Ruger M77 Hawkeye Predator System Test – 6.5 Creedmoor – Updated

Posted on May 21, 2015 by Ed Hale

System Test: All components to make the shot.

Rifle – Ruger M77 Hawkeye Predator 6.5 Creedmoor

Scope: Leupold VX-6 3-18x44mm B&C Reticle

Brass – Hornady

Bullets – Sierra Pro- Hunter spitzer 120 grain flat base

Powder Hodgdon Hornady Superformance at 47.5 grains

Max Cartridge OAL is 2.825

Cartridge overall length used in this test is 2.53 inches due to my own flawed empirical tests. The longer reach to the rifling I used does not appear hurt hunting accuracy at all.

A system test is one which integrates all factor into one. The shooter, rifle, brass, bullet, powder, scope,trigger pull etc. On 5/20/ 2015, I shot at my club range at 100 yards. I had to wait till late afternoon to shoot as the wind was blowing gusts past 20 mph for most of the day. In less than 10 mph wind I shot a 4 shot 1 inch group that I was just “ok” at 100 yards See photo below. That group below is truly excellent for a hunter but if you are target shooting, then I expect sub-MOA groups such as 1/2 inch or tighter from this 6.5 Creedmoor since that its derivative, a supreme target rifle that a hunter can use as well. Trigger pull average of several pull sequences is 2 lb 2.6 oz and very consistent and very crisp. As a hunter this is too low, I think, for the average shooter but in competent well practices hands is just fine for bean field hunting at long-range where there is a rest involved.

That night I chose to change only one of the factors. The cleaning of the barrel was the factor that was easiest to eliminate as a contributor to this mediocre performance. Accordingly, I scrubbed the barrel with a brush and Butches Bore Bright alternating to patch and back to the brush until it shined like a mirror. It is often the case that new barrels need some break-in rounds.

The next morning I went to shoot at 600 yards as pictured in the prone position above and found that my set up, rest and such was too low indeed as I struggled to relax. I shot just 5 shots and hit the target each time but I was not at an optimum position. Groupings reflected my suspicion as they were in the black but grouped greater than 12 inches with no wind. With 1 inch groups at 100 yards translates to 6 inch groups, and that was just not happening. I stopped shooting at 600 yards and went back to my club and shot a 100 yard target to see where it fell. I had to reset the Leupold back to its zero point having adjusted it 12 minutes up for 600 yards. So I cranked the vertical adjustment back down to its 100 yard zero (48 clicks). This is a test point for the Leupold scope! It should be back where I left it at about 1 inch high above the bull.

Below is the 2nd 3 shot group at 100 yards. Yes, three shot group! The first two bullets went through the same hole at 100 yards and the third printed just 5/8 inch above.

More alternate shooting and cleaning will aid to base line the accuracy of this load. Am I happy with the second group ever out of this rifle? You Bet. The weather was perfect with almost no wind, sunny and bright.

The only component of this system that gave me difficulty was the Hornady Brass. I found that the shoulders were too soft and any pressure to press the bullet into the case resulted in a slight bulge of the case where the shoulder meets the rest of the case body. Trial and error and lots of chamfering were successful however. I would try other manufacturers if I need more brass but as I recall there were no immediate choices, and preferred Nosler brass (none available).

Component Score (10 is the highest) Score

Rifle – Ruger M77 Hawkeye Predator 6.5 Creedmoor 10

Scope: Leupold VX-6 3-18x44mm B&C Reticle 10

Brass – Hornady Neck Too Soft 6

Bullets – Sierra Pro- Hunter spitzer 120 grain flat base 2891 fps 10

Powder Hodgdon Hornady Superformance at 47.5 grains 10

System Score (without Brass) 10

Overall Comments:

The rifle with this Leupold scope is just right for an adult hunter to carry afield and recoils so little that a young shooter with a rest could shoot it well. Cranking the Leupold scope up 48 clicks and down proved exact for where I created the scope elevation zero at 100 yards proving its accuracy in this case. On reloading the Brass; As I reload the brass it will stiffen so over time it will be less of an issue.

Bottom line I need to be better prepared to shoot Prone at 600 yards with a better adjustable rest or front bi-pod with rear bag support. The prone bi-pod is perhaps the best overall afield as my son suggested recently. Perhaps some target bullets too. I plan to purchase a roll out prone blanket, change the Prone Rest and test it before hand. As you can see, we all learn from our mistakes. If we make none, we learn little.

Ruger M77 Hawkeye Predator 6.5 Creedmoor & Product Tests – Day One

Posted on May 12, 2015 by Ed Hale

Ruger® M77® Hawkeye® Predator 6.5 Creedmoor & Product Tests – Day One

Day One – I did not waste a moment when I picked up this rifle from my FFL friends at State Line Guns Ammo and Archery in Plaistow today. Yes, I am like a big kid in a candy store when it comes to new rifles and scopes and I am sure most all of your rifleman out there are just the same. Upon receiving the rifle, I inspected it and all was as it should be visually a beautiful rifle with the laminate stock. I mounted the brand new Leupold VX-6 3 -18 x 44mm CDS Scope to test too.(Above Photo by Author). The combination looks stunning! Future Testing includes the use of Hornady Brass, CCI Primers, Hodgdon Hornady Superformance Powder and Sierra bullets a combination that I believe will work supremely well.

I inspected the bore but it was a dull shine so I swabbed the bore with Butches bore bright. It is a good idea to clean the bore of a new rifle so you have a pristine starting point. Test shots are taken at the factory as was very likely in this case.

(Photo by Author)

The swab on the right was a first pass. Finding this, I ran a brush just once and then swabbed again with the patch to the left. I ran more till the bore was clean. Having owned several Ruger’s, I placed the bolt in the rifle and it worked smoothly. I did read the manual to see if there was anything new and found there were video’s which could be viewed on line for use and dis-assembly plus the lock they provide for safety and a pair of 20mm Ruger scope rings. Luckily I had a pair of 30mm rings for the Leupold VX-6 to attach to the Ruger scope platform.

I used a Wheeler Fat Wrench to torque the mounting and scope ring screws. (Photo by Author)

Next is to load the new Hornady cartridge cases, I could not get any Nosler cases as they were out of stock but the Hornady Cases look terrific. (Photo below by Author)

The brass necks and shoulder have been annealed (softened) for reloading. Now off to the reloading bench. I have found that the necks of this new brass need to be really hand chamfered quite a bit on the inside edge so that the flat base bullet does not distress the case neck angle. I ruined a few cases and bullet heads in the learning process but all is well. It took some time and trial and error to determine the cartridge length to the rifling inside the barrel (approx.2.53 to 2.6 inches by my reckoning seems a good COL for the 120 grain bullet based on later tests). Once known you should seat the bullet a bit deeper, so as not to contact the rifling. Good reloading manuals will help with this distance away from the lands and it varies from bullet to bullet and brand to brand. I used CCI 200 large rifle primers.

My research indicates that Hodgdon Hornady Superformance Powder is one of the best powders for my Sierra 120 grain Pro Hunter bullet for the 6.5 Creedmoor. Also Alliant’s Reloader 17 has been cited for excellence with the Creedmoor too.

Inspection of several fired rounds indicate that I am good to load up some ammo for another day. The recoil was pleasingly mild and the trigger seemed perfect. I will measure the trigger pull next with an electronic trigger pull gage along with other attributes.

I loaded less than a recommended load by a grain and a half, shot the round and examined the primer and cartridge. All looked normal so I shot the recommended load and it looked normal as well. Great! Now to load up some rounds for bullet speed by chronograph and accuracy with the new scope for this load and bullet. End of Day One. Much more to come… © 2015

Wind, Rifle Bullets and Max Point Blank Range

Posted on April 7, 2015 by Ed Hale

An area that the deer hunter or shooter must be concerned about when shooting a rifle at longer distances is the fact that the bullet is going to rise and drop above and below the intended bullet path and that the wind will also blow the bullet left or right as the distance increases. The kill zone circle for a whitetail deer is approximately 6 inches therefore a skilled hunter can calculate using JBM Software the point where the bullet does not exceed 3 inches above or 3 inches below the bullseye. We call this Max Point Blank Range (MPBR). As an example my .243 Winchester bullet is a Sierra 100 grain Pro-Hunter spitzer that can be chosen from the first drop down menu on the screen which includes the Ballistic Coefficient already. I have chrono’d the bullet at 2820 fps and enter that as Muzzle Velocity.

At the bottom of the software screen are boxes that you can check such as Zero at MPBR so it is calculated automatically for you. The MPBR calculated is 272 yards but the wind at 10 mph at 90º and will blow the bullet off course by 7.5 inches. What do you do then? Your bullet will exceed the 3 inch radius and make a poor shot. Knowing the wind direction and practicing at knowing wind speed can help make this shot possible. If the wind is blowing from left to right you will hold to the left by an estimated 7 inches (an educated guess) at the 9 o’clock position thus the bullet will strike the center of the kill zone. Practice, Practice and Practice. If you have the opportunity to wait for the wind to momentarily subside then wait. Trees and leaves can tell you lots about the wind speed. Those who study wind say that if smoke or steam rises vertically wind is 0 to 1 mph; wind shows slight smoke or steam is 2-3 mph but not enough to move leaves; wind that is felt on your face and leaves rustle is 4 to 7 mph; leaves and twigs in constant motion and extends a light flag is 8 to 12 mph. If small branches are moving on trees then you are above 12 mph.

What is critical here is the angle of the wind as it relates to your shot. If the wind is blowing toward you or toward your target then the shot will likely be less affected by wind. It will be helpful to create a chart for your rifle that shows drop tables and wind deflection that you can tape to your rifle or carry with you in the field. Below is the resulting chart for the .243 Winchester demonstrating the wind effect at 275 yards is 7.5 inches otherwise the wind will push your MPBR to an adjusted 175 yard max shot based on a 10 mph wind where wind deflection is 2.9 inches.

Yes wind can really throw you off target so remember to practice. Other factors include bullet speed and energy below. For deer we need around 1000 ft-lbs and 2000 fps making the max shot here at 272 yards as well. Hope this helps! © 2015

mpbr

Taking the Rifles for a Walk at the Range.

Posted on March 31, 2015 by Ed Hale

Its early spring, March 25, 2015, the weather is sunny at 40 º F and the wind is 5 to 10 mph, a great day either walk your dog or take your rifles to the range. Today I am taking two rifles out for a walk as it were. These rifles sat in silence for a few months while old-man-winter dumped a record amount of snow on us here in southern New Hampshire.

First Rifle out, is my Ruger American in .243 Winchester.

ruger american bench rested

The Ruger American is a highly cost effective solution for deer and bear hunters. At last look it was under $400 bucks. It has a Leupold 2-7 power VX-3 on it. I really like these scopes as a long term investment! Also, I like my Ruger American in .243 Winchester too as recoil is very light and delivers lots of accuracy and energy for the investment. Over the last fall I have worked up hand loads shooting Sierra 100 grain spitzers that are just tack driving accurate at top speeds for deer hunting out to about 300 yards (for a southern bean-field deer hunt) keeping the long range 300 yard energy near to 1000 ft-lbs for adequate penetration and velocity in the 2000 ft-sec for mushrooming of the bullet on impact. This I know because I used JBM Ballistic Software on the web at http://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmtraj-5.1.cgi

So I shot a three shot group at 150 yards at bench rest and kept the groups at 1 inch. Wow! Very Impressive! Two of the shots were clustered at 1/4 inch. These are near max loads and were shot at a temperature of 40 degrees F. As summer comes on and temperature rises I need to pay closer attention to case inspection for signs of slight over pressure, though I think the loads will be fine, it is best to be a good observer. In the fall when temperatures drop back to 40 or below this load will bring meat to the table and with some luck, something with antlers too. Little wind and the kind of steady rest are critical for shots beyond say 150 yards. My trigger breaks at just under 3 pounds on the Ruger American so I can more easily predict near the break of the trigger.

Next Rifle out is my M77 Ruger African in .375 Ruger with a Leupold VX-3 in 3×9 with a Pachmayr Decelerator® slip on recoil pad. http://www.pachmayr.com/home/deceleraton-slip.php . With this Pad, the rifle shoots like a 30:06 instead. Very nice indeed.

375 Ruger and Leupold VX-III side view

I knew that it was shooting the 235 grain Speer Hot Core well at just over 2400 fps as I chronographed them this past fall.

I took a shot and made a slight adjustment and then two more shots nearly overlapping placing them at 5/8 inch apart at 150 yards a half inch above the bullseye, looking like a pair of eyes and smiley face with the bullseye looking more like a mouth just below the eyes.

This is a deer, bear or moose load, a light load for this cartridges capability.

This rifle is sub-moa accurate for many of my pet hand loads.

Ok, nuff of a walk and very happy. © 2105

Ruger American .243 Winchester : Power + Accuracy = Wow

Posted on July 19, 2014 by Ed Hale

Many are aware that I like the Ruger American in .243 Winchester as I tested it and bought it a few years back. See my article on Rifle Tests. I shot it out of the box with Nosler 90g E-Tip deer loads and they shot sub-MOA at 100 yards and retails for under $400 dollars.

Since then I have toyed with 55 grain heads from Nosler and shot MOA groups at velocities in the 3500 fps class making it an outstanding Coyote rifle. But I also wanted a deer rifle with which the 90 grain e-Tip, as great as it is, wasn’t the only bullet that I could shoot. I was aware that with 100 grain heads and a 1 in 10 twist rate is a not so great combo for bullet stability e.g., that bullets could be unstable and even keyhole on the paper. I am here to tell you that I shot several 100 grain bullets with Speer’s Spitzer Boat Tail and every shot was true. I pushed the round with AA 3100 powder and RL 19 and they both shot well at 2500 fps which I think is slow yet adequate for deer out to 150 yards. I pushed the round today to nearly 2700 fps and the cartridge and standard CCI 200 primer did the job in stride and with room to spare. So I will look for the limits on this bullet, powder and rifle combination. Every rifle slightly different, even in the same model. But while I was at it, loading the Speer at 41 grains of AA 3100, I shot a 3 shot group at 50 yards that was basically touching each other. I just shot not knowing the group size and I was pleasantly surprised. See below. One thing you have to remember well is that this rifle cost less than 400 dollars and shoots like a $2000 rifle.

If I were target shooting for score at 600 yards in F class Competition this would be my load. For deer hunting you want power, reach, accuracy to a minute of angle at 100 yards, penetration and mushrooming this combo makes it harder to find that perfect load. But I found one none the less.

This load is perfect out to 200 yards which is most of the shooting on the east coast that most will do unless you are bean field hunting in the Carolina’s, then you will need a big power and accuracy too maybe out to 400 – 600 yards. I hope to write next month about the Nosler 26 as my Nosler friends are trying to get me a rifle and ammo to test.

Bench Rest Best Practices to Determine Cartridge/Bullet Accuracy

Posted on June 20, 2014 by Ed Hale

We all want to shoot these tiny groups at the Bench Rest don’t we, especially at your local range where we often can earn bragging rights for such a fine group. Recently I struck up conversations at the range about “Best Practices” of accuracy basics at the Bench. What I got for feedback was seemingly all over the place! You can have a $5000 dollar rifle/scope combo and still shoot average without good rests and shooting techniques. Of course the cartridge/bullet and load must be tuned as well to your rifle barrels harmonics, another article.

SAND BAGS AND RESTS

Yea, said the shooter I bought this bag or that bag to place my rifle on at the bench and it works fine. So I query the shooter, so your rifle rests on the bag but how do you hold the stock of your gun still? Well, comes the answer, I put the butt firmly into my shoulder and shoot. My rifle shoots nearly one inch groups comes the further response. So I ask them to show me how they did that. Upon seeing the setup it is clear that the rifle is still moving as the shot is taken. Minor movement of course results in a combination of the shooter skill and the gun together. If you really want to see only what the rifles performance is then you must either take the shooter out of the equation or have a rifle that is already on target and all you have to do is pull the trigger. Shooters that listen to the logic of my recommendations have found greater accuracy inherent in the rifle they are shooting and more work on their part to keep the rifle steady.

Once the rifle is proven itself, If the shooter wants to change to a different shooting style such as prone or kneeling they can do that knowing the rifle is not the problem when accuracy issues arise.

Leather or fabric sand bags can do that when place forward on the stock, never on the barrel and rear under the butt of the rifle. Also the rifle should be high enough above the bench so the shooter can ease into shooting position without undo squirming. I raise the front rest up about 1.5 inches higher with a 2×6 piece of wood (cheap and dirty) or better yet I bought an adjustable front rest from Caldwell. See below. Other manufacturers make them but this Caldwell rock Jr is mine and costs about $35 bucks. I can adjust the rifle vertically just by spinning the black star like nut on the threaded shaft. The rear rest should be a bag type.

Or a shooting bag combo.

TRIGGER PULL

Second problem is trigger pull weight. I own a digital scale and know the break point for my rifles. Poor grouping can also come from too heavy a trigger or a trigger that creeps unpredictably (replace or fix the trigger). Many rifles have a trigger pull of 5 plus pounds. This is too heavy, in my estimation. For Hunting it should be between 3 to 4.5 pounds. For target it can be less but needs a skilled shooter to handle a light trigger.

When shooting begins, all the shooter should be doing is squeezing the trigger once the cross hairs are on the bullseye. squeezing trigger evenly without jerking.

A while back I demonstrated a sub-moa rifle shooting a group of 3/4 inch was really a 1/4 minute of angle rifle with the right rests. For a target shooter that can mean the difference of winning a match verses placing in a match. For a long range shooter it can mean the difference of 7.5 inches at 1000 yards with a 3/4 group at 100 yards or 2.5 inches at 1000 with a 1/4 inch group sighted at 100 yards.

SCOPE-EYE ALIGNMENT

The next error comes in where the cheek touches the comb of the stock to align the eye into the sight or scope. Where there are so many scopes we will discuss scope picture.

It is best to raise the cheek so the eye is to be even with the scope. Some buy a device to raise the cheek. I believe it is not needed for normal hunting say out to 200 yards but will have value of LR shots.

At 100 yards a 3 x 9 scope for example should be all the way to 9x and the image of both the crosshairs and the image should be crystal clear. Some rifle scopes have parallax adjustments, please do not use this to focus the reticle or target. There should be another adjustment for target focus and another for crosshair focus for high power scopes. Or built into one adjustment for less magnification scopes. If you move your eye in the rear of the scope and the crosshairs shift around on you then you need to fine tune that movement with the parallax adjustment. Often they are marked like the Vortex brand. My Leupold scope has no parallax adjustment as it is pre-adjusted for say 100 yards. In addition, by keeping your eye centered in the scope where any outer shadow you see is centered then you also have minimized parallax and this is valuable for long range shooting.

BREATHING

If your are out of breath, or your heart is beating fast then wait on the shot till your composure is relaxed as if meditating and relaxing your core self a technique that helped me in Archery over many years. Once I am relaxed then I breath a few deep breaths and exhale half way and hold while I squeeze the shot off. At high magnification you can see your heart beat in the movement of your crosshairs if you are tightly connected to your rifle. Experts say shoot between heartbeats. Snipers teach the BRASS Method:Breath, Relax, Aim, Stop, Squeeze. It makes a lot of Sense…

An expert long range marksman also suggested letting your tongue hang loose in your mouth as you squeeze.

What does a Zel Custom Spartan 50 BMG look like?

Posted on June 15, 2014 by Ed Hale

Below is a Zel Custom Spartan bolt action 50 BMG from www.tactilite.com. The Long range scope is a Vortex with mil-dot. I shot this puppy and it kicks more as it is lighter than some models. But it can shoot. The owner let me take a shot once he was on the bullseye. I missed the red center by 1/4 inch. Well, that is not really a miss, is it? Is this affordable? For some it is not ridiculous to own but you have to have a place to shoot it to wring out its capabilities. At 100 yards this machine never got warmed up. I had a shoulder recoil pad with me for my .375 Ruger full power loads at Bench Rest. This is not a hunting firearm it is a Second Amendment Rifle and a long range target rifle if you can afford the ammo. I hope to shoot it more in the future.

Are You Serious About Rifle Accuracy? Updated

Posted on June 15, 2014 by Ed Hale

If you are then you should be hand loading your ammo if you have the time. Let us assume you do have the time and you do reload and that your rifles, screw, and nuts are tight (better yet torqued) and that you have little in the way of temperamental barrel harmonics to throw your bullets off. Ok how do you know that your rifle doesn’t have any issues? Purchase my African Safari e-book which details these issues in two chapters where I experienced rifle/ trigger/recoil problems and corrected them. I have owned only 2 rifles that had very minor barrel harmonic issues that I could not correct. I just did not want to deal with those unpredictable variables as they would have become issues at very long ranges. Color them sold… Most folks that target shoot at long range are sticklers for details.

Choosing a bullet, a powder, a case, a primer and putting that together for an experienced hand loader is a straight forward task of trial and error, preferably less error. I won’t get into the specifics here but most occasional shooters are unaware of what goes into a custom cartridge that is mated to just one rifle and for a particular task. Take for example my .375 Ruger which can be loaded for Cape Buffalo or loaded down for Whitetail Deer or even Coyote. If you had to purchase over the counter ammo for it, there are no deer loads available at your retailer, you the shooter have to make them yourself. If you have a reloading press and components such as primers, powder and heads then you can just put them together as you need them thus you don’t have to be disappointed for months waiting for your loads to make to a retail shelf.

reloading table

Purchasing components such the RCBS Rockchucker press above and powder, primers and bullet heads and Brass cases need to be stocked for your rifles so you don’t have to panic. In my case I did have to search for new cases this month as mine were getting old and shot many times. Last year I found that some of my bullet heads were in short supply so I stocked up a bit last year. Next I chose loads that were noted as best accuracy, not the hottest load per se. Next was to Chronograph them and average the groups, then choose a distance to zero them at say 100 or 200 yards. You can buy a chronograph for $120 dollars. Most shoot for group at 100 yards which is fine to establish an accuracy benchmark in terms of MOA. For hunting, two inch groups at 100 yards is just fine as long as you stay within your capabilities and yardage out to say 200-300 yards. Beyond that you want a rifle that shoots tighter groups at 1 inch (Minute of Angle) but then the wind begins to dominate the accuracy issue. I expect today’s rifles to shoot MOA out of the box pretty much or after a little break in period.

A 10 mph wind across the shot at 200 yards will blow that bullet off course by say 3 inches, but at 500 yards the bullet can be blown as much as 12 inches off target. Right off the kill zone. How can you predict and account for that? It is easy to predict with a Ballistic Calculator but it takes training to account for the wind by using a wind meter and skill in doping the wind! Here are some wind hints:

Screenshot (243) copy

Use and become familiar with the JMB Ballistic Calculator in the header of this website. Click where it says trajectory and enter all the parameters you know. Here is a typical chart for a .270 Winchester and amply demonstrates superior Ballistics using the Nosler AccuBond in 130 grain. There is a drop down menu for known bullet selection data. Here it is sighted in at 200 yards but if sighted in at 255 yards the Maximum Point blank range would be essentially 300 yards if the vital zone radius was 4 inches. The energy needed to kill a deer is said to be 1000 ft-lbs but the bullet needs to be 1800 fps or faster to mushroom. Here 400 yards is the farthest that a killing shot is recommended provide you compensate for the 14.4 inches of 10 mph cross wind drift where there is a gentle breeze and small branches sway. You can wait for a wind lull to shoot or pass on the shot and get closer.

Screenshot (246) copy

Enter Bullet Manufacturer Type of Bullet, BC, Caliber, temperature, humidity, vital zone radius 3 for deer maybe 4 inches for Elk, the muzzle velocity averaged from your Chronograph shots. This is just the beginning of your learning curve. If you want to shoot say 600 to 1000 yards in competition then you need to pick up a copy of Applied Ballistics by Brian Litz. Brian has a ballistics program as well that is a CD as part of the book. I am an advanced novice and still learning. Go for it! © 2104

The 26 Nosler – Worlds Most Powerful 6.5mm Commercial Cartridge?

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Ed Hale

NOSLER® UNVEILS WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL 6.5mm COMMERCIAL CARTRIDGE – FLAT OUT-LIGHTS OUT!

I have tested bullets for a number of years for Nosler. They are in my estimation the best bullets in the World. Now they have a new Cartridge and a AccuBond® Long Range™ bullet and even a new rifle! Click on the Image and take a fast ride! We will likely be on the test list for June or July!

My friends at Nosler have created a new Cartridge and 4 months ago approved by SAAMI for release to the Hunting and Shooting World that other rifle makers can use. It is the 26 Nosler, a 6.5mm Cartridge, that when shot out of Nosler rifles and shot with Nosler’s new 6.5 AccuBond® Long Range™ Bullets it needs no sight picture change from zero all the way out to 415 yards when it is zeroed at 350 yards. So whether your deer is at 60 yards or 400 yards, just point and shoot they say. Most of us that shoot fast rifles end up approaching 300 yard maximums for what we call Point Blank range. This is more than another hundred yards further. It is being introduced with the Nosler Patriot Rifle with their M48 Action. and 26 inch barrel.

The Rifle Retails for around $1600. The trigger breaks at a crisp 3 pounds. Nice! Guaranteed MOA accuracy with specific Nosler ammo. Today a rifle is expected to do that right out of the box, as I have with other Test Rifles. So that statistic of guarantee is not that impressive as a bean field rifle for accuracy beyond 600 yards but perhaps it is without the guarantee. My Ruger rifle tests do not guarantee a better than MOA accuracy but they deliver sub MOA with some loads. So the big win here for Nosler is to deliver a 4 inch group at 400 yards in perfect conditions with no wind and 400 yard velocities of 2700 fps (Correction, I originally said over 3000) delivering 2123 foot pounds of Elk and Moose Stopping Energy. I used a G7 drag Coeff. of .285 in the JBM ballistic calculator. This bullet can reach out far beyond 600 yards if groups are sub-MOA. For deer at sub MOA at almost 2000 fps for a full mushroom and over 1100 ft-lbs it can cleanly kill a deer at 900 yards or longer for an experienced LR shooter. Most hunters are not capable of that, including me at this time.

For more info go to Nosler.com!

A New Rifle and Scope?

Posted on June 2, 2013 by Ed Hale

So you have a new Leupold VX-1 nice choice. You mounted it on a new rifle 30-06 Springfield, on your favorite Rifle Manufacturer like Savage, Ruger, Remington, Winchester, Kimber, TC and many more.

For discussion sake say you have purchased over the counter Winchester ammo with Nosler 150 grain E-Tips for your hunt. A polymer tipped solid gilding copper bullet that flairs into a mushroom with petals.

Note: gilding copper leaves very little residue in the barrel unlike other soft copper bullets.

Lets go to the range and bore sight your rifle and scope at 25 yards. After that we want to shoot it at 100 yards to fine tune your shot placement and shoot for group.

And finally we want to determine your Maximum Point Blank Range (MPBR) with this Cartridge. If you are not familiar with this term let me explain. MPBR was developed so that the hunter can hit a kill zone of 6 inches from zero yards to a point where the bullet still falls in the six inch kill circle often well past past 200 yards.

But first things first lets get you sighted in.

(Muzzle velocity of the 150 grain E-Tip is 2900 fps is written right on the box. This combo is great for short or long range as the e-Tip will stay together as it flairs. It has an SD (Sectional Density) of .226 and is best for deer, black bear and elk according to many experts. It is great for large New England deer in the 200 lb plus class.)

Sighting in – Without spending a dime on bore sighting tools you can take the bolt out of your new rifle and do what is called bore sighting and you won’t have to use up your expensive ammo. If you like some aid in gadgets the Leupold Magnetic Bore Sighter is a great tool. Check it out on the web.

We will need a firm steady front and rear rest. Sand bag rests are great and cheap. My best front rest is a Caldwell for 39 bucks and a sand bag rear rest that cradles the stock.

Place your target that has a one inch grid pattern on it such as a Champion Redfield Sight in Target at a distance of 25 yards.

Place your rifle on sand bags that hold the rifle with out you touching it. You can use bench rest leather or fabric sand bags or purchase a rest like the Caldwell as I said.

Look down the bore where the bolt was, and place the bore in the bullseye of a target. keeping the rifle still adjust the scope left right up down so that the scope matches the bore image. You may have to get your rifle in focus by turning the rear focus ocular bell see your Leupold scope manual.

At 25 yards with a scope that has 1/4″ clicks for 100 yards, it will take 4 clicks to move your crosshair 1/4 inch at 25 yards and one click to move it 1/4 inch at 100 yards. If you are 2 inches left visually (no shooting yet) at 25 yards then you will need to move the scope right. How many 1/4 inches are there in 2 inches? There are 8 therefore multiply 8 x 4 = 32 clicks. It will take 32 clicks to get the scope on the target bull.

Now take a shot. The fore-stock should be in the front rest and not the barrel.

The shot is one inch high and one inch left. Make the same adjustments with the 25 yard formula which is what?

For the one inch high shot you will need to come down 4 x 4 =16 clicks. The same 16 clicks to come right. Yes that is alot of clicks but because you are shooting so close it takes that many to move the point of aim.

Take a shot. Chances are you are smack dab in the x-ring. and you only took 2 shots to get there.

Now place your target at 100 yards.

Take a shot with the scope adjusted to 9 power for better visibility of the bullseye.

Ok you are 3 inches high and one inch to the left. You are almost done. Lets bring the scope down so you are in the bullseye. How many clicks? 12 is correct. And to the right you move windage 4 clicks. Now before I shoot for groups, I will tap a scope lightly with my knuckles like knocking on a door or tap it with a small rubber mallet to set the windage and elevation adjustments firmly into position.

Load a round put the safety on and take it off safe when you are ready to shoot taking 3 shots.

Shoot so that the sand bags do all the work of holding the cross hairs on target so all you need to do is keep the rifle firmly into your shoulder (need a good recoil pad) take a breath and let it out half way. Hold your breath and squeeze the trigger. Wait 2 minutes or more between shots. Great Group! 3/4 inch at 100 yards! Nice shooting. Shoot another group and average them.

For the hunt you may want to know Maximum Point Blank Range for your 150 grain e-Tip traveling at 2900 fps. The 150 grain has drag Ballistic Coefficient of .469. This is a very good BC. Now go to the Hornady Ballistic Calculator in the header of this website and enter the speed of the bullet and the BC. Choose 550 yards for farthest shot at 50 yard increments. It is a hot day so I chose 80 degrees with a 10 mph wind. I zeroed the rifle at 200 yards.

As you can see the bullet drops to 2.8 inches below center at 250 yards. Close enough to 3 inches low to call this your MPBR. In other words you are in the kill zone of a big game animal out to 250 yards by holding the cross-hairs dead on in the heart lung area. Wow! Just be aware that the bullet drifted 4 inches at 250 yards with the 10 mph wind so you should compensate or limit your shot to no farther than 200 yards. The wind was the limiting factor here.

Now practice without a bench rest from standing, kneeling, using a tree to brace your rifle, a backpack as a brace and you will learn your best killing distance. Learn to shoot with a bolt rifle by working the bolt between shots. Get back on target and shoot again. Practice that a lot so you can just do it at will. You will know when you are getting good! Good Hunting! ©

March 2025

Category Archives: Rifle Tests