MG5150 wrote:Wapiti wrote:You can screw up a rifles consistency i.e. "accuracy " faster with an incorrect bedding job than if you'd left it alone.
Some rifle action designs, and stock construction they sit in are completely unnecessary to touch. Others sit in flexible, soft inconsistent compromises.
People will know that I'm all for doing it myself. If someone else can do it, so can you. But you need the knowledge, the right gear, and the right techniques.
Do a heap of research first as to what matters in a bedding job, why if anything it will actually change anything, and understand what the process is trying to achieve. Before you can make something better, you need to identify why it isn't achieving its best before you even start.
And whatever you do, filter what advice you choose to listen to. If you get advice from someone who admits to never have done it successfully themselves, well, go elsewhere.
And on trigger pull, it is the design of the trigger itself that dictates at what pull weight it becomes dangerous, not the number itself. Another half accurate statement.
I've seen plenty of very crack shots that have a rifle next to them every day handle standard 5lb triggers like nothing. And then there are the arguments raging about some ideal number from the opposite of that expectation.
The most accurate answer above I've seen is the best yet, that's adjusting your expectations. Most of these expectations are bulls**t.
And from the pics and info you've put up with bog-standard factory ammo, you've bought well.
Adjusting expectations is indeed great advice and I appreciate your additional input.
I think time spent practicing is going to be the biggest pay off. I could go down lots of gear and modification rabbit holes but at the end of the day, the buck stops with me and my skill level.
Prior to posting those more recent groupings I had a few weeks in a row of bad shooting. I was flinching and anticipating the shot which caused me to pull it to the right. I used double hearing protection and worked on my breathing to eliminate the flinch and that made a big difference.
How much of a step up does reloading make with the rounds? What makes them 'bog-awful'? (not being a smartass I am relativly green and want to learn)
Sounds like you are doing really well to me. You have an adequate cartridge, are taking plenty of deer and obviously have great stalking skills.
Your rifle shoots great with real genuine hunting ammo, so why mess with that outfit, as a suggestion.
To make quality handloaded ammunition, you will have to spend a small fortune on the gear needed. Remember, cheap handloading gear makes ammo no better than factory stuff for a number of reasons and will take 1000's of rounds to see benefit in cost savings.
Remember, the small savings you get mean a lot of shooting to get to the break-even point. But that costs more money to get there!
You seem very enthusiastic about getting deeper into the huge amount of information (and rubbish) out there in getting more precision from your gear, so maybe getting a dedicated, heavier barrelled rifle to learn on, load for and use. Dedicated scope to test all your gizmos and suggestions for improvement out there.
Maybe buy one in a smaller cartridge that is way easier to control under recoil, shoots consistently better, sitting in a nice alloy bedded, stiff stock with a flat bottom to sit on a rest steady so you don't have to bodge up some bog to bed it, of a great established quality brand.
Now that will generate from 10 different people, 10 different answers.
May I suggest a trip or two to your nearest large shooting range, and spend some time looking at what others are using, and importantly, separating the crap that comes from some of them by looking at the results they are getting? That will show you who the people to take advice from are. And you will have some definite strong ideas to chase up.
