Accubond longe range accuracy issues 30-06 190gr

EdP

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I can't find any bullets at local stores here either so I just mail order. Can't you do the same from US vendors?
 

Harvey_NW

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Well I loaded up some more ABLR. I went in increments from .020” off the lands till .080” and didn’t see any increase the groups tightening up. How far does everyone keep going off the lands? Or should I just ditch it and shoot ELDX bullets which shoot could but have heard a lot of mixed reviews on them with large animals.
Remember, reviews are just opinions about terminal performance based on a dead animal. They're pretty ironic, actually. I don't even do seating depth testing anymore, I've found the most conservative method is to pick an arbitrary measurement and test a couple powder charges across the spectrum. If nothing proves to be really close to what you consider acceptable, you need to swap a component. If you have a different powder to try, that is where I would go to next. If not, ditch the ABLR.
 
OP
Elite

Elite

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Had some time to try .0120” off the mass and it’s the best group by far. Should I tweak it more? Measures at .732 moa.

Should I load up 5 more to verify the group or just go out to 200 yards and so on?

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Harvey_NW

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Had some time to try .0120” off the mass and it’s the best group by far. Should I tweak it more? Measures at .732 moa.

Should I load up 5 more to verify the group or just go out to 200 yards and so on?
I personally would load up 5 or 7 more and use that same target holding the exact same POA to see what a 10 shot group looks like. If a 10 shot group with 2 cold bores included holds tight, you're probably safe to move on. If it gets wild, you would have burned those anyways trying 200 yards, but then you'd be pissed because it shot a .7" group at a hundred the last time out. Small sample size groups (especially when you have a combo that hasn't been shooting consistent and then whammy, she tightens up) are a recipe for disaster.

Personal opinion though, proceed as you see fit.
 
OP
Elite

Elite

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I personally would load up 5 or 7 more and use that same target holding the exact same POA to see what a 10 shot group looks like. If a 10 shot group with 2 cold bores included holds tight, you're probably safe to move on. If it gets wild, you would have burned those anyways trying 200 yards, but then you'd be pissed because it shot a .7" group at a hundred the last time out. Small sample size groups (especially when you have a combo that hasn't been shooting consistent and then whammy, she tightens up) are a recipe for disaster.

Personal opinion though, proceed as you see fit.

Thanks, I’ll give that a try and see. Any reason why one day some ammo will shoot lights out and then the next time out it opens right up?


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gerry35

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Looks like you're pretty close, it's amazing how some guns like them seated deep and others close to the lands. I would try it again and if it repeats you're probably good.
 

Wrench

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Thanks, I’ll give that a try and see. Any reason why one day some ammo will shoot lights out and then the next time out it opens right up?


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Sure....it's statistical probability. A group continues to open to 30-50 rounds.

Given the way lrab pills behave, I'd bust a half dozen more groups before I felt any good.
 
OP
Elite

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Sure....it's statistical probability. A group continues to open to 30-50 rounds.

Given the way lrab pills behave, I'd bust a half dozen more groups before I felt any good.

This is the last attempt with them. We will see tomorrow. I found a box of 100 and have had good luck with regular accubond so I was hoping to get these dialled in


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Harvey_NW

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Thanks, I’ll give that a try and see. Any reason why one day some ammo will shoot lights out and then the next time out it opens right up?
Sure....it's statistical probability. A group continues to open to 30-50 rounds.

Given the way lrab pills behave, I'd bust a half dozen more groups before I felt any good.
This exactly. It's the nature of random distribution and small sample size. 3 or 5 only tells you how bad a load can be, it holds no water proving how good it is. This ruffles feathers because everyone wants to believe they moved to powder charge XXgr and seating depth at .xx" and 1/2 MOA all day now.. Load "development" in hunting rifles can make a marginal improvement by finding a sweet spot with a combo, which is usually just dropping the powder charge and seeing an improvement in dispersion. But even that improvement has to be proven, and it takes 30 shots to get to 95+% confidence.

Now I specified hunting rifles because I believe there is more to it than that, but the average shooter can't shoot the difference, and won't go to the lengths it takes to prove it. Alex Wheeler has 20 shot targets at 1k yards where .002" neck tension produced 12" of vertical and .005" neck tension gave him an ES of like 4", all components and conditions equal. But I think things get messy when a hobbyist or hunting reloader tries to apply benchrest methodology with small sample size testing.
 

Wrench

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Wheeler is also within the realm of those who can comprehend chamber seal and possibly shoot the difference.

So many hunters believe that a .5% is the make or break on a accurate vs not accurate rifle/load. Reality is that most scales, powder lots, and loaders eat up half of that tolerance.
 
OP
Elite

Elite

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Well I tried a additional 7 shots on the original target with the 3 shot group. The 7 additional shots included cold bore shots. Not looking promising to say the least
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Tikatack

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I can’t seem to find any in Canada…


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Where are you in Canada? You can find 180 gr AB in BC. I shoot 300 wsm and stick with AB. ELDx just don’t work for me. I’ve never had a problem shooting out to 500 with either 180 or 200 ABs in hunting scenarios.
 
OP
Elite

Elite

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Where are you in Canada? You can find 180 gr AB in BC. I shoot 300 wsm and stick with AB. ELDx just don’t work for me. I’ve never had a problem shooting out to 500 with either 180 or 200 ABs in hunting scenarios.

Alberta, I can’t find any online. Can you message me the stores name?


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Tikatack

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Try Nechako Outdoors. I know they have 180 gr. I usually call Reliable Gun in Van who are great to deal with. It’s crazy how limited our selection us up here. I have a 375 Ruger and ended buying all the factory ammo I could find just to get access to brass.
 

Harvey_NW

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Well I tried a additional 7 shots on the original target with the 3 shot group. The 7 additional shots included cold bore shots. Not looking promising to say the least
Yeah that's not looking very good, time to swap a component.
 

Bomberodevil

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I tried the LRAB 190 in my Ruger 30.06 with a 1:10 twist, and I didn’t have any luck concerning accuracy. I did not play around too much with seating depth, as I run my hunting loads in the .025-.040 off the lands range. I don’t know if it’s the heavier weight (I load the .06 with 165-180 bullets), the slower twist, or I just gave up too soon, but I won’t likely be going back to them.
 
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I had a similar experience with the ABLR.. Finally picked up some 168gr TTSX and problem solved.. went from 1.5"-2" to .5-.6"... I've come to find the TTSX is accurate in most of my rifles.. Also, after talking with and engineer at Barnes, he said that they anneal the 168gr a little differently than the 165gr and 180s in .308.. He said that the 168gr was designed to expand at slightly lower velocities making it more suitable for longer ranges... I shoot them in my 30-06s, 300WM and 300WSM with great accuracy.. I know the Accubond and ABLR are great performers, but they still need to shoot well in your rifle..
 
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