when to give up on a bullet

[Rhettster433]

I am very new to reloading and I’ve done all my testing with someone more experienced helping me. He says I should give up on the bullet, but I feel like there should be a way to make it work.

I’m loading for a 243win 10 twist. I wanted to use the 90 grain Speer Hot-Cor as I have heard good terminal performance reviews and it is inexpensive. (I will not have any shots on game over 250 yards. And it is strictly Whitetail with the occasional coyote if one shows up) We tried H4831, H4350, IMR4350, and one other powder that I cannot remember right now. The groups (three shots on most and five shots on the ones that were anywhere close to 1 inch) at 100 yards range from 1.5 to 6 inches. We did ladder test in .5 grain increments starting three grains below book max. I will soon be testing Ramshot Hunter. I might as well keep testing until I use up the box of 100 I bought.

We did all of our testing at .030” off the lands I don’t know if I should try more or less jump. We were using CCI 200 primers and once fired Hornady brass from my rifle.

Is there something else I should try or do differently? Or should I just give up and throw the rest of the box in the back of a drawer?

 

[Tanner]

I’d first check torque on all of your fasteners from the action screws all the way up to the scope ring screws, grab a box of factory ammo, and see how that shoots… might not be the bullet.

 

[AZ Gator]

As @Tanner said, check the rifle/scope for the problem. If it shoots something else well, or you know the system is good, I would dump that bullet and move on.

There are plenty of people on here that are much more experienced reloaders than me. In my experience, I have not been able to turn a bad shooting bullet into a good shooting bullet. I’ve just spent a lot of money and time trying to do it.

 

[Rhettster433]

I’d first check torque on all of your fasteners from the action screws all the way up to the scope ring screws, grab a box of factory ammo, and see how that shoots… might not be the bullet.

I thought so but then i shot some he had loaded for his gun with a nosler partition and shot 1/2” for 5. I have gotten sub moa with all factory loads i have put through it and not changed anything. I have gotten 3/4-1 1/4 groups with hornady american whitetail since i did that testing. The gun shoots fine as far as i can tell.

 

[Tanner]

I thought so but then i shot some he had loaded for his gun with a nosler partition and shot 1/2” for 5. I have gotten sub moa with all factory loads i have put through it and not changed anything. I have gotten 3/4-1 1/4 groups with hornady american whitetail since i did that testing. The gun shoots fine as far as i can tell.

Right on. I’d probably look elsewhere pretty quick then. No reason to roast a third of the throat life chasing one bullet down. I’ve been down that road a few times.

 

[mtnbound]

I am very new to reloading and I’ve done all my testing with someone more experienced helping me. He says I should give up on the bullet, but I feel like there should be a way to make it work.

I’m loading for a 243win 10 twist. I wanted to use the 90 grain Speer Hot-Cor as I have heard good terminal performance reviews and it is inexpensive. (I will not have any shots on game over 250 yards. And it is strictly Whitetail with the occasional coyote if one shows up) We tried H4831, H4350, IMR4350, and one other powder that I cannot remember right now. The groups (three shots on most and five shots on the ones that were anywhere close to 1 inch) at 100 yards range from 1.5 to 6 inches. We did ladder test in .5 grain increments starting three grains below book max. I will soon be testing Ramshot Hunter. I might as well keep testing until I use up the box of 100 I bought.

We did all of our testing at .030” off the lands I don’t know if I should try more or less jump. We were using CCI 200 primers and once fired Hornady brass from my rifle.

Is there something else I should try or do differently? Or should I just give up and throw the rest of the box in the back of a drawer?

I have learned that if I cannot get a bullet to work using 2 maybe 3 powders at a max, I move on.
I load 3 just below max, load 3 .5gr below that, then load 3 .5gr below that. Shoot them low to high looking for pressure and initial group size. If one of them meets my goals then I load 20 and shoot to establish my systems dispersion.
If none meet my goals, I repeat with a different powder. There are some variables such as good accuracy, no pressure signs and low speed that might cause me to repeat the process with higher charge weight but there has to be a balance between accuracy, speed and reliability.

 

[wildwilderness]

No way would I try multiple powders with a cheap bullet. Move on yesterday.

If it’s a premium bullet with everyone else claiming it’s accurate (match quality) then I would second guess my reloading process….

So many other affordable options to test than a Speer hot cor…. Try Sierra, Hornady, then can move up to more premium offerings- that’s the whole point of reloading- premium custom loads, not pinching Pennie’s!

 

[Rhettster433]

No way would I try multiple powders with a cheap bullet. Move on yesterday.

If it’s a premium bullet with everyone else claiming it’s accurate (match quality) then I would second guess my reloading process….

So many other affordable options to test than a Speer hot cor…. Try Sierra, Hornady, then can move up to more premium offerings- that’s the whole point of reloading- premium custom loads, not pinching Pennie’s!

I am moving to the 100gr interlock next because i know it will shoot them in the factory loads. I was just looking for a decent plinking bullet that could double as a hunting bullet. I am young and broke so saving $0.30 per round can add up quick if i shoot more than once a month.

 

[Wolfshead]

Get a 22 to practice your shooting positions and plinking.
Much less expensive.
Shoot your hunting rifle on occasion to know what it is capable of once you find your load.
Know, and set your max distance, and learn how your rifle shoots to that distance.
Know where it shoots on a cold bore. At your max and various hunting distances, as this is likely how your hunting shot will be from a cold bore.
I don’t believe that you need to shoot up your hunting loads to become proficient.

 

[Rhettster433]

Get a 22 to practice your shooting positions and plinking.
Much less expensive.
Shoot your hunting rifle on occasion to know what it is capable of once you find your load.
Know, and set your max distance, and learn how your rifle shoots to that distance.
Know where it shoots on a cold bore. At your max and various hunting distances, as this is likely how your hunting shot will be from a cold bore.
I don’t believe that you need to shoot up your hunting loads to become proficient.

Good to know. I was planning to go this route but wasnt sure how effective it would be. I hunt the family farm and am always either in a ladder stand or a shooting house. I have been doing a ton of dry fire practice to get rid of my flinch but i noticed when i shot my buck in january that my recoil control is nonexistent. I completely lost him in the scope and had to come off the gun. Luckily it was a 103yard shot and he didnt go far.

 

[Judd]

I got a bad 6.5x47 barrel that I tried all sorts of stuff trying to get that to shoot. Anymore, if the thought of changing or giving up on a barrel crosses my mind...I do it. I wasted a bunch of time and components trying to get that thing to shoot. I swore I'd not do that again...so my trigger to change something is pretty quick now days.