length to get the minimum group dispersion, too many people spend too much time fretting about the jump to the lands before getting the rifle shooting well.
fine tuning the charge and the length will definitely show you the best from your rifle, but with 3MOA groups you are waaaaay from that at the moment, get the basics sorted out and then look at the detail.

[bullbarrel]

nope otherwise factory ammo wouldn't hit squat! get your powder charge sorted out and then if you must play with the length to get the minimum group dispersion, too many people spend too much time fretting about the jump to the lands before getting the rifle shooting well.

I have to say I've found the complete opposite. COL has made all the difference, powder change just makes the group go in different places (within reason). Sure if you have the wrong COL then powder changes might result in a nice group, but not consistently.

Just my 2p

And if its raining then this and part 2 is worth watching. But skip the bits about concentricity and come back when you have 1/2 moa groups.

[phil384]

I started playing the video and noticed the first one is 2 hours long, defo a rainy day video!

Anyone want to buy some N150 powder. It's OK for .308

[bullbarrel]

You've still not said the group size with factory??

[phil384]

You've still not said the group size with factory??

Sorry, PPU is rubbish, again about 3" groups. RWS just over an inch.

[kennyc]

Sorry, PPU is rubbish, again about 3" groups. RWS just over an inch.

sorry factory PPU? where was this mentioned? your original post

I'm happy the powder is consistent and the length has been measured correctly.

And at 100yds I'm getting 3" groups which clearly isn't good enough. There's not even a trend towards tighter groups as the COAL decreases.

So.....shall I keep going shorter or am I just a crap shot? The factory ammo is quite a bit shorter than my reloaded stuff but I know it has to be.

Any ideas?

I am reading this as its your reloads that are giving a 3MOA group, not factory, are the RWS factory loads using the same Amax bullet? if so why not load to the same COAL as them and try that out? that will eliminate/implicate your reloading technique as the culprit and hopefully give you a baseline from which to work out your best CAOL

[kennyc]

I started playing the video and noticed the first one is 2 hours long, defo a rainy day video!

Anyone want to buy some N150 powder. It's OK for .308

Viht list N150 for the .243 so its unlikely to be a powder problem as long as you are using their data.

[kennyc]

I have to say I've found the complete opposite. COL has made all the difference, powder change just makes the group go in different places (within reason). Sure if you have the wrong COL then powder changes might result in a nice group, but not consistently.

Just my 2p

And if its raining then this and part 2 is worth watching. But skip the bits about concentricity and come back when you have 1/2 moa groups.

my main point Andy was he was trying to run before he walked with measuring the COAL and trying to load with a short jump, if he starts at the book length and works up an accurate charge he can fine tune the accuracy by adjusting the length.
Factory ammo isn't loaded to a suitable length for a given rifle, it is loaded to an average length, yet many people happily shoot factory ammo accurately for the whole of their career,
most people are trying to get the maximum speed out of their ammo so are unlikely to settle for a middle of the road load, so why not start by working out the powder charge that gives you the best velocity and then work out the fine detail of the COAL once you have that ?