243 shooting problems
- Thread starter rock33
- Start date
Help Support Ruger Forum:
^ Good grief! :roll:
Sagebrush Burns
Single-Sixer
I have a very pricey Dakota 243 and it is a beautiful rifle. It seldom shoots groups smaller than 1" but it seldom shoots groups larger than 1". I have killed a bunch of pronghorns and prairie dogs with it at ranges out to 400 yards and if I miss it's my fault, not the rifle. Consistency is more important than "bragging" groups.
Keep trying different types of ammo, you might get lucky. Otherwise, getting groups under 1" may be as good as you get.
What type of sights/optics are you using? With open sights, 1" is superlative. A hunting type scope with thick crosshairs will limit the group size simply due to lack of precision that might be had with a finer crosshair.
And lastly, (no personal affront intended) how good can YOU shoot? Again, please don't be offended. I've seen guys complaining about their groups and later found they weren't using proper technique or a solid support.
What type of sights/optics are you using? With open sights, 1" is superlative. A hunting type scope with thick crosshairs will limit the group size simply due to lack of precision that might be had with a finer crosshair.
And lastly, (no personal affront intended) how good can YOU shoot? Again, please don't be offended. I've seen guys complaining about their groups and later found they weren't using proper technique or a solid support.
if you are an expert rifleman using an expertly installed Leupold target scope and a near perfect rest under near perfect conditions using mass produced ammo, I would guess its your ammo. Other than that there are way too many things that could be at issue to guess at. That may be the limits of the rifle, 1" groups from a factory rifle aint nuthin to sneeze at.
Chuck 100 yd
Hunter
Fifty years ago finding a minute of angle rifle ( 1" ) was most riflemans dream. It seems that isen't good enough today. I won an NRA club championship with a consistant shooting 1" .243 .
woodperson
Single-Sixer
How many shots in a "group".
mr surveyor
Blackhawk
Several years ago I had (what sounds like) the same rifle ... Ruger Mark II, in .243. After shooting it a bit my ffl buddy suggested I try putting a more proper torque on the action screws as the Ruger Mk II uses a much higher torque, particularly on the front screw, than other brands. He didn't have the proper torque tool available in his shop so we decided to just "white knuckle" the front action screw and see what happened. The 100 yard groups immediately shrunk to just below 1 moa, regardless of the manufacturer or weight of the bullets tried. I would still have that rifle today if I hadn't discovered that the barrel was slightly canted. It was great at the 100 yards I had it dialed in for, but inside or outside that .....
You might keep in mind the action screw torque, but 1" at 100 yds sounds more than adequate to me ... especially if it's consistent anywhere between 50 yds and 300 yds.
jd
You might keep in mind the action screw torque, but 1" at 100 yds sounds more than adequate to me ... especially if it's consistent anywhere between 50 yds and 300 yds.
jd
rugerjunkie
Buckeye
First thing to check is that the mounts/rings are tight. Then the cleanliness and condition of the barrel. Next would be the bedding and crown. If all the above is good then I'd move into finding ammo it prefers. With any of the above not right it really won't matter what you shoot for ammo...
Rock 33, this is not advice, merely a reply. I also have a Mark II .243. When I first purchased it a few years ago, I purchased two boxes of Winchester ammo for it. One box had 80 gr pointed soft point projectiles. The second was loaded with 100 gr power point projectiles. As with an old, Remington 788 I've had for many years chambered for 6mm Remington, and the same barrel length, the two rifles tend to prefer the 100 gr projectiles. The .243 shoots one inch groups at 100 yards. The 80 gr projectiles open the group size to approx two inches. Being recently retired, I now have time to play with hand loading both cartridges. In the .243, I experimented with some 100 gr boat tail blems. They were free so I felt, what the heck? For paper punching at 100 yards, the accuracy was decidedly not what I would want to take on a hunting expedition! Those were just a fun way to punch paper. I have load data for both cartridges obtained from a magazine article years ago published in Shooting Times comparing the accuracy of both side by side. Sadly, the propellant that seemed dandy for both is no longer in production. That powder was Winchester 785, and it did make outstanding 6mm loads. I'm not sure how others reading this may feel, but for both calibers, it would appear a slower-burning, ball or flattened ball type propellant may be worth consideration. Both my rifles are scoped 3-9 with fine reticles. Lastly, I have also had good results with slow-burning propellants like IMR 4350. Good luck!
Yeah right, I blame that bad group on the shooter, that rifle should shoot at least 3/4 inch 20 round groups all day long, rapid fire from standing.
ilikerams
Single-Sixer
You're probably right, if he'd shoot it off the bench I'm sure the groups would be a lot smaller.kmoore said:
You can always figure it's a troll when they start their posting about 1 inch groups. It's what the big boys talk about and do, not mall ninjas. They know the words but, screw up the questions.
There are two ways to tune a rifle for accuracy.
In the military you tune the rifle to shoot issued ammunition.
With a commercial off the shelf factory rifle you can reload and tune the ammunition to the rifle.
Both methods control how the barrel vibrates and the accuracy.
Start with checking and torquing the bedding screws, this also has a effects how the barrel vibrates.
And varying the up pressure at the fore end tip of the stock will control barrel vibrations if you do not have a free floating barrel.
In the military you tune the rifle to shoot issued ammunition.
With a commercial off the shelf factory rifle you can reload and tune the ammunition to the rifle.
Both methods control how the barrel vibrates and the accuracy.
Start with checking and torquing the bedding screws, this also has a effects how the barrel vibrates.
And varying the up pressure at the fore end tip of the stock will control barrel vibrations if you do not have a free floating barrel.
