PrecisionRifleBlog.com A DATA-DRIVEN Approach to Precision Rifles, Optics & Gear

Oehler Research definitely makes the best chronographs in the industry … hands down, no argument.  I had a chance to talk with Ken Oehler at the 2013 SHOT Show, and have to say it was one of the most enjoyable conversations I’ve ever had with someone regarding ballistics.  Ken knows his stuff, and is an expert among experts in shooting sports.  I’ve used an Oehler 35P, which is the pro-sumer grade model they offer (i.e. model targeted at professionals or high-end consumers) and can say they are a joy to use … and VERY accurate.  You get very few errors and ...

Note: This post is about scope setups that can provide both long & short range capabilities. I also wrote a buyer’s guide for long-range scopes, which includes what features to look for and specific recommendations by price point.  You can find that here: Best Long-Range Scopes: Buyers Guide & Features To Look For. Lots of people have asked me about what the best scope setup is for a long-range rifle that they plan to take hunting.  The problem with most long-range scopes is that it can be almost impossible to engage targets that pop-up at close ranges unexpectedly.  Nothing is ...

Advertising around long-range scopes can be misleading, or at least marketers try to get you to focus on features that differentiate them from their competitors … even if they aren’t really that important. I created this post to boil it all down to the biggest features you should focus on when comparing long-range scopes. Of course you are likely going to have to make trade-offs between different features, unless you are willing to pay $3,000+ for a scope (which many shooters do). But if you’re on a budget like most people, this list should help you make sense of all ...

One of my friends recently told me they sort bullets by both weight and length of their bearing surface (the part of the bullet that comes in contact with the barrel, illustrated below).  I hadn’t thought of that before, but you could see how variations in the bearing surface length obviously impact the amount of barrel friction on the bullet and therefore cause variations in muzzle velocity. For virtually all of my precision shooting I use Berger bullets, and I wondered if there was even any measurable variation in their bearing surface because their quality control is so much tighter than other ...

The table below contains the maximum Cartridge Overall Length (COAL) for popular detachable magazines for rifles.  This is important to consider when picking a rifle cartridge to ensure you have enough clearance to “chase the lands”, which just means as your chamber throat begins to naturally erode from use you seat your bullet further and further out so that it maintains the same relative position with the rifle lands.  Many people start with their COAL almost maxed out in their magazine, and as their chamber throat starts to wear they are forced to choose between loss of accuracy from not ...

I wanted to create a portable reloading press stand that I could mount my full-size RCBS Rockchucker Press or smaller RCBS Partner Press to.  The plans I came up with were simple to build, used easy to find materials, and the finished product has worked exactly like I was hoping.  The stand is very strong and stiff, which is critical when designing a reloading press mount.  It is ergonomic and natural to use on either a table top or a work bench surface.  I just use one or two Irwin Quick-Grip Clamps to hold it securely to the surface.  The stand has “window cutouts” ...

I’ve already done quite a bit up to this point in my load development.  At this point I know I want to try to find an accurate load for Berger’s 168gr VLD over Hodgdon’s Retumbo powder and I’m now zeroed in on a very specific range of powder weights that seem to be very tolerant of slight pressure variances.  You can see the previous posts for how I got here. My next step is to test 5 shot groups in very granular powder increments. Jump to another step: Part 1: Bullet Selection & Real-World Velocities Part 2: Audette’s Ladder Test Part 3: Optimal Charge Weight Part ...

When the 7mm Remington Magnum was originally released, it was met with overwhelming demand.  Every rifle manufacturer rushed to offer rifles chambered for the new cartridge, and in the rush some of the chamber dimensions varied slightly from different manufacturers.  This variation in the 7mm Rem Mag chamber dimensions has carried on to today, and there is still more differences in the chamber dimensions than for virtually any other rifle cartridge. What’s a chamber print? A “chamber print” is an illustration of the chamber reamer used to cut a rifle’s chamber.  It contains all of the key dimensions related to ...

After I identified a promising range of powder weights using Audetter’s ladder test, my next step was to use Dan Newberry’s Optimal Charge Weight (OCW) Method to offset the “scatter node” drawback inherently present in the ladder test.  To learn more about that, read this article comparing the OCW method with the ladder test. The OCW method is based on the observation that there are some loads out there (like Federal’s match ammo for the 308) that shoot really well out of just about any rifle.  How can one recipe shoot so well out of so many different rifles?  Dan Newberry believes accuracy of ...

The first step in load development for my new custom 7mm Rem Mag started with gathering the real-world velocities I could expect out of three quality long range bullets I was considering. I then used those velocities to compare the ballistic performance between those three bullets, as well felt recoil during the test rounds. I eventually decided to pursure further load development for Berger’s 168gr VLD bullet over Hodgdon Retumbo powder because it struck the right balance for me between the competing characteristics (recoil, barrel wear, flat trajectory, low wind drift, ideal energy for medium sized game, etc). For more ...