Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles When switching bullets...

Do you find that when you switch from one bullet to another it takes a shot or two to settle the barrel in so they start going to the same point of impact?

Yes!! Also when switching powders with the same bullet, as in load development...

Yep!
I always shoot 5 for "trigger pratice" then shoot a 5 shot group for "keeps" after any change in loads.
Virgil b.

I can be shooting say 20 shots of a 55 grain SP in a 223, with an MV of 2900 fps, then switch to another load with the same bullet and same MV but different powder.. and the groups will open up quite a bit then settle back down to tightening up...

I think the barrels need to have a certain powder break them in a little bit when you start using it or change to it from another powder...

I don't usually notice a change with bullets, but definitely give it some time to settle back in after I change powders.

When I was shooting high power competition seriously, I used to know the "bad" powder combos, but have forgotten most as I slow down in my match shooting. Some guys would load different powders for different distances, and it was found that some powders should never be used at the 600 yard line after using certain other powders at the 200/300 yard lines, at least if you cared about your score. (I always shot Varget front to back, so it was a non-issue for me).

Thanks, noticed this shooting different 223 bullets with the same powder and charge weights. Good to know it's not me.