I shot today and was impressed with the 200 gr AccuBond. I used 70 gr of IMR 4831 and CCI primer. I shot two five shot groups at 100 yds. First group measured 1.25" outside spread, shots 6-10 measured 1.10" outside spread. With both groups being under 1" center to center. What do I do now? Rifle has an after market stock and trigger. Do I bed acton? Do I work powder charge up or down by 1/10 of a grain? Or do I just call it good? I guess that bullet will kill anything I want to kill. I don't have a chronograph I guess that is next on the list. Thanks

What caliber?

Well I'm assuming you're shooting a .300 Mag or '06?...
Looks to me like you are good to go for any hunting situation I can think of.. Not knowing what kind of hunting you are planning to do and at what distance. One minute of angle isn't bad at all.
If you intend to take shots at 300 yards or more, the only thing I would suggest is find somewhere to shoot some groups at 300 yds and see what happens there. If the groups aren't any larger than 4-5 inces, ( small amount of human error included..) then I would say the rifle is stablizing those bullets well.
Then again if you are only shooting at relatively close range then you're done.. You can tweek with it if you want to, but for general hunting purposes I'd be happy with that.
As hunters it's all about OUR ability to put the bullet where we aim it..

Sorry rifle is .300 win savage. I am in the process of cutting a range thru the woods where I can shoot 300 yds. This bullet shoots very well in my rifle . I can't shoot any Barnes bullets. It shoots Nosler Part's OK. Same as Iner Loks.No matter what I have tried these are the best in my rifle.

One more thing, while shooting today I really concentrated on cotroling or dealing with my hearbeat. You guys that shoot some of the groups sot at extended ranges that I have seen posted here, my hat is off to you. It was harder on the 4th and 5th shots when I could see i had a pretty good group going. thanks

I've had some excellent results (accuracy) in the 8x57 wiuth the 200 gr AB, nice bullets. I may give a try on next Fall's black bear...

Oh chain I forgot to suggest something..
Try shooting three round groups instead of five.. Pay particular attention to where the first round goes on each group. Number the holes on the target, 1, 2 and 3. See if you see a pattern. And be sure to allow the barrel to cool completely before shooting another group.
It has been my experience that sporter weight barrels will mostly shoot three rounds well anyway, the fourth and fifth rounds start wondering.
In most hunting situations, if you do your job well, you rarely ever need a second shot. By the time a third comes into play your probably pissin in the wind anyway.. lol.

Chain, the 3 shot group is a good way to go when in the developement phase. I would also recomend working up to about 76 grains of IMR 7828. The seating depth should be determined by the action or actual contact with the lands. But for a hunting load, go with function. H4831 is as good and H4831 SC is also quite nice, just follow the reloading manuals advice on working up a load. Get a chronograph. It's almost more fun than shooting! Good luck. Don't forget to chrono factory ammo for comparison. It is very enlightening.

Hey Chain

I checked my spreadsheet and with 71 gr IMR4831 I was getting 2920 fps.

IMO, great groups seem to happen when everything comes together. I shoot a lot of 1" groups with consistency and the rare 1/4" groups upon rare occasion. Take a picture of it when it happens like everyone else but be pleased with consistent 1" groups. Just because you shoot a 1/4" group one day does not mean it will happen everytime.

try several differant powders, some guns shoot better with certain burn rates ie slow,med or faster.you should beable to get it to about a half inch. and you can always use up any powder you dont use in practice rounds for summer shooting

Try them with 72gr of RL-22, Winchester brass and Fed 215m primers with a 3.35" OAL.

I think that is max. AOL for my magazine. I have tried RL 22. The IMR shot better but maybe it was me on that day. I was just curious as to how far do you go? I guess I could bed it, I am getting a better scope soon. One thing I have noticed is that my rifle will not shoot Barnes bullets very well, is there some trick to reloading them? Thanks Guys

quote:

Originally posted by chain:
One thing I have noticed is that my rifle will not shoot Barnes bullets very well, is there some trick to reloading them? Thanks Guys

My rifle don't shoot regular Barnes X bullets very well either, but all of them love the Barnes Triple Shock bullets. Other posters also report excellent accuracy with the TSX, not the regular X. Load them from .03" to .05" off the lands and push them close to max and you will be surprised.

My load is 76.5 gr RL22 for the 180 gr TSX and 3116 fps Fed 215M primers in Norma brass set .035" off the lands. The Nosler #5 book max is 75.5 gr RL22 for that grain weight of bullet, so start lower and work up. RL22 has always worked best for me in the 300 win mag but IMR4831 was a close second.

quote:

Originally posted by 30378:
Try them with 72gr of RL-22, Winchester brass and Fed 215m primers with a 3.35" OAL.

This is exactly what I'd try with the 200AB, though I'd go with a WLR primer. BUT, the accuracy you're getting is excellent, I wouldn't touch it. Jay

Chain, are you using large rifle MAGNUM primers. It is amazing how big a difference a primer can make sometimes. In my 300's the Winchester primer was measurably better than the CCI, which is not common for me (that big a difference in accuracy w/ a primer change) but it sure was the case with me. I also would make sure that I got a fit with the brass that was set up off the shoulder, this made a big difference as well, especially in one of my rifles. With the Barnes (XXX's) I have had superb accuracy, bullets have to be seated well off of the lands according to Barnes, mine are at about 30 thou off.
IMR 4350 has been the most accurate powder I've tried.

Good Shooting--Don

I haven't tried Winchester primers although the CCI primers I am using are large rifle magmnum primers. I tried Federal and the CCI seem to be better. I don't understand what you mean about " a fit with the brass that was set up off the shoulder". I just FL resize with my RCBS die.Could you clarify? Thanks

Chain, I skimmed the thread and may have missed it if already suggested but one thing you can do for sure is take the load you have but vary the seating depth. You might be very surprised when you find a sweet spot. I've seen 1" groups dwindle to less than 1/2" when the bullet is seated differently.

You didn't specify which Barnes bullets you've tried. Were they the original X or the new TSX or the blue XLCs??

My seating depth is abouyt 3.35 OAL which is about all the magazine will take. I haven't tried to shorten it though. I tried the Barnes TSX. I tried with RL22 and with IMR 4831 2" was hte best i got at 100.

What you can try is seating deeper in .005 increments. I found the 200 AB did a little better when I seated it deeper (in my 300 RUM).

When you tried the TSX, how did it to on a concentricity guage?

When you tried the TSX, did you start from a SQUEAKY clean bore? Barnes recommends starting from a very clean bore when shooting their bullets because they are solid copper, no alloy.

Regardless, you'll be pleased with the AB. It is my second choice bullet and has performed very well for me. 300 WMAG, you can also try Re25 and H1000 with the heavier 200 grain bullet, as well as IMR7828.

I don't have a concenricity guage yet. But bore was clean. I willstart playing with seating depth. I also was going to try and only neck size. Thanks Guys