Need your help want my new 308 to shoot tiny groups

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horsemen61

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Guys I have a new 308 tikka t3 lite and I want it to shoot tiny groups please help me achieve this goal let's start at 100 yards any tips tricks and or suggestions would be greatly appericated
 
Whats your background in shooting and / or reloading? How 'from the basics' do we need to go? Great caliber and great rifle to start with. Goals? How long is long distance, target size, plan to hunt? Just want the smallest group possible (like benchrest size one hole) or 'bragging rights with buddy's' small (1/2 to 3/4" @ 100yards)? Budget?
 
Need a starting point... How's it shoot now? Also, how do you define tiny? Also how do you define groups? As it stands I can recommend defining groups as 1 shot. Then your groups would be amazing!
 
Ain't had a chance to shoot it and yes it's for bragging rights guys I get this rifle for a song so my bud goes and over pays for a 30 06 version so he can say he can out shoot me know I have 400 in the gun I'm thinking 200 in te scope vortex scope 4x12x40 and bipod 50 he has 1600 in his 30 06 and I want to best his a 30 cal is a 30 cal untill we hit long distance right? And I am a hunter first I've never shoot for super accuracy before just 5 in 1.5 inches works for me not know I want to show him that money can only take you so far and that at the end of the day it goes back to the shooter yes I reload he has dabbled in it I got him started in that as well
 
Well you have a good rifle/platform for it. First you need to know what the base line is. You don't need to poor big moneu into a rifle to do what you need to. Get a couple boxes of ammo and give them a try. See what brand it likes. You may find all you need to do is pull the trigger to get MOA to sub-MOA groups. Scope wise I always like Nikons. My family likes Redfields as well. But fact of the matter, my wifes rifle, with a Burris, will print ragged 1 hole groups with Hornady factory ammo. You need not spend big bucks to beat your buddy.
 
Dry fire. Lots of it will make you a better shot. There is no way you will ever afford the ammo to get in enough trigger time to really get good.
 
Tikka's are supposed to print a 3 shot 1" group before leaving the factory. If your rifle isn't doing that you need to switch ammo/loads, improve your shooting, or see if the gun has a defect. Are Tikka actions bedded from the factory? Does your barrel free-float when the bi-pod is in use? I know some rifles have free-floated barrels but often factory stocks flex enough to negate that when used with a bi-pod.
 
horsemen61 said:
Guys I have a new 308 tikka t3 lite and I want it to shoot tiny groups please help me achieve this goal let's start at 100 yards any tips tricks and or suggestions would be greatly appericated
Click to expand...

If you want your T3 to shoot tighter groups.....








.... Give it to me :)
 
Trigger control. Don't grip the rifle like a ball bat, let the thumb of your shooting hand lay alongside the stock. You will oversqueeze less and learn to release with just the pad of your fingertip.

Breath control. Take even deep breaths, squeeze the trigger as you exhale.
 
No guarentee that you can best his groups. Individual rifles vary in ultimate accuracy. However, the 308 has been the easiest cartridge I have ever loaded for. My wifes Rem 700 and my friends Ruger have shot 1 1/4 or less with every load tried in them. Some have been in the 1/2 range. They may even shoot better ,but, with a 9x maximum scope it is hard to define a small enough target to shoot less than that.
 
They may even shoot better ,but, with a 9x maximum scope it is hard to define a small enough target to shoot less
Click to expand...
Guys don't understand the concept of tolerance stacking. Say the best I can shoot at 100 with the very best target loads is 1/2". And that's exceptional. Now, suppose you have a trigger with hard, gritty pull that throws you off another 1/2".

You have a moderate power scope that can only define within a 1/2" at 100, so now you've got 1 1/2" at the best. Throw in a few wiggles off a marginal rest and you're over 2". Add a little cross wind......
 
stringnut said:
No guarentee that you can best his groups. Individual rifles vary in ultimate accuracy. However, the 308 has been the easiest cartridge I have ever loaded for. My wifes Rem 700 and my friends Ruger have shot 1 1/4 or less with every load tried in them. Some have been in the 1/2 range. They may even shoot better ,but, with a 9x maximum scope it is hard to define a small enough target to shoot less than that.
Click to expand...
I say the 308 and all its offspring is the greatest most accurate and powerful for its size round ever designed and that includes all the finicky expensive bench rest rounds. You have to bend the barrel before it will not shoot. If you are worried about a thousandth of an inch in group size maybe PPC rounds and 2000 shots later you will get it
 
The first thing that I do with a new rifle is lap the barrel with Iosso. I 'll run patch after patch thru the bore until I am tired of it. Then clean the abrasive out with Butche's. Next thing is trigger adjustment and check the inletting in the barrel channel. If the barrel isn't floated I will know where to start if the gun doesn't shoot well. Then it is off to the range.

If the rifle doesn't shoot to suit me after 3 or 4 range sessions it finds a new home.
 
Lay off the caffeine before you shoot for groups. I quit drinking Mtn Dew about 8 months ago specifically because it was increasing my group size. I still have a lot of work to do, but I'm getting better.

Sight picture.
Sight alignment (N/A with a scope)
Breath control
trigger control
follow through

As has been stated before, dry-fire practice will help immensely. Make sure you can also get a good cheek weld. If the scope isn't setup correctly for a good cheek weld, your shots will drift all over the place, especially at distances where the scope isn't parallax-free.

And...

Ball-and-dummy drills to tell if you're flinching. I didn't realize I was flinching until I was shooting some old 1950's Yugo surplus ammo in one of my mausers. I had a 3-second-ish hangfire and I was anticipating the recoil so bad that I shoved the gun forward (and the muzzle down) about 4 or 5" before the round finally went off. When it finally went off, the butt was about 2" away from my shoulder but I had enough of a death-grip on the rifle that the bruising wasn't that bad. :)

If you can accomplish all of that, and you have a good rest and good ammunition (that the gun likes), you'll get the smallest groups possible out of a rifle. I'm still working ont it, but I have a son-in-law that shoots extremely well so I let him shoot most of my rifles for groups so I know what the rifle will do before I beat the rifle up for not shooting well. It's usually my problem, not the gun's. :) If you're doing everything right and still not getting groups that you expect, then start working on the gun.

Matt
 
jmr40 & DrRob have said it. If you don't know how to pull a trigger you will never be able to shoot small groups. First you need a good trigger. Most experienced shooters put light pressure on the trigger when they start the shot sequence and then carefully watch the reticle until it's perfectly lined up before they finish the squeeze. With a lot of practice this happens without even thinking. Your heart beats just over 1 time per second and when squeezing a trigger a second is a long time so many shooters can time the shot between heart beats.
 
.
If you want a tiny group, just take one shot.

I think it was the late, great Louis Awerbuck that said that.
 
plexreticle said:
Do this or get some Black Hills match. Until you get some consistent ammo everything else is a waste of time.
Click to expand...

Another "Federal GGM ammo".

Or handload 168 SMKs.

With your light weight rifle holding the rifle very consistently will be quite important.
 
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