I always did my load testing at 100 yards. Upon joining a new club I tried shooting at 200 yards. The rifle used was a recently acquired Remington Model 7 in 270 WSM. At 100 yards the rifle pretty much holds 1 1/8 to 1 1/4" 3 shot groups. At 200 yards the group opened up to 4-6".......all with factory ammo.
What is going on here?
Is it that the further distance brings out all the inconsistencies?
Any number of things.
1. Your rifle doesn't really like factory ammo. Reload for it.
2. A 3 shot group does not a group make.
3. Something's wrong with the rifle.
4. You. See above poster's comments.
Good luck
Bear in Fairbanks
It`s time for some reloading I`d say.
Powder changes, experimenting with different bullets, COALs, and all that kinda stuff.
And if you`re shooting with a scope that has too low a power when on the max, change that too.
And the ability to adjust for parallax.
The other thing is matching your target to scope reticle. At 100 I can shoot fairly well at a bunch of targets, but at 2 and 3 hundred, its more important to match targets to the reticle. Even more critical when the scope is of moderate power like a 4x
Also it just takes a little getting use to shooting further. Back when I was in high school over 40 years ago, I thought shooting 100 yards was about all I would ever need. As I matured and the opportunities presented themselves I needed to shoot further and further. When I was in college I was hunting out West with friends, my hundred yard shooting went to 3 or 400 yard shots. As time progressed I developed a group of like minded hunting buddies that think if we can see it, it's probably in range. Always remember, to hunt game at longer range you must practice at those ranges. Two or three times a month my wife and I dive to our property, set up targets and shoot down our roads after I check to see we don't have any of our people working in that area. We set up targets at 300, 500, 750, and 1000 yards. In time you can become very comfortable shooting long range.
In time you may want to look at reloading, as it will give you better quality ammunition to use at extended ranges. During our deer season in North Louisiana I get at least a couple of 500 yard shots each year at deer and 30 to 40 shots at wild hogs. When we hunt in Texas and out West each year there are a higher percentage of our shots at longer ranges. I wish you the best on your quest for the right load.
Good shooting,
Marcus.
If it shoots well at 100 yds., but not at 200 yds., I'd say it's either what you are using for a target and or you have a parallax problem.
The scope would have to have a lot of parallax to make that happen, so how about your target ? Are you using the same bench position ? E