The load: Lapua brass, BR-2 Primers, 44.0 gr Varget (ADI AR2208) and Sierra 168 gr Tipped MatchKing. 

The cases got the full prep routine: primer pockets uniformed for depth, flash holes deburred, case necks annealed, partial length sized in Wilson Bushing Type sizer with 0.355 inch diameter bushing (no neck expanding), trimmed to the same length, case mouth chamfered, case necks brushed out, wet tumbled clean, and then selected cases within +/- 0.1 grains.  Took a bit of experimenting on bushing diameter to get the desired neck tension.  Sizing die adjusted to move shoulder back 0.001 inches from a fired case and confirmed with Hornady Case Headspace Gage. 

All powder charges weighed out on RCBS Range Master 750.  Something I don’t normally do because my Redding measure throws Varget to within +/- 0.2 gr max (typically, +/- 0.1 grains).  I threw the charge in the scale pan to just under 44 grains then tricked up to 44.0. Scale accuracy is supposed to be +/- 0.1 grains.  I’ve checked this scale with light calibration weights (1 to 40 grains) and it’s very good.  

Bullets seated with LE Wilson In-Line seater using Arbor Press.  Bullet seating force measured with the press to ensure neck tension consistency.  This has been the most consistent neck tension I’ve measured to date, all 50 rounds had a final seating force between 45 and 50 lbs.  The In-Line bullet seater has a sliding bullet punch, the bullet is pushed into the fully supported case from the top rather than the case pushed up onto the die from below.  

All loaded rounds checked for bullet runout with RCBS Case Master Concentricity Gage.  For the 50 rounds loaded, numerous rounds had bullet runout less than 0.001, maximum was .004 and average right at .002 inches.  Runout measured 0.125 inches forward of the case mouth.  On average, these cartridges have the least amount of runout on anything I’ve loaded before. 

Will be interesting to see if this can improve on the accuracy of my existing loads assembled on standard dies and thrown powder charges.  800 yd target with 1 MOA grid overlay below shot prone in sling with PH 5c rear sight and AJ Parker Matchmaker front sight with standard load.  I’m sure it would do better with a high power scope off the bench, but that’s not how I use this rifle, I want to replicate the late UK/DCRA Service Rifle SR(b) and early Target Rifle (TR) shooting conditions. 

I kept the powder charge the same as I have had with that being 41.7grns of IMR4064 and primed with GM215M primers. The only difference is that I increased the C.O.L. from  2.830" to 2.868". Cartridge cases are off the shelf Starline brass with the primer pockets uniformed and deburred and then ran through my RCBS Neck sizer with the expander ball polished to 0.303".

After the sight in was completed I got down to actual shooting. Two ten-shot groups @100 yards. My oldest daughter shot the second group for a non-biased based perspective. Both ten-shot groups can be covered with a quarter. My group first and then my daughters...

Not sure if I’ve ever shot 10 rounds into a quarter size group with iron sights at 100 yds, but close perhaps.  This was with my .303 Fulton No. 4 but with a 20x scope shot off the bench about 25 years ago during initial load development.  I don’t think the rifle will shoot that good again, that barrel has > 8,000 rounds thru it, maybe 10,000. 

Of course, I could be wrong, and these might show measurable improvement, but will be tough to reduce 800 and 1000 yd groups to under 1 MOA.  Most of the shooting error is in aiming and ability to hold rifle completely still during striker release, since I’m shooting with iron sights and from the prone position (unsupported).  Not to mention wind effects at Long Range.  Perhaps it would show its benefit if shot from a scoped rifle off the bench at short range. 

It’s interesting that some competitive shooters say that factory loaded “match grade” ammunition is the best there is, and handloads, while good, can’t achieve the consistency possible with expensive factory machinery.  I can’t say one way or the other on this, but options are limited for my specific rifle and range set up.

you shoot well my friend , enjoy the fact that there are a lot of us that cant anymore - i could not buy enough expensive upgrades to my equipment or supply's to overcome my human condition at this point in life , 

but ................i did have a friend make me an offer i could not refuse the other day - ive been reloading my 12ga on a single stage MEC for the last coiple years [anther friend gave me both the single stage and a MEC progressive that belonged to his step dad [a famous shotgun author - mochael McCintosh ] that i need to return now , the other friend sold me a vear new ponsess warne progressive that i could load as a trap shooter in the 19s of thousands of sheels a year with , i only shoot maybe 1000 in a really good year , 

but as i said it is the premiere loader for shot she!!s and at the cost i could not pass it up , ill not wear it out in my lifetime nor will the person that gets it after me - built like a tank , 

My issue has been between the Secant and Tangent ogives of the same weight bullet by the same manufacturer where the Tangent bullets work well in the Faux L8A5T and the secant bullets have worked abysmally until today. My next "Test&Tune" is for the Custom No4 using the 170grn (Tangent) M30 FMJBT projectiles. They have a diameter of. 312" and show great promise as being accurate...

I can conclusively say that the use of Wilson full length bushing sizer and in-line seater (which aren’t that expensive) did resolve an accuracy issue I struggled with for numerous years with the AR at 600 yds which involved case neck concentricity and bullet runout. No matter what I did, the standard dies would not seat the 80 grain bullets concentric to the case body. On a good day, my 600 yd score was in the mid 90’s, and now with the concentricity issue resolved, I’m consistently shooting clean scores with a good X ring count. Bullet runout went from 0.015-0.020 max to 0.004 max.

Wish they made these dies in .303.

"I'm not going to say its the case but in my very limited experience with those that shoot precision or competitive accuracy , there is a point where you obsess beyond the point of logic , there are so many variables that you can address but only those that are causing you issues are worth addressing - you can spend a lot [more power to you if you can] but there is only so much you can fo to overcome that human element of the game"

I was definitely guilty of this with that super-accurate Remington 700 Build.

Got 1MOA, went to 1/2 MOA, did all the super accuracy tricks & made 1/3 MOA. Then I was struggling for 1/4 MOA for a long time til I realized there wasn't any more in the rifle load or anything else I could do to get there.

The human element is the dominating factor in Service Rifle shooting, even with 4x scopes allowed in the AR-15 SR matches.  Give a 0 MOA laser gun with 30x scope to an Expert SR shooter and the High Master with his 1.5 MOA iron sighted AR will beat him every time.  

So, why did I bother making these ultra consistent loads?  Just to prove it to myself it has no, or very little benefit, so I can go back to using normal reloading routines.  The exception is that I will continue to use the Wilson dies for my AR Mid-Range Loads as explained previously, that did make a real quantifiable improvement on the target. 

This is a really good scoped No 4 target @ 100yds.

These are average 200yd custom Rem 700 ones. (ignore the 3 very top holes they're the ring punch for the binder)

The No. 4 can be made to shoot 1.5 MOA, but things have to be perfect, a very good barrel, good bedding, etc. That quarter sized group I showed from my Fulton No. 4 was a rare exception, sometimes you just get lucky.  On average, it shot 1.5 inch 10 shot groups at 100 yds, off bench with a scope, but I had a few groups under 1 MOA back when I was doing load development work. That Re15 sure did shoot good, but it burns hot and is rather temp sensitive. 

I’ll post my results with these Uber Ultra Match 7.62 loads when I get back to the 1000 yd range.  Maybe we should take bets on how they shoot 

The following photos were the End Results of what those rounds and rifle can do in the span of 100 yards in the hands of an 18 year old girl. I just "Suggested" that she just point the center of the crosshairs at whatever she wanted to hit.

(The Zombie never stood a chance.)

My regular match loads had a slightly better average group size and also had the smallest size group.   It was probably not a statistically significant difference in the two loads. 

The point I am attempting to make is spend an equal amount of time working at the loading bench developing your load as well as working on unlocking your rifles potential. 

I once knew a man that was undoubtedly the best Front Engine Dragster "Wheel Man" in the sport of Drag Racing but, for all intents and purposes, that is all that he was, at the beginning of his career. The owners of the car built it around this man, made the engine work exceptionally well on their limited budget by running it on 100% pure and undiluted Nitromethane and tossed out the Blowers idler pulley because it was reducing horsepower and was basically a redundant part to begin with. The owners and builders then gave this "Accurized Rifle with the Super Match Load" to the "Shooter" and watched as he successfully out-shot 142 other shooters one weekend in the early 60's. The wheel man then began a journey of trying to improve on becoming a much better wheel man by focusing on both his driving skills as well as what could be done to improve the cars handling characteristics. They did test and tunes with different tires, different parachutes, a more direct fuel delivery system and a highly improved magneto. It eventually became a, "This is the best this car will ever be" even though the all three men continued to spend countless hours at the work bench and at the track. Unfortunately, the wheel man was driving an untested car in the late 60's and a mishap occurred prematurely ending his life's journey. His son continues on in his fathers stead continuously developing improved driving strategies as well as improving the cars capabilities...

If it’s the latter, I need more range time.  If the former, then the extra time at the loading bench is not worth it.  

I’m not saying to just skip load development, it can and does produce dividends.  I’m referring to those additional steps that are intended to make more consistent ammunition.

I am nowhere near this countries top shooter.  I do hold a NRA High Master Service Rifle rifle classification, and lots of guys and gals are High Masters.  But looking back on my experience, I have concluded that the most gains have been made by dedicated effort to master the shooting position fundamentals and not from making the absolute best possible loads.  Load tweaking can be fun, but it’s only made a difference for me on a few occasions. Every single High Master shooter I’ve talked to has said the same thing.  Consistency in the fundamentals of shooting is everything.  

No doubt in my mind that the AR is an accurate rifle for its purpose and can shoot accurately enough to win regional and national matches with using only basic reloading procedures or using factory ammunition.  Now, as you move away from Service Rifle shooting in the direction of Benchrest, then those extra things can make a difference for those rifles as Shamu has shown. 

As they say, your mileage may vary, this is just my experience for what it’s worth to our forum members. 

As you might recall, I removed and reinstalled the barrel on the Long Branch Mk 1/2 I got from you to facilitate refinishing the metal.  Wasn’t easy getting the barrel off.  The barrel was in good condition other than a bit of muzzle wear.  It’s a good shooter too. 

...That is Funny...

But, that's not what I was referring to.  The skill classifications are: rifleman, sharpshooter, expert, master and high master.  Might be something unique to the US competitive shooting sports.

Brit,  I know, just having some fun.

I was doing some load tests myself on my AR, and also attempted to chrono my Long Range loads for my No. 4  DCRA 7.62 conversion.  I must have had the Magnetospeed sensor mounted too low below the barrel, could not get any readings. I only shot four rounds of the 155 grain Palma MK and 3 rounds of the 168 TMK.  At 200 yards, the TMK won out, less than 1 MOA shot prone with aperture sights.  These were loaded with my Lee dies, still have not tried my “Super Match” loads done on the Wilson dies.  

It does seem that the 168 TMKs need to be fairly close to the lands for good accuracy, these were seated 0.020 off the lands, the COL was 2.95 inches, too long to feed from the magazine. Three shot group was at 1.6 inches at 200 yards.  44.0 grains of Varget, Lapua case, CCI BR-2 primer. 

To me however, what your friend is doing seems a little bit hap-hazardous and slightly dangerous,  "Tweaking" his loads out in the open like that. I am actually surprised that the Shooting Range even allows for that.

Our Ranges out here strictly forbid it. Too high of a risk to the other shooters and to the range itself should a fire occur if the gun powder is ignited somehow.

Lester Bruno of Bruno's Shooters Supply gave me a new box of Lapua (167grn/10.85g 7.83mm/.308 OTM Scenar) projectiles to try out in my 7.62 Enfield. They "look" more slippery than the SMK's...

The 167 Scenar is the bullet that Creedmoor loads into their .30-06 and .308 Match ammo.  The .30-06 is very accurate in the 03A1 and A4 sniper rifles at 300 and 600 yds and what I’ve used in the sniper matches.  Let us know how they shoot for you.

 

When I'm fine-tuning a new load that's pretty much what I do, but more simplistically.

I do all the case prep, sizing & priming at home on the Dillon, then I go to the range with my "best" theoretical load finished. Fire for performance & if needed dump measured charges from my Lyman #55 which conveniently clamps to the bench to throw a short load & trickle onto a PACT battery-powered scale till "perfect" & seat with a Lee loader to my desired depth!

Tip, the clear plastic "tubs" for volume CDs or DVDs make great disposable wind shields.

Here ya go Geoff.

10 shots @100 yards and on an official SR-1 NRA approved target.      The rifle kicks like a pissed off bull to...

This bullet should have the insensitivity to bullet jump (distance to the lands) that the 168 grain MK has, so a good choice for long throated barrels. 

Looks like my search for the best long range load for the DCRA just got restarted…

Well, the results were a bit disappointing. My regular match load using the Lee Collet Neck die did better. I had 20 rounds of the neck sized cases left, and shot those first at 800 and 1000 yards. I only shot 7 rounds at 800 as I wanted to reserve three shots for sighters at 1000.  The wind was very twitchy, constantly changing direction at various locations down the range.  Wind flags would suddenly change, for example, the 100 yard flags would be blowing one way and the 600 yard flags the other way, then again a different direction at 800.  

Here’s the first group at 800 yards, includes the first clean cold bore shots (no sighters or fouling shots) with my regular match load with neck sized cases (Lee Collet Die). I did make sight adjustments to try and bring the group into the center.   The vertical spread was good, just under 1 MOA, but you can see I struggled with the wind, took 7 shots to find the X ring.  Very respectable standard deviation of 5.2 fps.

Next, the same regular match load neck sized and shot at 1000 yards.  The two open circle shots high in the 7 ring were the sighters.  It was even more difficult to deal with the wind, constant changes in the rear sight windage.   Poor elevation control in my part, I find the 44 inch black aiming mark very difficult to see at 1000x thru iron sights.  Elevation spread was at 2.4 MOA, but I did manage to put four shots into the 1 MOA X ring.  Note the standard deviation at 6.8 fps, bit higher than the 800 yd target, but still good. The average velocity at 1000x was 1237 fps, so I can reduce the charge by 1/2 grain and still get the 1200 fps minimum to work the electronic targets. 

Next, the “super match” load, at 800 yards, elevation spread just over 2 MOA.  12 shots here, includes the two sighters which were 10’s.  Note, the standard deviation of the super match load is higher than the regular match load, more than double than the regular match load at 800x.  I believe the shot in the 9 ring at 4 O’Clock was on me.  Discounting that, the vertical spread was at 1.5 MOA. 

The same 800 yard target zoomed in, showed two more shots just outside the X ring, so no question that the rifle and ammo does perform, and those two 9’s are on me.  

Last, 1000 yards with the super match load.  I didn’t take a photo of the target, was not impressive at all.  Only 1 shot of the 12 fired hit the 10 ring, most were 8’s.  I suspect it was me, I was fairly tired at that point and loosing concentration.  I had fired a few groups of DA 1962 service ammunition in between these two loads at 100 yards which I’ll report on separately. It’s possible that might have affected the results here with the super match loads.  

This was all shot slung up prone, PH 5C aperture sight and “Matchmaker” front sight. 

This again showed me that cases neck sized in the Lee Collet Die produce very accurate ammunition. They gave lower standard deviations and reduced group spread.  This is not the general consensus of precision shooters with match and Benchrest rifles, they full length size, the theory being a full length sized case will allow the bullet to self align in the bore better than a neck sized case.  

The additional steps taken for the super match ammunition (partial length sizing cases to uniform headspace, weighing cases and selecting those within +/- 0.1 grains, deburring flash holes and primer pocket depth uniforming) did not show any improvement over my regular match loads.  

The proof of the pudding is in the eating!

If its working for you its a good technique, stick to it.

Never mind the Greybeards postulating.

Indeed, the Lee Collet Die has again shown its benefit to me, not just in giving long brass life, but in producing concentric ammunition (very low bullet runout). I’ve seen this in my .303 and 7.62/.308 loads.  I never knew why this was until I started measuring runout.