Preliminary Ammo Test- and Morale Builder

[jmoore]

After the miserable results of the last outing (Link: https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=29457 ), today was "flop on the belly day" to do a couple of checks on some new ammo. Didn't feel like benching it, as there was a sling handy for one rifle, and bipods for the other two. Not shooting for score or zero, just seeing if the bullets would poke holes relatively near each other.

For morale building, the first rifle chosen is shown below. Targets set at 200yds. No fouling shots, no zero checks beforehand. First five rounds were some standard Sierra recommended accuracy loads built for their 175grSMK bullet. Temps about 30-40 degrees F warmer than the last shoot with this rifle!


Sling, regular old "street" leather jacket, boresnake before first round.

Reloaded ammo used as per description above:


Result?:

Cold bore-200yds-

Zero's a bit off, but the windage dial was too (set-off at last shoot). Orange dot cluster was POA. Not a "fluke"-this rifle is so good, I swapped a 1969 Mustang fastback for it- and think it's a better deal all the time!



Feeling MUCH better now!

So, how about some "new" PRVI 175gr FMJ "match" ammo?






Two shots ended up in the torn area, but were on paper, still, NOT very impressive for a first group. ~5 inches-NOT acceptable in the above rifle!

OK, maybe the PRVI 175s don't like this rifle, so next test bed is a really ugly Model 700LH VS w/Parker Hale bipod. No photo! But it's quite accurate w/ FGMM168s.

Group below:

Not very good at all! Disappointing, even.

Not looking good for this stuff.

So, how about some of the LARGE new batch of cheap 145gr PRVI?




Shot five, looked promising, so five more. Not bad for basic ball! Remember- 200yds, so MOA is about half the inches of dispersion. Roughly 2MOA max dispersion.

How about PRVI 145gr ball in the new fangled LMT (L129a1)?


Nearing completion- need the RMR minisight and sling.


Phooey! This rifle's proving to be picky! Match ammo's fine, but there's no FMJ load found yet that it likes.

Not much different with Federal American Eagle FMJs:




Looks like there will have to be some actual load development for this rifle, which is a bother. I've gotten used to AR15 accuracy with ball ammo- which is typically 1 1/2-2 MOA with any old decent ammo. Not hugely happy with this rifle so far- it's OK, but not spectacular. Considering the costs, OY! ETA: Sample 200yd group (not shown, but target can still be photoed), 10 rounds in 3 inches ~1 1/2 MOA using 168gr FGMM: whoopty doo...

But it IS the new British DMR.

Oh, yeah, I do tend to get maximum mileage out of targets. Some have had the centers replaced many times, so these are fairly fresh...




There was more, but this here's enough internet cluttering for now.

If you made it this far- Thanks!
Feel free to add your own minor, major, or epic excursions- PLEASE!

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