Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Results of my first ever batch

Went to the range to test my first batch of hand loads, safe to say everything was done right! I was quite nervous the first couple of shots 😅

https://postimg.cc/gallery/YhX8c9k

Look like a successful trip to the range.

Looking good

I’m sorry to hear that…….you are now infected by an incurable disease! Actually, congratulations and I wish you much success and many more years to perfect your skills! memtb

Now try it at 100 and 200 yards😜

That is 100

Thank you I appreciate it, after today and the feelings I felt seeing these numbers the range will likely be a biweekly occurance. Likely opposite of payday so I have something to look forward to every weekend!

The sickness will probably only get worse, those groups were with a $400 Ruger American, now I’ll only wonder what I could do with a higher end rifle, only one way to eventually find out.

Looks great!!! Specifics of load and rifle? After a while that nervous feeling will go away and the feeling of accomplishment will replace it. Because you will know exactly everything that was done to each case and you will know it was done right. There will be no question about reliability, when you do it right too.

Ruger American predator 22in barrel

43 gr of Imr 4064 for the .6 and the .4 and some change group.

42.8 for the .4 exact group.

Hornady match cases not yet formed to my bore so maybe that will make it more accurate. They were trimmed to 2.005.

Hornady 168gr BTHP Match seated .020 away from the lands.

Good job kid, we're all rooting for yah. I remember being your age and crazy about shooting, hunting and spending everything you've earned to keep those rifles and shotguns fed.

Little word of advice: stick with those common calibers until you're a bit older/established: 223, 308, 22 lr

Don't be blind-sided by the bench optics alone, focus on your iron sights and your field positions equally.

Don't get the urge to get into expensive stuff. Your Ruger American will do yah just fine. It'll take you through the remainder of your your teenage years and beyond.

I too have an under-dog Ruger American in 308, that will outshoot any of my other rifles. I'm currently getting rid of all the plastic stuff:

Swapped to anodized aluminum bolt shroud
Picked up cheap, used Accuracy International mags (the original steel ones, not the plastic imitation crab.
Upgrading to aluminum bottom metal.

I'm just waiting on an end-cut die grinder bit to fit the bottom metal. Love the stock so keeping it.

Less than $350 into this good steel and aluminum.

$100 is what I paid for rifle and scope.

Do the math on that young buck, you can't beat these Americans, so keep what yah got.......

Sounds like you are doing it right. The proof is obviously on the targets. Very nice shooting!! I also run most of my bullets at .020" off the lands for reliability for hunting. I trim my 308 cases to 2.005" as well. Don't skimp on brass prep down the road either!!! That can make or break a load. Consistency is key to attaining good accuracy every time. You are also right about after your brass is fireformed to your chamber. Most generally it will be more accurate after you get some fireformed brass and start loading that. That is also when you need to set that sizing die up to just bump the shoulder back about .002".

You're getting good advice. Those ruger Americans punch way above their weight class accuracy wise. No need to spend more money to get less, sometimes that happens...mb

Wow looks great, I came across the magpul hunter stock for a bargain, it’s aluminum bedded, fully adjustable and uses aics mags, it’s awesome. The main reason I bought it was because the stock I had was fde which is hard to find in the American Predator, usually it’s just the ranch that gets fde. I was able to sell the old stock for half of what I paid for the magpul. I do want to get an aluminum bolt shroud, how does it feel with it? When I first got it the action was kinda gritty and sounded like a zipper. I put some JB bore polish on it and worked the action 300-400 times and now it’s super duper smooth!

I’ll look into that, thank you sir!

Outstanding results. You probably need no further encouragement from anyone after seeing those loads and the rifle do their thing.

We all have our unique perspectives, reasons, and goals and you might be perfectly satisfied to just load for that rifle and use it til the sun don't shine. Then again, maybe not...it may bore you. If that's the case, find yourself something built on a 98 Mauser action or a Model 70, or maybe a Remington 700 that will take a little more work to get the most out of it. It depends on what makes you tick, so that may not be for you but if you find the idea intriguing you might find the journey to be very satisfying. There's really no limit on the directions you can go, so choose one (or as many as you like) and enjoy!

Ok, if I were to get a new rifle or an upgrade as you will, I was thinking about a Tikka, Bergara or a Weatherby. Or possibly even having a new barrel made and adding a Timmney trigger. I like the idea of buying a new rifle and having it for years and making it my own prized possession for 50 years rather than buying someone else’s.

Great job, my cheapest factory rifles produce some of the best groups.

Really a sight to see, before hand loading I was shooting factory loads from Hornady and Federal, the premium hunting bullets and just wasn’t impressed, my best group was 1.1 inches. I started handloading a boom. But then again maybe I’m getting better, or my rifle barrel is finally getting its handle on things or a mix. I brought the Federal ammo and shot it after the hand loads and got a .77 inch group. Can’t wait to see where this rifle goes!

Every once and a while you just come across an accurate rifle. While on your search for better, I'd say keep the Ruger you have, and don't be surprised if you have difficulty improving those groups a whole lot, even with more expensive rifles. However there is a lot of fun and learning in the search.