Accurate shooting 22-250?

[t3tikka250]

Hi all, i am new here and wondering as to why when a good friend of mine shoots my rifle (tikka t3 lite stainless 22-250) he gets tiny little groups and when i shoot it i shake and cant group the bullets at all?

what should i do to improve my accuracy?

we are shooting of a bench on a harris bipod at 100 yards.

[Art Eatman]

Could be that you aren't consistent in where you place the crosshairs. Maybe you're canting the rifle on some shots. Possible you're sorta grabbing at the trigger instead of using steady and consistent pressure for each shot.

Tight groups come from consistency in all factors, for each and every shot. Ya gotta do everything the same, for every shot.

Good hear-guard muffs do a lot to keep a shooter from flinching in anticipation of the muzzle blast...

[t3tikka250]

I think it is that when i shoot i flinch but i dont know how i came to do this. I learnt on a 308 winchester so maybe that is where i got my flinch from.

how do i train my self to stop flinching?

[MOshooter65202]

Here are a few suggestions that might help

Make sure the scope is focused in for your eye sight so you have a clear sight picture of your target

Shooting off the bench try to get a solid position with your upper body to steady yourself on the bench

Before touching off the trigger take a deep breath and exhale

Try dry firing some shots off the bench see how much your crosshairs move when you squeeze the trigger

Practice practice and practice a lot more

Hope this hepls
Good Luck

[t3tikka250]

Thanks for that mate.

I will have to try that dry firing method and hopefully get better.

As you said, it is all practice practice practice.

[Art Eatman]

"how do i train my self to stop flinching?"

One way would be to set up at the bench and do a good bit of dry-firing at the target. Concentrate on a slow, steady increase of pressure on the trigger and let the break be a surprise. Just relax and don't strain against the rifle; the only real effort you exert should be with your trigger finger.

I dunno. "Don't be in a hurry" has always been helpful to me.

One thing that I've found to be helpful is to set up such that the crosshairs are almost dead-on without any pushing, pulling or whatever on my part. Just a minor squeeze on the rear sandbag achieves "perfection".

[t3tikka250]

so i should start using a rear bag when shooting from the bench?

We are about to go for a 2 week long trip hunting pigs and i have reloaded a few different loads and maybe if i experiment with the different loads it might help a bit too.

I am loading nosler 55 grain soft points on top of 35 grains of AR2206H using federal brass and federal primers. Is this load a good idea for pigs out of a 22-250?

[603Country]

I've shot a lot of pigs with the Nosler 55 grain Ballistic Tip, and it works fine, though I keep worrying that it might be a bit too explosive and not penetrate as well as I'd like. In my 223 I've switched to the 65 grain Sierra Gameking, and it does seem a bit less explosive (but it is moving slower). It should stabilize in your 22-250, and I base that statement on knowing that the 63 gr Sierra flatbase stabilizes in my 220 Swift with the 1 in 14 twist, and the 65 gr Gameking supposedly has the same bearing surface. Bottom line...if you're shooting little pigs, the 55 grain will do fine. If you're gonna shoot seriously big pigs, the heavier bullet might be a good choice. Better yet, the 60 gr Nosler Partition really penetrates, though I don't have a gun that will shoot it into tight groups. Still, I shot a Partition through a medium sized pig the other day, and I shot it the long way through, starting at the rear.

As for the rear bag, I use one on the bench, but you might be able to just use your left hand to make a fist around the sling and swivel at the rear of the rifle. That works pretty good to stabilize the butt of the rifle.

[4runnerman]

Could be that you aren't consistent in where you place the crosshairs. Maybe you're canting the rifle on some shots. Possible you're sorta grabbing at the trigger instead of using steady and consistent pressure for each shot.

Tight groups come from consistency in all factors, for each and every shot. Ya gotta do everything the same, for every shot.

Good hear-guard muffs do a lot to keep a shooter from flinching in anticipation of the muzzle blast

Very well said ART. I would venture to say one of these issues is what is going on.