Accuracy testing

[crabo]

I was wondering what kind of techniques, targets, tricks you guys are using when you are testing your loads for accuracy.  Iron sights are more difficult to shoot at longer differences than a pistol with a scope.  Is there a particular target that works better for iron sights at 50 or 100 yards?

Thanks,

Craig

[TommyD]

When testing the loads for accuracy, I always use a scope and shoot from sandbags. I can't see well enough with iron sights to shoot up to the potential of a good load. Keep in mind we are talking about the potential of the cartridge here, not the practical field accuracy. The two are different.

I will also shoot the groups at  50 yards or more - NOT the 20 to 25 yards that most gunwriters seem to use in their published articles. There are are major differences between bullets in terms of their stability at longer ranges. If a given load produces 1 inch groups at 25 yards, one should expect 2 inch groups at 50 yards. However my experience has been that is often not the case in cast revolver bullets. Some will do it. Many will not.

So be sure to check your load at longer ranges.

Tom

[Jerry Lester]

When testing the loads for accuracy, I always use a scope and shoot from sandbags. I can't see well enough with iron sights to shoot up to the potential of a good load. Keep in mind we are talking about the potential of the cartridge here, not the practical field accuracy. The two are different.

I will also shoot the groups at  50 yards or more - NOT the 20 to 25 yards that most gunwriters seem to use in their published articles. There are are major differences between bullets in terms of their stability at longer ranges. If a given load produces 1 inch groups at 25 yards, one should expect 2 inch groups at 50 yards. However my experience has been that is often not the case in cast revolver bullets. Some will do it. Many will not.

So be sure to check your load at longer ranges.



Tom

With the exception of using a scope(open sights only for me), this is pretty much the way I do it too.

[Mikey]

I use sandbags or something similar for a rest and shoot for a 50 yd target.  50 yds is about my max distance with open sights unless I get a strikingly clear sight picture so the 50 yd target works very well for me.  HTH.  Mikey.

[Lloyd Smale]

You guys know me i usually dont give long winded answers  but here goes anyway First i look at the gun and what its used for. A bolt action hunting rifle gets 3 shot groups from the bags. I dont feel a need for more as it rarely will be shot more then once and really a guy should be more conserned about where the first shot hits then groups anyway. In any case when im shooting anything for groups its usually at least 3 groups of one load and i dont discount flyers and average the 3. I rarely use a scoped handgun or levergun so I guess if you do and you use it only for hunting the 3 shot group would work too. Other then the fact that if its a revolver your going to want to know if one cylinder shoots differently then others so your up to 6 shot groups. An open sighted revolver or a lever gun that is used for plinking gets 12 shot groups or at least 10 if its a 5 shooter. Again i shoot 3 groups with each load and dont discount flyers and average them. I figure what the hells the use of thinking you have a gun that shoots into an inch and really doesnt. A guy can get lucky with any gun and shoot a 3 shot one inch group. Look at the way the gun is used. If its taken out and shot a 100 times in one outing your fooling yourself if you think all then bullets will go into an inch. Same thing with a 1911 they usually get 3 12 shot grouops. I shoot them in competion and want to know what the gun is capable of doing with 30 rounds not 3. Find me a 1911 that will put 30 shots into an inch and ill find the money to buy it!! Ar15s and minis ect get the same treatment . Its rare that i will go out and shoot 3 rounds through one so why test it like that. I get a kick out of guys that are at the range that claim there gun will shoot one inch groups whether it be a rifle or a handgun. He might have gotten lucky and did it once and then branded the gun a moa shooter. Its about like the guy that gets a new truck and drives it down the road for 500 miles at 50 mph and claims his truck gets 24 mpg. Sure its capable but not in the real world the way he uses it. My truck will show 22 on a trip but real world its about 17. I think its an ego thing for some people. They wouldnt admit they bought an inaccurate gun if it threw bullets all over the place. Me, I didnt built them and I just want to know the real capabilities of them and if they dont measure up they go down the road. I dont use a ransom rest or a machine rest for a rifle. I shoot them off of bags. I dont know of to many guys that have a ransom rest in there deer blind and if you lock down your gun your changing the way it reacts and vibrates and getting false results anyway and your also missing out on some of the best trigger control practice youll ever get.

[Redhawk1]

I use sand bag rests, my targets are the white target with a 5 inch red circle.  I don't aim for the center of the target. I air at the bottom of the circle at the 6 o'clock position. The target works great with open sights or a scope. When I use a scope, I put a black dot at the 6 o'clock position.

[Lloyd Smale]

Redhawk you must have younger and better eyes then me i tried red targets and orange targets and probably just about every other colar in the rainbow and came full circle back to black. What i like is a target i make that has 5 black 2 inch squares at 25 yards and a 5 inch square at 50 yards. I prefer a square to a circle because it gives me more of a reference to avoid tilting the gun. But have to admit my buddy who shoots more then me and better likes circles and even diamonds.

[MarkH]

I generally take whatever is the most stable field position I will likely use, and go to work at 50 and 100 yards.  I generally zero my hunting guns at 100 yards and then move in from there and see where they print.  For accuracy work, I shoot at a small target (either a 1" square or a small stick-on) at 50 yards.

A bench might be nice, but I'd have to build it