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dakotasin · October 7, 2002, 05:39 PM

i haven't been able to get away w/ not weighing powders since all my rifles are shooting extruded powders...

however, i have a theory!

i think that the amount of error you could get away w/ and still have acceptable accuracy depends on the amount of powder your case uses. my basis for this theory... the 7 mag consumes about 70 grains per shot. if i was off on my scale when i weighed the charge out by .5 grains, does it make much difference? no, it really doesn't. now, my 223 consumes about 25 grains of powder per shot. will .5 grains make a difference here? yep, it will.

something to think about: many 100 yard benchresters don't even bother to weigh their charges. their equipment is certainly top-drawer, but still, some don't weigh their charges, and they still shoot pretty good (competitive) groups.

so, my 2nd theory!! if you are only going to shoot 100 yards, it makes little difference if you are off a little here or there, especially if you have a standard hunting scope on your rifle (meaning the scope has paralax at 100 yards).

i think if you really wanted to test this idea, you'd have to bench shoot at 200 yards. at 200 yards, minor errors will tend to show up better; at 100 yards, minor errors sometimes don't show at all.

have you ever shot a group that measures .5" at 100 yards, and then tested it at 200 yards and got 2+"?

October 7, 2002, 05:39 PM	#2
dakotasin Senior Member Join Date: June 22, 2002 Location: south dakota, U.S.A. Posts: 136	i haven't been able to get away w/ not weighing powders since all my rifles are shooting extruded powders... however, i have a theory! i think that the amount of error you could get away w/ and still have acceptable accuracy depends on the amount of powder your case uses. my basis for this theory... the 7 mag consumes about 70 grains per shot. if i was off on my scale when i weighed the charge out by .5 grains, does it make much difference? no, it really doesn't. now, my 223 consumes about 25 grains of powder per shot. will .5 grains make a difference here? yep, it will. something to think about: many 100 yard benchresters don't even bother to weigh their charges. their equipment is certainly top-drawer, but still, some don't weigh their charges, and they still shoot pretty good (competitive) groups. so, my 2nd theory!! if you are only going to shoot 100 yards, it makes little difference if you are off a little here or there, especially if you have a standard hunting scope on your rifle (meaning the scope has paralax at 100 yards). i think if you really wanted to test this idea, you'd have to bench shoot at 200 yards. at 200 yards, minor errors will tend to show up better; at 100 yards, minor errors sometimes don't show at all. have you ever shot a group that measures .5" at 100 yards, and then tested it at 200 yards and got 2+"? __________________ Hunting is not a matter of life or death. It is much more important than that.