A Rifleman's Frustration: Accurate Marksmanship's Big Three

Accurate Rifle Marksmanship has a "Big Three" and it's probably NOT what you think.

AK-47 vs. AR-15?  Nope

.308 vs .30-06?  Don't think so

Mosin Nagant vs. Lee Enfield .303?  Negative Ghostrider, the pattern is full.  

None of the above.  

The real big three, in Accurate Marksmanship terms, are the three things that have to work together in order to achieve the highest level of accuracy that can be obtained by the shooter.

These three items are as follows.

1.  Marksmanship fundamentals

2.  Ammunition

3.  Equipment

If there is a deficiency in any of the three, accuracy will suffer.  

Let's start with Ammunition since everybody seems to think they are an expert marksman.  

If there are inconsistencies of the projectile shape and/or weight, it will not group well.

If there are powder grain inconsistencies, there will be accuracy issues at distance.

Using the WRONG projectile for the application.  You won't shoot 1000m very accurately with flat nosed projectiles.

There are a couple of different ways of combating these issues.

1.  Try purchasing ammunition in "case lots".  Case lots are typically manufactured together and the manufacturing tolerances would be a lot more stringent over a 1 hour run of ammo from a production line than if you bought 20rds of manufacturer X in June, then bought 20 rds from mfg Z in July, then proceeded to go shooting in August with a mix of the two.

Mfg X might use a powder with a different burn rate or have a different shaped bullet of the same grain weight that has a totally different Ballistic Coefficient than what Mfg Z produces, even though the ammunition has the same "specs".  Heck, they might use the exact same stuff, but one mfg seats the projectile higher or lower and doesn't crimp the cartridge as much.  It's internal ballistics and it DOES affect your accuracy.

2.  Purchase premium "match grade" ammunition designed for your application.  The tolerances should be higher during the manufacturing process than the typical run.  Different lots of the match grade from the same manufacturer should shoot very similar due to the increased quality control.  Just don't expect match grade ammo from two different manufacturers to group together.

3.  Hand reloading.  This is the optimum choice for somebody with idle hands and patience.  For rifles, you are not going to save a ton of money by reloading.  Pistol rounds, yes.  High powered rifle, not so much.  Yes, you could save a little money by reloading HP rifle cartridges for years, but reloading these is NOT about the money.  It is purely about the consistency.  The investment for reloading, if you were to purchase everything new, would start in the $150 range for the basic equipment.  (NOT the brass, primers, bullets, and powder).   

What you do gain, though, is a hands-on guarantee of ammunition load and projectile consistency, plus the benefit of being able to develop a load that your rifle "prefers".  

Does it make sense to hand load for an AR or AK platform that you are going to burn up the range with, 500 rounds every time you go shoot?  No way.  Not unless you intend to put a BUNCH of money into a high end reloading set up that can do multiple cartridges at once.

If your job (or life) requires absolute precision and consistency when shooting, you might want to trust your own eyes, hands, and equipment on the ammunition.  

If you need to put food on the table for a month, you don't want to miss low on that elk/moose/deer that you are shooting at because the manufacturer's powder tolerance missed by 2 or 3 grains of much needed propellant.

Let's move on to Equipment.

You just purchased a new (or new to you) rifle.  Awesome!  

     You take it to the range, expecting instant gratification and nice tight groups.  WRONG.  

It's not going to happen right away unless you purchased a used rifle from someone who knew what they were doing.  It might shoot "ok" or "decent", but it isn't going to be a tack driver, and if it is, it won't CONTINUE to be for long if YOU don't know what YOU are doing.  Sure, it shoots sub-MOA from the factory and comes with the target to prove it.  That's fantastic and it's a great beginning.  A lot of older rifles were lucky to shoot less than 2 MOA from the factory.  1.75 MOA from the factory floor was pretty doggone good, way back when.

     The debate about new rifle barrel break in will continue as long as new rifle barrels are made.  You'll hear 20 different methods of "breaking in" a rifle barrel from the barrel manufacturer, from the "experts", from gunsmiths, from professional marksmen, you name it.

     What you DO need to know, regardless of your "break in"  is that your new rifle and barrel could possibly have some type of oil/grease/rust prevention/preservative in it.  Before you go shooting you should tear your new rifle down and give it a good cleaning.  My suggestion is an outside wipe-down to see if there is anything on the outside of the rifle.  

White glove or Q-tip the chamber, see if anything shows up.  If something does, give it a wipe down with some simple green or other mild de-greaser and then check again.  (this is for a new rifle, you will need to be a little more aggressive if you have purchased something preserved with Cosmoline!).

Run a clean and dry patch through your barrel, see if anything appears on it or discolors the patch.  It could just be a light oil to prevent rust while in transit from the warehouse to the store, etc.  You want that gone before you start shooting.  

     Ok, so your barrel is nice, new, and clean.  You shoot, and can't get a good group.  You put your rifle in a "sled" to take the human error out of the equation and it still doesn't group like you want it to.  It's not going to for a while.  The barrel is not "seasoned" or in the "sweet spot", regardless of the ammo you are running through it.  What is "seasoning"?  

     We're getting into a little bit of advanced internal ballistics here, but in a very basic sense, every time a copper bullet goes through the barrel, it leaves a little bit behind.  That copper that is left behind will eventually build up to a point where the projectile/barrel relationship tightens up, provides a tighter bond while the projectile travels through the barrel, and increasing the pressure behind it as not as much "gets by".  This increases the muzzle velocity and increases shot consistency during the "sweet spot" or "seasoned" zone.

It's 8 different ways of scientific, but you'll have to trust me, it works.

     So you just bought a used rifle, you watched the shooter put three .308 bullets into a .450 diameter hole at 50yds, and then you shot it the same way and offered BIG bucks for that weapon and brought it home.

You take the rifle home, and use copper solvent in the barrel, bore brush it aggressively, etc. etc. so that no matter what the "other" guy did, you KNOW deep in your trigger happy soul that you cleaned that rifle as good as it can get.....and now you can't get it to group worth a flip.   ARGGGHHHH!   What happened??

You just removed that copper build-up from the barrel which had provided a consistent grouping in the sweet spot.  

    So there's the whole copper thing going on inside the barrel, and that's only a part of it.  Barrel harmonics is another large part of it.  What the heck are you talking about, Claymore?   Every time you pull that trigger, a whole bunch of stuff happens inside that chamber and barrel in milliseconds.  The barrel vibrates while the bullet travels down the length of it.  With precision accuracy, every millisecond counts.  1 grain of powder difference and the bullet leaves the barrel at a different "point" of that vibration, otherwise known as "barrel whip".  You can NOT get rid of the vibration.  You can, however, minimize and somewhat control the vibration for consistency's sake.  

     You hear people talk about Free Floating" "Glass Bedding" and "Bull Barrels".  Yep, that's the trick, and it's all about barrel harmonics.  Think about your barrel like guitar strings because it is the same principle, scientifically.  Thicker strings are harder to pluck.  It takes more energy to make them move.  The same thing happens with barrels.  A thicker barrel is more rigid, so it won't vibrate quite as much as a thinner barrel, therefore the amount of movement on the business end of a "Bull" barrel isn't as pronounced as a thinner barrel.  Consider this before you discount your thinner barrel, though.  That thinner barrel, if treated right, is more accurate than YOU can shoot it.  Read on....

     Free Floating is making sure that there is nothing in contact with the barrel at any time during the vibration/whip action during a shot.  You might see someone take a dollar bill and slide it between the barrel and the stock and run it all the way back to the receiver when you're at the gun store or show.  That is what they are checking.  Is "Free Floating" the answer to all barrels?  No, but for a very large percentage of them, it's a good start.  

     Glass Bedding is a term for using fiberglass in wood stocks to limit how much the stock "warps" or travels during different weather conditions and/or age.  ALL STOCKS (not just wood) flex with temperature, moisture, etc.  If the stock flexes a little bit and makes contact with the barrel (during the shot/vibration/whip, etc.) it changes the harmonics which affects the barrel whip which then affects where the bullet comes out during the whip movement, which then affects your point of impact.  But my Bull Barrel is Free Floated!   I even checked it after I pulled the trigger and the dollar bill still slides right through there......yeah, well something is touching it during the shot, and you can't be there to slide your Benjamin through there when it happens.  (Dollar bills are too thin to verify a good float job, they only verify a float, fyi).   

     Remember the whole "guitar string" analogy?  Then there are some thinner barrels that do better with a "pressure" point and NOT being free floated.  A pressure point is something in the fore grip of the stock that is purposely touching the barrel (some can also be moved to "tune" the barrel) in order to change the harmonics and tighten up the end of the barrel whip.  It doesn't eliminate the whip, but instead of being a full string, it's like putting your finger on the lowest fret of a guitar and making a high pitched pluck instead of an open string.  It makes the vibrations really tight out towards the end of the barrel.   

     

     Think about a hula-hoop.  That hula hoop is the area of vibration that the end of your barrel vibrates while the bullet comes through it and shoots into.  If you put a pressure point in the fore end of the stock at the right spot and limit the vibrations, that hula-hoop becomes a basket ball hoop.  Or, on the paper target, you went from a coffee can lid down to a .50 cent piece.  Nice, huh?  

     Well, now that you have your barrel vibrations minimized, you try to find a load that comes out of the barrel at the same exact place during that vibration cycle.  This is where trying different bullets by different manufacturers and hand loading comes into play.  If the bullet comes out at the same spot of the barrel during the vibration cycle, the point of impact is going to be the same, in theory.

     Ok, so now you have some understanding of the barrel and stock, how about the trigger?   Yep, that trigger is pretty important, too.  I guess what is MOST important is how YOU do with YOUR trigger.  Just because it is a 5 pound pull doesn't mean it isn't dead-on accurate, it just means that it's a 5 lb. pull.  HOW you pull that trigger is the biggest thing. 

Is a 2 lb pull more accurate?  If you are more accurate while pulling 2 lbs, then yes, it is, for you.  

Creep...that's the slang term for how much trigger you have to pull before it releases the sear which is what puts everything into motion internally.  Creep isn't a good or bad thing, it's just a thing in your trigger.  

     How you, the shooter, deals with creep and the weight of the pull is something totally different.  Trigger setup is a mission oriented thing.  If you are a target shooter, a light pull and minimal creep is awesome.  If you are a hunter or some type of professional gun-slinger, you probably need a heavier pull and some creep in there.  A lot of trigger systems being made now are very user friendly in the fact that you, the shooter, can adjust the trigger with a screwdriver in the comfort of your own home without having to spend money at your local gunsmith for a result that you may or may not like as an end result.  If you do not have an adjustable trigger group, read the next part of this little blog before you run off with your Mosin to the gunsmith for a trigger job.

And that brings me to the third and final installment of the Big Three.  YOU.

     I said at the beginning of this that a lot of shooters consider themselves an expert. I'm going to try NOT to offend anyone by saying this, but the first thing a TRUE expert questions about accuracy is his or her own fundamentals.  

     

     If the groups open up or flyers start to happen, they typically don't blame the ammunition, the rifle, or the sights.  They will question their own fundamentals first.  They know, sometimes as soon as that trigger is pulled, before the round hits the target, if something went wrong with THEM.  

     It's actually quite funny when accuracy goes south due to equipment or ammo and an expert marksman continues to try to figure out what they are doing wrong.  I've been that guy, I know.  I even laughed at myself during the "troubleshooting" process and questioned if it really WAS my fundamentals giving up those large groups....

     When you've been a paid, professional gunslinger and you have put 50,000+ rounds downrange and ON TARGET, you will certainly question yourself at times.  It's like a golf swing.  Even Tiger Woods has a swing coach, don't ever forget that.

     Alrighty then, let's look at those fundamentals.  It doesn't matter if you are shooting a Red Rider BB gun at a soda can or a Palma match rifle at 1000 yards, the fundamentals remain the same.

1. Steady Position.  A smart shooter will use whatever means necessary to gain an improvement to stabilize their weapon.  Regardless of what Hollywood shows you, it's near to impossible to be a good shot when you are moving in a low-serpentine fashion at a quick rate of speed with tangos trying to gain fire superiority over you.  
2. Aiming.  Once you have that barrel nice and steady, you have to look down through those sights and acquire the target on the front sight post and in the correct area of your rear sights.  If your cheek weld changes position on the stock, so does your sight picture and point of impact.  It may LOOK the same, but if your cheek weld is off, so is your angle of looking through the sights.    
3. Breath Control.  It's a big thing, it really is.  I actually start mine the moment my fingers touch the rifle and I won't even put my finger in the guard until I know my breathing is right for the shot.
4. Trigger Squeeze and Follow Through.  I still work on my trigger squeeze and especially my follow through all the stinking time.  This is the part that is like a golf swing.  I still, after pulling triggers on so many different weapons, catch myself NOT following through consistently.  It will be a work in progress and I will probably do a follow through squeeze on my death bed with a smile that I remembered it.

     So yeah, it IS funny to me when I am having accuracy issues and fighting through all of these things that can affect the point of impact.  It can be mentally disturbing, the horror of not hitting exactly where I aim.  Those nagging questions of "Why" and "What am I not doing right?  What did I forget to do?".   

     I had to write about this, because I've had TWO instances in the past two weeks that have almost driven me batty.  In one instance I broke out "Mossy" to do some plinking.  Mossy is my little Mossberg 702 Plinkster, .22lr autoloader.  I absolutely LOVE shooting this little rifle because of how accurate it is.  I almost flipped my lid when I took the caps off of the scope, settled in on my bench, got my breathing down to a science, had the crosshairs right on the money, easy squeeze and made dang sure I followed through on my first shot of the day....and the dang thing was literally 3" to the 2 O'clock.  I seriously almost lost my marbles right then and there with one trigger squeeze.

     Fortunately for me, I thought for sure I had jerked the trigger or had a bad follow through, so I settled down, triple checked my sight picture through the optics, made sure my breathing was optimal, finger on trigger, hold, easy squeeze, follow through....2.5" to the 2 O'clock.   I'm cross eyed at this point, but it's getting closer.    Same thing...fundamentals...focus on fundamentals....squeeze... 2" to the 2 O'clock.  Closer still....I'll keep working fundamentals until it hits consistently, right?  Dang skippy...a few more shots and little Mossy is all paydirt.  

     Know what?  It took about 12 shots for her to start marking consistently.  As I watched each and every shot get closer and closer to where the rifle is zeroed to, I realized that I had given it a little bore brushing and thorough cleaning before putting it up after my last outing with it.  As the copper built back up, the accuracy came right back into the sweet spot.

     I also recently restored my beloved pellet rifle.  It is/was/should be an accurate rifle.  I am seriously having fits with it.  Spring piston air rifles are a little bit different than a cartridge based firearm.  They actually recoil FORWARD and that means that the rifle reacts differently to different holds and rests.  I can rest the front of the stock on sandbag and throw my shots all over the place.  I put the rifle back into an "artillery" hold on my hand in a bench unsupported position and it does a LOT better, but the groups are still all over the place.  

     As much as I wanted to blame ME for the poor performance, after a couple of hundred pellets and trying to group in about every different position that I can put it in, I have come to the conclusion that it is the ammo that I'm trying to put through it.  It's the cheap stuff, it's not match grade, there's no consistency to the pellets at all.  Even at 10 meters (just under 33') the thing is all over the place.  I've had a few decent groups, but they weren't what the rifle or the shooter is capable of, so I'll try a heavier match grade pellet on the next go-round and see how that works for me before I change anything else.

     Yes, you read that correctly. It took me a couple HUNDRED shots TO BE ABSOLUTELY SURE that it wasn't ME or the rifle causing the accuracy issues.  It's a lot cheaper on a pellet rifle, that is for sure.  Things are a lot more "stressful" when it costs YOU a chunk of change every time you pull the trigger on your extreme long range target interdiction platform.

     In conclusion, if you really want to take your shooting up a level or two...practice, practice the right way, practice the right way OFTEN.  Dry fire exercises, shoot a pellet rifle, maybe invest in some professional instruction/coaching/critique every once in a while.  You could learn a lot and gain a new friend in the process.  Shoot with better marksmen than you are and you'll see your skills raise quickly.  

Enjoy the chase for those nice groupings, because it's a never ending cycle.