Weighted groupings

[Mikido]

See example 1
28 rounds in a 1.5” circle.
8 more rounds, 36 total, in a 3” circle.

Wouldn’t (shouldn’t) you rather use the 1.5” circle as your center?



See example 2

29 rounds in a 1”
30 rounds in a 1.5”
Same question



Please don’t tell
Me to shoot more rounds!

 

[hereinaz]

What is your goal?

I think it doesn’t matter whether you include weighted or exclude the few flyers.

Different ways to argue it, but I think about it in terms of mean radius and then use a circle with the mean radius to capture the most shots and call that the center.

Whether you weighted or whether you excluded the few outside shots, the center wouldn’t move much up or down in the first group. Some high cancel out some low. The center might move a tiny fraction to the left by the weight of the 4 shots that were outside the furthest left limits of the group.

If you shot 100, would you get “flyers” only in the same area as the others? Possibly. But, if they are a few, they have limited weight.

In the groups you showed, the difference it between weighted or excluded would be less than a tenth. Your gut call is your pattern detecting mechanism in your brain. Over thinking is that part of the brain that lives in FOMO.

 

[huntnful]

It wouldn't matter much, if anything. Use an app and plot all the shots in relation to the intended zero. And then plot only the shots you're talking about wanting to plot.

 

[hereinaz]

Also, that’s quality humble brag… tell me you’re fabulous without telling me you are fabulous, lol

That’s excellent shooting, seriously.

Even with excellent shooting, It’s also an example why long range on animals isn’t always a gimme on the large percentages.

 

[Mikido]

My goal is to understand the rifles true cone of fire. (With killing game up to 600yds as the end goal)

To your point, my brain tells me to stick with the big hole in the paper and ignore the ”fliers”

A second goal is to prove/disprove cold vs hot barrel. The first pic is a fluted 300wsm, and the barrel is clearly hotter in my hand than the second pic, a 223. This is prob irrelevant

 

[RME]

My goal is to understand the rifles true cone of fire.

If that's you're goal then everything stays. Obviously you're free to include or exclude anything you want but ultimately the rifle doesn't care, it's going to continue shooting those shots regardless of what we call them or whether we include them.

The only shot of those 68 that I could realistically call a flyer is that one in the second picture but as @hereinaz said, if you're using mean radius or plotting all the shots for zero it doesn't make any difference. To give a rough idea of whether you include that one "flyer" or not I plotted it as best I could in Group Analysis. By including it your zero changed elevation by a whopping 0.01" and windage by 0.02" respectively.

Same result with mean radius, without that shot it's 0.47", with it 0.48". Obviously it's an estimate since I don't have the target in front of me but it's the same rhetorical question, what adjustments would actually be made with a 0.01" change in mean radius? Nothing.

 

[WhoGarrDen]

Really curious what changed in those last 8 shots that doubled your group size on that 300wsm... I'd expect another 0.2"-0.3" at most from everything the "groups are too small" posts and podcasts discuss. We're those the last 8 shots out of that rifle (i.e. have you shot it since and confirmed something didn't loosen)?

 

[Mikido]

Really curious what changed in those last 8 shots that doubled your group size on that 300wsm... I'd expect another 0.2"-0.3" at most from everything the "groups are too small" posts and podcasts discuss. We're those the last 8 shots out of that rifle (i.e. have you shot it since and confirmed something didn't loosen)?

Fatigue. I shot this morning and it’s tightened up