So I’ve seen a few posts on different forms as well as a couple of YouTube videos saying that we’ve been oversold on the low es / low SD bandwagon. They go on to prove this by using hit probability software to show that changing the es/sd doesn’t really improve the hit probability. However, typically they’ve made somewhat small changes, and they’re more concerned with showing that changing something else such as wind reading ability, has a much bigger impact. My question, what about a large change in es/sd?
Reason I ask is a few weeks ago I took possession of an X bolt 2, spr in 7 PRC. It’s got the 20-in barrel. It’s too early to give a true assessment of the rifle, I’ve only got about 60 rounds through it now, but I’m overall pleased. I’ve shot two different Factory ammo as well as one custom ammo with very good results, but need to do further testing to solidify things.
But what I have noted is that with everything I’ve tried, the SDS have run in the very high teens to the upper twenties even, with extreme spreads of 60 to 80. I’m guessing that these companies are using powder optimized for longer barrels, and this little 20-incher is just messing with things. Then again, maybe there’s some more break-in of the barrel that needs to be done.
So I was thinking, maybe I can take one of these bullets that it likes and do a hand load and try to optimize the powder for the short barrel and get the es and SD down to ranges that are more normal for me. But the big question, is it really worth it? If changing es and SD really don’t improve hit probability, then why go chasing them. This is a hunting rifle, not a thousand yard prs/ F class rifle.
Let’s say I could drop the standard deviation from 30 to 10. Would that significantly change the hit probability at say 600 yards ( way longer than I would ever shoot but that seems to be a number most people throw around for what a long range hunting rifle should be able to hit at)