I have roughly 120 rounds through my new SP in 7mm Dakota (Sorry no pics yet) and I am still tweaking loads. Most of the time I can get a group of 3/4" to 1" at two hundred yards with four out of five but always have one flyer that is off an inch by itself.

I am shooting berger VLD 180's over either 76.5 gn of retumbo mv 2855 or 75.5 gn of H1000 mv 2887 and using federal 215 magnum match primers. From a bench with front bi-pod and a rear bag.

I have weighed empty cases and have them batched.

I have weighed bullets and have them batched.

I have NOT measured bearing suface and batched them this way, how many of you do this?

Other tips to tighten my groups?

A friend who shoots rifle competition says that he has seen bergers that don't "Settle Down" till after the 300 yd mark, your thoughts?

I guess if I were shooting the heads off of chickens I would be doing it 4 out of 5 times, but I would really like to surprise that 5th chicken.

Thanx, Kent

That is some fine shooting, I am just getting picky...

How is your grip?

How often do you shoot?

Do you ever use snap caps?

How much target practice do you get in for paperpuching with handguns?

How is your grip? Yes I listed it twice for a reason. Usually when I am having a off day, this is the culprit. 200 yard shooting, any grip issues are going to be amplified.

My next question is what type of rest are you using and how does it complement your grip and firearm? If you want to get serious about shooting I at least want to bring it up.

What is your ES with that five shot group?

I'm with TCTEX. And, I'd add trigger squeeze. Having shot IHMSA for about 15 years I see more misses and odd wayward round caused at the break of the trigger then almost any other issue. Consistency is the key to accurate shooting. That said...3/4 - 1" groups @ 200 yards with a handgun is in the top 90% of what most handgunners can do. Work on your trigger squeeze and how it breaks and your flyers should go away.

Consistency in reloading, repeating the same pressure to the forearm, waiting for the the wind...ya da, ya da... You get the picture.

Bill in OR

Thanx for the replies folks, and to answer your questions.

Right hand firm grip on SP, left hand squeezing bag for elv.

Don't shoot as often as I like, but at least twice a week 30 - 50 rds each time through SP.

No snap caps.

Handguns and SP's are all I shoot, well, that and a little BS.

ES of 33.

Bi-pod front shot bag rear.

I just finished a 27 shot outing this afternoon at 300 yds, after I got the clicks and MOA thingy all figured out and the scope dialed in, four of them at 1.125" and one flyer off an inch or so by itself.

I have noticed if I do three shot groups it tends not to happen, I send them as fast as I can, the target has five bulls eyes, so unless you were standing right there watching you wouldn't know if I were doing groups of 5 or 3.

I agree it is me, just what I am or am not doing is the kicker.

if that is the case you may have a bedding issue. barrel is heating up and touching the stock some where

If the last shot is the flier, it is almost certainly a bedding issue.

Well, I stretched things out a bit today, 720 yards is more than a bit, it is alot for me. Dialed in 15.5 MOA and let'er buck had a 5 shot group that was 2" low and 9" wide, winds were light and variable and the temp about 80. I could watch things float through the air down range, so I doped the wind just slightly. But how in the world do you judge for the mirage or heat waves?

Learning to dope wind/mirage is a learned skill that just takes time and documenting on your part.
The more you shoot and pay attention to it, the better you will get.

I've found more times than not that the flier is generaly an anticipation thing. The hardest part about shooting long range is most generaly the si inches between the ears for most of us. I shoot roughly a couple hundred thousand rounds a year and my bad days are just days that I pick my stuff up and walk right back into the shop. Granted for me, all I have to do is walk 75 yards from shop to bench but my point is a bad day is just a bad day. Just my $.02, GOD BLESS