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I read the recent thread "Accurate rifles are worth it" and am wondering if I should do some more precision upgrades to my rifle to make it better or not.
Here's what I have:
Remington 700 SPS Tactical in .308, factory 20" 1/12 barrel
Jewell trigger set at about 1.5 pounds
XLR Industries Carbon chassis
Bedded steel one piece TPS scope base
Lapped TPS steel rings
Vortex Viper PST 6-24X50 FFP scope in MILS
Atlas bipod
Oversized bolt handle
I'm shooting handloads and have gotten the best accuracy with 168gr A-Max bullets, with Hornady brass, Federal match primers, and 44.0gr of Varget.
I get an average of maybe just a hair under 3/4 MOA when shooting at 100 yards. I have a range in my back yard that goes up to 250 yards, and I can keep that 3/4 MOA accuracy at that distance also. I've shot a little less than 500 rounds through this rifle, and have been meticulous about keeping track of all my data and shots taken in my Impact Data book, as well as kept all my targets with info recorded on them. I try to do a lot of dry fire with it, while inside, as well as on the range when I do the one dry fire, one live fire, repeat thing. It shoots better with a nicely fouled barrel, so I don't clean it often, but when I do, I carefully clean it with a bore guide.
I use to shoot from a bench in a seated position, with a rear sand sock and the front on a pack, but have recently been shooting prone with a little more consistent results. Sometimes I use my bipod, with a little bit of preload on it, and can keep "almost" the same accuracy with it, but am better on a pack or sandbag.
I try to work on my body position, my trigger press, breathing etc... All the stuff that I read about and watch people teaching about on YouTube. I'm sure some of you will say I need to take a precision rifle class. Well, I'd love to take a class, but due to an injury I have, I can't drive a vehicle, so getting to a class is extremely hard for me.
I feel I have a firm understanding of shooting fundamentals, as well as the reloading process. I've been reloading for about 5 years, I reload my handgun on my Dillon XL650, but do my precision rifle loading on a single stage. I used to hand trickle my loads up to weight but now use a Chargemaster 1500, and while I feel that it's not quite as accurate in weighing my charges since it is only accurate to 0.1gr, and my other scale is accurate to 0.05gr, I haven't really noticed a loss in accuracy with it. (I do love the increased speed in loading though)
This is the most accurate rifle I've ever shot, (and I don't think that's saying much...) and I've never had the opportunity to let someone who claims to be a much better shooter than me, shoot my rifle, although I'd love to have the chance to let someone try so if you're ever in the western Wisconsin area, let me know!
Now that I've explained a little about my experience, and my rifle... I feel I should be more accurate with it, than I am. I'm wondering if either:
A. I just need more shooting experience with it.
B. This is about as accurate as I can get with the upgrades I've done.
If I want to get more accuracy with it, do I need to take the next step and get a better barrel, receiver, or both...
Or should I be able to get more accuracy out of what I've done and just need more shooting experience?
Any advice?
Here's what I have:
Remington 700 SPS Tactical in .308, factory 20" 1/12 barrel
Jewell trigger set at about 1.5 pounds
XLR Industries Carbon chassis
Bedded steel one piece TPS scope base
Lapped TPS steel rings
Vortex Viper PST 6-24X50 FFP scope in MILS
Atlas bipod
Oversized bolt handle
I'm shooting handloads and have gotten the best accuracy with 168gr A-Max bullets, with Hornady brass, Federal match primers, and 44.0gr of Varget.
I get an average of maybe just a hair under 3/4 MOA when shooting at 100 yards. I have a range in my back yard that goes up to 250 yards, and I can keep that 3/4 MOA accuracy at that distance also. I've shot a little less than 500 rounds through this rifle, and have been meticulous about keeping track of all my data and shots taken in my Impact Data book, as well as kept all my targets with info recorded on them. I try to do a lot of dry fire with it, while inside, as well as on the range when I do the one dry fire, one live fire, repeat thing. It shoots better with a nicely fouled barrel, so I don't clean it often, but when I do, I carefully clean it with a bore guide.
I use to shoot from a bench in a seated position, with a rear sand sock and the front on a pack, but have recently been shooting prone with a little more consistent results. Sometimes I use my bipod, with a little bit of preload on it, and can keep "almost" the same accuracy with it, but am better on a pack or sandbag.
I try to work on my body position, my trigger press, breathing etc... All the stuff that I read about and watch people teaching about on YouTube. I'm sure some of you will say I need to take a precision rifle class. Well, I'd love to take a class, but due to an injury I have, I can't drive a vehicle, so getting to a class is extremely hard for me.
I feel I have a firm understanding of shooting fundamentals, as well as the reloading process. I've been reloading for about 5 years, I reload my handgun on my Dillon XL650, but do my precision rifle loading on a single stage. I used to hand trickle my loads up to weight but now use a Chargemaster 1500, and while I feel that it's not quite as accurate in weighing my charges since it is only accurate to 0.1gr, and my other scale is accurate to 0.05gr, I haven't really noticed a loss in accuracy with it. (I do love the increased speed in loading though)
This is the most accurate rifle I've ever shot, (and I don't think that's saying much...) and I've never had the opportunity to let someone who claims to be a much better shooter than me, shoot my rifle, although I'd love to have the chance to let someone try so if you're ever in the western Wisconsin area, let me know!
Now that I've explained a little about my experience, and my rifle... I feel I should be more accurate with it, than I am. I'm wondering if either:
A. I just need more shooting experience with it.
B. This is about as accurate as I can get with the upgrades I've done.
If I want to get more accuracy with it, do I need to take the next step and get a better barrel, receiver, or both...
Or should I be able to get more accuracy out of what I've done and just need more shooting experience?
Any advice?
