rifle not liking the ammo i have chosen

[Moose1902]

Hey guys ,
I own a Browning X-bolt Hunter in 30.06 caliber .Just bought it this spring . The ammo i was going to use was the 30-06 Springfield 165 gr SST and my rifle doesn't seem to like it . the grouping at 200 yards was all pretty wide grouping . Does anyone know of a good ammo I could try before hunting season to get a better grouping . My rifle is sighted in for 200 yards too. Could 165 grain be a bit too much for my rifle . Any help would be great please . It's only my second year hunting too so I new to this . Thanks Doug C.

[Lefty-Canuck]

Some guns like a certain weight and type of ammo and some don't.....

Pick a bullet you want to use, and see if you can find it in a factory ammo offering.

I would try some 150, 165, or 180 gr offering in either the Winchester Grey box or the Federal Fusion.

You have to experiment to find something your rifle likes....the two ammo offerings I mentioned above have shot well in most rifles I have tried them in.

You just have to keep trying to find something your rifle likes....by the way you will likely have to re-sight-in in your rifle.

LC

[catnthehat]

I'd try a different band of 165 grain ammo.
165 grains is nothing for an '06 but that particular rifle may shoot 180's or 150's better.
There will be one, maybe several that you will find adequate for what you want tot do, I'm sure.
Too many people get so stuck on using one brand of ammo that they sell a rifle( seen it many times), they don't realize that their preference has nothing to do with whether or not the rifle will shoot the stuff when a simple change of ammo will bring down animals with no problem and do it accurately!
Cat

[sns2]

I second Lefty's advice. I hear lots of good stuff about Federal Fusion, and the Winchester grey box stuff is good and cheap. I would also stick with 165s as Cat has suggested.

[Big Daddy Badger]

I'd try another brand of 165s or go lighter.... step down to 150 and the same type/brand of projectile...see if that helps.

Not that it matters much but...mine all seemed to like Winny silvertips or powerpoints in 150 before I started to roll my own.

[Dick284]

What you are experiencing is not un common.

Just try a few different loadings, and maybe a few different weights too.

FWIW;
My last 30'06 wouldn't shoot any fairly tight groups until I moved up to 180's, but that was that particular barrel. No matter how deep, how long, the 165's were seated, no matter the make, style, even with a bedding job, 165's just wouldn't shoot!

The barrel now lives next to the other take off barrels up in between the duct work in the basement, because I just didn't want to be shooting 180's or 200's( they shot really tight). It's a 280AI now.

The time spent finding a load, that works in a rifle, is part of getting to know the rifle. This time is sometimes brief, and sometimes it's long. If you are a new or novice shooter this time is well spent, as it builds familiarity and confidence.

Good Luck, and post your results.

[terry b]

My x bolt loves tsx only factory load that I have shot under .75 moa.

[gitrdun]

Your X-bolt may also like a bit of a pressure point under the very end of its forend.

[coolpete1]

my x bolt really likes those cheap winchester super x ammo, luckily for me they have been around long enough that i can find them anywhere.

[Sigma]

About 10 years ago I was getting low on my 270 hunting handloads (150 gr speer grand slams) and did not have time to reload that year as my equipment was in storage. I did not want to waste these in practice before going hunting so I bought a box each of the cheapest winchesters, federals, and remingtons for practice. It turned out that my rifle loved the cheapest of the these brands (Remingtons from Canadian Tire) and would group as good as the handloads. I bought another box the next year and got the same results. As the others above have said, try some different brands out and see what happens. "More expensive" does not always = "accuracy"

Sig

[Chewbacca]

Mine liked Fusion 165's. grid the more expensive ammo and the groups opened up big time. So back to Fusion and every thing tightened right up.

[Ranch11]

My 243 and 25-06 both love fusion and the grey box ammo as well. Funny how its consistent across the board with these x-bolts!

[GMX]

Originally Posted by Ranch11

My 243 and 25-06 both love fusion and the grey box ammo as well. Funny how its consistent across the board with these x-bolts!

X-2 my 300wsm x-bolt loves em!

[Hunter1602]

I've got a .300wsm white gold medallion browning that loves fusion rounds as well.

[wolf308]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

Some guns like a certain weight and type of ammo and some don't.....

Pick a bullet you want to use, and see if you can find it in a factory ammo offering.

I would try some 150, 165, or 180 gr offering in either the Winchester Grey box or the Federal Fusion.

You have to experiment to find something your rifle likes....the two ammo offerings I mentioned above have shot well in most rifles I have tried them in.

You just have to keep trying to find something your rifle likes....by the way you will likely have to re-sight-in in your rifle.

LC

x2 to what lefty says, just try different sizes and see what she likes, most of the times rifles are fussy. have to shoot what it wants ,not what you want. compromises,like a girlfriend

[foothillsman]

Before you give up on that make of ammunition, read this: http://www.accurateshooter.com/techn...torque-tuning/ Works on every gun I owned since I was a kid and know of except glue ins.