Lucky 700 Owner

[Picher]

I mounted the new Leupold 3-9x Vari-X II on my Rem 700, .270 Win, stainless barrelled action in the "takeoff" Sendero stock (with a thin layer of epoxy to make a perfect fit). I had sighted in roughly with some old reloads a while back, but finished sighting in for deer today with fresh loads.

A four-shot group at 200 yards measured 0.6" center-to-center. All shots were touching and two shots went through the same hole. I didn't intend to shoot for groups, since I had to get back to work after lunch and still needed to take a few more clicks to get the POI where I wanted it.

The load was 130 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips ahead of a stiff charge of Reloder 22 and CCI 200 primers. The load chronographs at 3,260 fps.

Sighting in 2.3" high at 200 puts the bullet only 3" low at 330 yards.

I feel it's a "magical" deer rifle and I love the new Leupold scope. It replaced the 40-50 year old B&L Balvar 8b whose lenses have separated, causing a halo around the edges of the image.

Picher

 

[j.chappell]

Wow, you have a shooter there. Any sporter that will shoot .6's at 200 yards is definately something. I have target and varmint rifles that struggle to shoot .75" at 200 yards.

This is nit picking but you are going to find that your impact point at 330 yards is going to be a bit lower than you think (about 1.5" lower) still no deer will notice that.

What software did you use to get your drop tables?

J.

 

[Picher]

I was mistaken a bit on the 330 yard bit. The trajectory table wasn't in front of me. I re-ran my software and found that it was 2.3" high at 100yds, 2.4" high at 200 and 3" low at 315. Zero is at 267 yards.

I use the freeware PCB, which is an MSDOS program that is a bit clunky, but it seems to prove out pretty closely out to 450 yards.

Picher

 

[j.chappell]

Anything that gives you a greater knowledge of your drop and drift is better than nothing. I think the most important tool a reloader can buy is a chronograph. I really think it is the one thing that has allowed me to improve my shooting over the years.

J.

 

[Demaiter]

why type of chrony do you use?

I have one I used for paint balling - I guess I should give it a try with my .22 and then step it up to something faster. It was about 120 Canadian - it was made by "Chrony" I believe. Its about 6.5" long and unfolds to ~13ish with a sensor at each end. It measures the time between when each sensor picks up the shadow of the bullet I believe. Does this sound like a standard model?

 

[Picher]

I agree that the chronograph is useful, but sighting in a rifle at 200 yards and checking it at a longer range is very useful to determine an approximate velocity.

My chronograph surprised me with the very high average velocity of 3,250 for my handload. The manual said it should be about 150 fps lower, as I remember.

Shooting rimfire as much as I do, especially competitive benchrest shooting, but also extensive informal offhand target practice, have helped me improve my shooting more than anything else.

Picher

 

[j.chappell]

Not all chronographs are correct, some read lower, some higher than actual velocity.

I use the chronograph, create my tables and go shoot to check them out. I happen to be lucky as there are a few ranges around that extend out to 800 yards. I also have a farm that the owner and I have set up backstops out to 400 yards on. That is where I do most of my shooting as we are the only 2 that shoot there.

J.

 

[Picher]

I don't know how accurate my Chrony is, but it seems to be right on with the rimfire match ammo I've tested and with the factory ammo we've shot.

I have a large blueberry field behind the house where we can easily shoot 450 yards, 500 if we build a low platform to raise the bench.

At 450 yards, my load hit about 2 inches higher than the table indicated, but that may have been the mirage on the day I tried it. I thought the 3 1/2" group fired with a particular batch of .270 Win handloads at 450 yards last year was pretty fantastic, considering the mirage and breeze on the relatively warm day.

Picher