shooting style

J

jam-nut

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o k guys iv got a question 4 ya ? iv got a rem- 40 x b br with a new Krieger barrel in 222 cal it has a factory 2 oz trigger & a 36 power sightron benchrest scope , I just noticed the other day when I was out shooting if I hold on 2 to it real tite when I shoot it shoots just as good as when I shoot free recoil , does anyone know why I always thought free recoil was the best way 2 shoot & always shot that way til the other day when I was shooting and gave it a try I need some ov you guys with a lot of bench experience 2 tell me whats going on here thanks
 
Shooter not the gun.

I don't think the gun shoots any different no mater how it is held. The gun shoots what it is capable of shooting with whatever load that is put through it. The difference is in the shooter or the setup. If the exact same pressure is applied in the exact same areas at the exact same time then the gun will shoot well from shot to shot. The theory behind free recoil is to take the inconsidtency of the shooter hold and pressure out of the equation. For me this works great on some guns and not as well with others. Meaning I have some BR rifles that seem to shoot the best free recoil and others that seem to shoot better with some pressure to manage recoil. So I think you will have to be very precice and consistant every time with your hold if you want your 222 to shoot the same free Vs. held tight.
 
add 2 my thread

let me tell more of this story , my front rest is a standard hart 3 legged front pedestal mounted 2 a 1 inch piece of plate steel n a triangle shape about 1 inch larger than the rest its-self it weighs about 80 pounds that provides me with a good solid rest, its sitting on a 4 legged table made with 4 fence post drove into the ground very deep and a 3 inch concrete top sitting on top of that, I think that should b solid enough 2 do the job, my rear bag is a heavy leather bunny ear bag packt very tight with sand it has a very flat bottom and will not move around on the concrete bench --- --- more I bought this gun bran--new many years ago the test target that came with the gun from the Remington factory was not impreseve at all it was about a 7/16 s inch group at 100 yards I begain 2 hunt 4 a hand load that would get it shootin good enough 2 suit me but I soon noticed no-matter what I shot thru it it would shoot 3/8 inch 5 shot groups all day long but it wouldnever do any better I was told it should shoot in the 2s & 3s all day long but it never did that 4 me recently I sent the whole outfit 2 Krieger & they put on a new bull barrel and since I have gotten it back iv shoot about 300 rounds thru it trying 2 find a load 4 it and it still shoots the same 3/8 inch groups as before im just about 2 give up on it and switch 2 another caliber
 
The stock on your rifle is not the same shape as the current lot of short range benchrest designs. Things have evolved some. There is also the issue of how the rifle slides in the bags. Stock tape is common, as are various bag lubes. For leather the old standard of baby powder works well. There is also the issue of how the rifle is balanced. If it is nose heavy, it will shoot better held, to some degree, than shot free. If you look at the toe angle on your stock, and the shape of the bottom of the butt, you will see that newer stocks have a flatter toe angle, and are flat on the bottom edges of their butts. Does your rest have adjustable side tension for the front bag? That could be an issue. If you push on the side of your bench, with say five pounds of pressure, while looking at a target through your scope, not touching bench or rifle, do the cross hairs move on the target?
 
my stock is a McMillan benchrest but it is old its what came on the 40 x brs years ago from the rem factory however the but does look like a regular hunting rifle with a bit of drop on the bottom its not flat like the newer ones also the bottom is rounded it don't have the little flat spot on the bottom il check the bench in the future but its very solid and heavy
 
On the balance thing, how long is your barrel, and what is its contour? Are you using stock tape, and are you using anything on your bags to make the rifle slide better?
 
my barrel is 24 inches long & have not been using anything on the bags but it don't feel sticky when u slide rifle back and forth by hand some times when my cousin comes 2 shoot with me Iv tried his rest & it has a real slick Kevlar top and I see no difference in my groups but the rifle does slide a lot farther back
 
I would guess that your rifle is too barrel heavy to shoot its best free recoil. You may find that if you add weight to the butt, that this situation can be significantly improved. Friends of mine, who have rifles similar to yours, were able to improve their rifles' balance, and overall performance by doing this.

Has any bedding work been done to your rifle? If it has not, I would guess that it may shoot better after being pillar bedded by someone that does this kind of work to benchrest standards. Sometimes I have seen where a rifle that was not in the best tune, or bedded perfectly would shoot better with a "death grip".
 
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boyd 4 now it shoots just as good with the death grip as it does free recoil the bedding is a factory job & I made shure when I put on the new barrel it was the same not to b different in the bedding area however I may re-bed it soon 2 see if thers any difference and I may add weights 2 butt ov stock thers got 2 b a sweet spot there somewhere I just haven't found it yet but it seems 2 b so mutch trouble im just about ready 2 throw the whole thing in the river & get something else 2 boogle my mind 4 a while im just about tired of messing with it
 
Before you give up, how did you work up your load? What is it? How are your bullets seated in relation to the rifling? How do you clean the barrel?
 
boyd heres how I clean all my rifles after 10 or 15 shots I run 3 wet patches of Montana extreme 50 bmg copper killer thru 2 get it good & wet then I let it set for 5 to 7 minits then wet a brass brush about10 strokes down & out let that set 4 another 2 or 3 minits then wet a patch with carburetor cleaner or brake cleaner & shoot thru barrel flushing everything out run 2 wet patches thru then about 4 or 5 phs 2 dry out everything il guarantee u it el b clean then soak a patch w butches gun oil run thru then 1 more dry patch 2 get out the heavy oil then your ready 2 shoot again
 
If a barrel is not rough, I think that I would go a little longer before cleaning with a .222, and perhaps even if it is. Funny story, slightly related. I ran across a fellow that seemed to be a very careful reloader and shooter, who had not gotten the results that he wanted with a stainless Ruger .270. Because he had been seeing color on his patches, in hopes of achieving some sort of break in, he had been cleaning after perhaps 5 rounds, and doing a very good job. After some discussion, I suggested that he try an experiment, based on the fact that I have had a number of factory barrels that would take that many shots or more to settle down after they were thoroughly cleaned, so, starting out with a clean barrel, he just kept on past his usual stop and clean point....and the groups proceeded to tighten up to half of what they had been, or better. I told him, that in the future, starting with a clean barrel, he should shoot till the group tightened, and then leave it alone till the hunt was over. He was a happy camper when he left the range. With some factory barrels, you can clean too often.
 
I have never been able to shoot successfully free recoil. I am simply not good at it. I have had moments of success shooting with slight thumb pressure on the rear tang of my action. BR shooting is about consistency there are a lot of guys out there who can shoot free recoil very well and very consistently, a lot of it is about rest and Bag setup. The fact you can shoot your rifle better holding it is likely more a statement of your shooting style than your rifle's ability.
Dick
 
Jam is it a SAMI chamber or is it custom. Do you have to turn the necks?
What bullets are you using?
When you say 3/8 is that outside to outside or center to center?
 
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