acceptable accuracy

[mitchell chandler]

Hi all,
Just trying to get some discussion on what accuracy you would accept for fly shooting when working up loads and even what cartridges you use and why.

Thanks,

[Les Fraser]

Hi mate this is a great topic and i am sure there will be lots of different ideas and comments. For me i work up loads to shoot better than 1/4MOA when you consider you are shooting a postage stamp at 500m away anything more is just not in the running. The fly is such and unusaul sport because it has to be a combination of wind and condition reading along with accuracy of the rifle.

Every rifle has a natural harmonic and once you find this ideal set  up just stick with it. From the early stages of load development you will see a pattern forming which will give you and indication if it is going to be a great shooter or not. That does not mean that if you can't get it shooting with one type of load bullet combination that it wont drive tacks with another combination you just have to work at it.

I shoot at present 6x47Lapua Light gun the reason i chose this caliber was actually just an accident a mate of mine Dave Purcell said to give it a try and i have never looked back. Same with the 300wsm Heavy Gun just an accidental find.

I guess what i am saying is there is no perfect caliber for the fly however if you base this on what is used there is a strong following for the 6br,Dasher, BRX family and they shoot well because they are a seen to be tack driver out of the box.

As for HG what can you handle and shoot well, no point in having  a canon and shoot masive groups. Talk to shooters in the top ten consistently find out what they are shooting check out the equipment list that Anthony Hall puts up which is a great resource.

cheers and good shooting to you

[mitchell chandler]

Thanks for the reply,
I had a feeling the 6br and its other versions would be well represented. My 6br will average around half inch at 300yards on a good day but I get the feeling a little more grunt might be needed to help buck the wind at 500M. maybe a 6x47L or 6.5x47 might be a better option when the wind picks up.

[Michael Bell]

Well....you could consume quite a few slabs of beer discussing, even arguing about this one and not even get close to resolving it!
In 300 meter competition I've been lucky enough to have my share of top 4 finishes but have only shot under 1 inch about 3 times.

Mitch, assuming you're using a quality 103 - 107 grain projectile in your br, if you can shoot regular half inch groups at 300 metres you are well on your way to big scores at 500 meters.
I'm satisfied if in load development I can get my rifles to return between 1 to 1.5 inches in what you might call "normal" conditions at 300 meters. The trick now is to get them centred. I can't see the point in shooting a tiny group in the 3 ring when we are shooting for score.
When shooting at 500 meters a 2.5 -3 inch group placed roughly around the centre of the target will smoke a 1.5 inch group in the 3-4 ring every time.

Regards, Belly

[Anthony Hall]

Hi Mitch,

I agree with Belly....maybe we all need to consume some beer and discuss the matter soon :)

If you can average 1/2" groups at 300m, you should be well ahead of most..... here are some statistics to go with the beer..... at Wagga in the recent 300m fly shoot, there were 37 competitors in custom class, each shot 5 scored targets in reasonably good (not perfect) conditions and by my calculations there were only 10 sub 1" groups (10 score) out of the 185 targets (5%).  Of the 37 competitors only seven individuals managed a sub 1" group and nobody shot more than 2.

Funnily enough, the 7 people who shot sub 1" groups finished in the top 7 places....

For me, on a very calm day I like to see 5 shot groups under 1.00" at 300..... that will put you in a position to win 500m matches if you get the wind calls right...... From there its up to you...

I personally don't believe that you need more grunt to win.... I have won my share of 300m and 500m matches in all types of conditions with a straight 6BR.  The inherent accuracy and consistency improves your wind techniques as you never have to doubt that it was the wind that caused the movement..... People think that with more grunt they can shoot through the conditions.... The ballistics advantage might help you lose by less, but I don't believe it will help you win....


Cheers

Anthony

[Les Fraser]

So true Belly and Anthony any advantage by a bigger and heavier caliber is always weighted against true accuracy, how the case performs under accuracy nodes all sorts of reasons. Mitch if you can pull off 1" groups at 300m consistently then you will win more matches than you will loose i can assure you that.

What ever rifle you have believe in it to be the best there are  a lot of $$$ spent on chasing a win. My 6x47 was a second hand 6BR which i rechambered and a mate Dave Purcell gave me the stock and away i went. Not knowing this rifle would win many matches and is still performing well (same rifle this year won the Mckinley Cup Nationals) so you have a good rig learn to use it Anthony has a 6 BR that anyone would love to get their hands on it is a real shooter but so is Belly's BRX which last year shot the pants of everyone and a credit to him.

But remember this, the rifle no matter how good it should perform will only go where you point it and there lies the challenge 500m shooting at a postage stamp in the shape of a fly is the most exciting shooting i have ever done and the most enjoyable.  When you consider that everyone in this sport tries to help shooters makes all the better........

Les

[mitchell chandler]

Hi gents,
I totally agree about having the groups centred for best effect, that is one of the main reason why I love shooting F-Class with my 223, it gets me wanting to get every shot in the 6 or X ring.  I normally wait until the late afternoon before doing my group testing  when things seem to go dead, the best I have managed in a 300M comp with the 6br was about an average 1.3-1.5 inch over the 5 targets at leeton/narranderra in 2009. I was wondering if having the ability to see the bullet holes in the target out weighs any accuracy advantage that a smaller calibre might offer.

[Anthony Hall]

Hi Mitchell,

Check out the top five in Light Gun at most 500m Fly shoots and you will see that the 6mm's dominate by a significant margin..... I would go as far as to guess that in 2012 for Light gun 500m fly, a 6mm won all of the SOTY shoots and took at least 4 of the top 5 spots in every shoot...... If there is an advantage to the larger calibres..... it is not apprarent until you get into the bigger heavy guns....

Bring what you have.... with those groups you will have a ball.

If the mirage is up, no one can see holes anyway..so accuracy, predicatability and good wind flags and the ability to read them wins....... if conditions are good you can see 6mm holes as well anything..... There is a small window where you can see 7mm or 30 cal holes but not 6mm ones..... but clearly statistics support that 6mm wins more than it loses.....

Cheers

Anthony

[Pete van Meurs]

Hi all,

Basically if the thing will not shoot a 'Dot' at 150 mt over good flags on a reasonable day then it's junk.

Pete