Predator Xtreme - Feb 2012
From The Bench which the rifle will be put when basing their expectations for accuracy It seems that all too many people expect a rifle intended for the larger predators i e grizzly to provide the same level of accuracy as one for mowing down coyotes way out yonder on the prairie Such expectations are not only unrealistic but also frankly quite unnecessary Recently I finished working up a new coyote rifle chambered for the venerable 220 Swift but one utilizing a 1 8 rifling twist so as to stabilize the heavier 70 90 grain bullets This rifle consisted of a Remington Model 40X receiver and stock and a stainless match barrel from one of the betterknown makers of such barrels 16 www PredatorXtreme com FEBRUARY 2012 After some 800 rounds of purely experimental loads utilizing almost 200 different bullet powder combinations I settled on a load shooting an 82 grain Berger bullet at 3400 fps and which averaged well under 3 8 inch for multiple four shot groups This rifle wears a 16X scope and such accuracy was to be expected At the same time I also worked up loads for a slightlyover 6 pound Kimber M8400 chambered for the 325 WSM and using a 2 8X scope with a two minute dot With it I was able to fire the occasional sub 1 inch four shot group using a Barnes 200 grain TSX with the average of five such groups being 11 2 inches I was ecstatic with this accuracy In reality considering the size of this rifles intended targets and the ranges at which I expect to be shooting 3 inch groups would have sufficed although I would expect better from a rig of this quality shooting the excellent Barnes bullet Looking closer at these two situations velocity with the 220 Swift most assuredly was an issue although not of as much concern as was accuracy 200 fps will in fact make a difference at the extended ranges at which I may expect to shoot a coyote and will make even more difference in resisting the wind usually prevalent on the prairie at those ranges With the 325 WSM I really doubt whether a bear at perhaps 200 yards will notice the difference between 2700 and
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