I am shooting a Rem. 700 bdl 30.06.Recently was going over my load data (40 targets,20 shots each, 4 shot groups w/all the load,bullet,weather,etc.info).I checked my very best groups as to what the FPS was,and ALL of them were in the 2750 fps range.(+/-25)My conclusion is that MY gun likes that velocity.Granted the load has to be the right recipe,but I was suprised by consistant fps!The fps are what the manuals indicate.I don't have access to a chronograph.Anyone else notice this cosistant fps w/their rifle.I'm curious,especially if you have a chrony. thanks much

didn't matter if I was using a 150 or 180 gr.pill.as long as the powder,bullet,primer combo was correct.

Two things.First of all without a chronograph the actual velocity may be way off of your estimates.Secondly,I find that my own rifles shoot the lighter bullets more accurately at higher velocities than the heavier bullets.If I download the lighter bullets to match the heavier bullets velocities,the groups open up.

without a chronograph how do you have any idea what your velocity is?? the first time i shot over my friends chrony i was really surprised because i shot a string of handloads an then a string of federal factory loads.... my reloads were just half the standard deveation (sp).. i thought that was kind of funny but my friend (who taught me how to reload) said he was not surprised my reloads were better than factory loads as they are handmade one at a time .......and velocity doesn't always equal accuracy.... if you shoot .38 spl. wadcutter target loads you know that....



LIFE IS SHORT................

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I checked my very best groups as to what the FPS was, and ALL of them were in the 2750 fps range.(+/-25)

Is this just an estimate, based on what a manual says? Or are these chronographed velocties? If just based on what the book tells you, I would be willing to bet that at least some of these loads are more than 25 FPS away from 2750 FPS!! (They are most likely LOWER!!)

There is NO WAY you'll ever know what a particular load will do when you fire it from YOUR rifle, without a chronograph. Get one. They're pretty cheap these days.

There once was a "rule-of-thumb" (or more likley, and "old wives' tale") that said the most accurate loads are most often those that are a couple of grains UNDER maximum...." After getting my first chronograph (in 1965), I found out that this was an invalid generalization - it turned out that some of the most accurate loads were at, or even above, maximum PUBLISHED loads. And then, there were some extremely accurate loads that were a couple of grains, and sometimes much more than a couple, under the maximum published load. It just depends on bullets, powder type, your rifle(s), sometimes primers, and even THE CROWN ON YOUR MUZZLE!!

Every rifle is different. I have a couple that just shoot better w/ loads either near max. My .260ai shoots great w/ anything from fireforming to max. but the groups are just a tiny bit smaller pushed near max.
What has been said by the other guys is very true, w/o a chronograph, you are just guessing. Even if you have the same components from the same length bbl. you can easily be 50fps off, all rifles are diff.

the stated velocities are what is listed in my manual for a given load.I simply found it odd that my gun is most accurate when loads are near 2750fps.(per the manual)I confess that the actual fps could be MUCH different,but my question is do you notice a consistent feet per second = accuracy with any rifle you own?

Yes several of my rifles have their best accuracy when pushing the envelope. Remember, the loading manual is only a guide, actual perf. varies greatly.

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Originally posted by prplbkrr:
... my question is do you notice a consistent feet per second = accuracy with any rifle you own?

No, it just doesn't work that way. An easy way to understand is that all the Reloading Manuals would list specific Loads that claim great accuracy at the same velocity, if it had merit.

The best way to understand this issue though is to understand Barrel Harmonics. The short version is:

During a shot, the muzzle moves in an elongated figure " 8 " and the " 8 "can be skewed slightly right or left. The trick is to develop your Loads so the Bullet always exits the muzzle when it is at the Apogee or Perigee of the swing. By doing so you will obtain the very best possible accuracy for that specific firearm and Load combination.

quote:

Originally posted by prplbkrr:
the stated velocities are what is listed in my manual for a given load.I simply found it odd that my gun is most accurate when loads are near 2750fps.(per the manual)I confess that the actual fps could be MUCH different,but my question is do you notice a consistent feet per second = accuracy with any rifle you own?

It has been generally believed that the most accurate loads are those which give the least variation in MV. For example, this is how Lyman chose the "accuracy loads" in their manuals - not by shooting at targets, but by measuring velocities, and choosing those loads that gave the least velocity variation from shot to shot. This often works out to be correct thinking. However, on just as many occasions, it turns out that the most accurate load in a particular rifle is NOT the one that has the least shot-to-shot velocity variation. The only way to know for certain which load is the most accurate in a given rifle is to shoot it at a piece of paper a number of times, and measure the size of the groups!

I don't buy off on mild loads make for accuracy, In some 60 years of shooting I have found that max loads have mostly given me my best accuracy probably because the powder usually fills the case and I tend to use a powder with sufficient bulk to do so...but each rifle is and inity unto itself, so experimentation is the only way to find out...

Have done some accuracy workups for friends and in two instances with M70s in .30-06, both shot lights out with the Hornady 150 gr spire point using H380 chrono'ed at 3000-3025 fps. This is a hot load per the Speer manual but not with the Hodgdon's manual. Both rifles grouped under .75" for 100 yd, 3-shot groups. Good shooting for factory rifles, not bedded and no trigger work.