The pigeon man wrote: »

I never actually tried any of the hornady vmax. Fiocchi epn works so well...............

Essentially the same thing as Fiocchi, unless its changed recently, used Hornady bullets.

Used them in the Howa which is a 1:12. Excellent performance, cloverleaf at 100 and easily 1/3 moa group (my best) at 300 with an average of 1/2 moa all day long.

The 40 gr works phenomenally well too, but as said they were hard to come by. They require less adjustment being so much faster and flatter but are more prone to the smallest shift in wind which the 53gr handles better.

I was finding it hard to get the 40gr and as said above they would go as soon as they landed in an RFD. I've stocked up enough over the last year to not need ammo for some time but still might chance a few boxes of the 40gr is they're still in stock in the above mentioned RFDs.

As said that was my best result, but not a fluke. It was repeatable which i done once more before i lost the wind however its down to the shooter, namely me, but the rifle/ammo combo works a treat.

I had a target, if i can find it, of a cold bore shot at 300 yards using the 53gr and it was almost a perfect bull. To me that is repeatable accuracy and precision. The comfort of knowing that the rifle is like that whenever i reach for it gives great confidence when out foxing.

Don't forget that "you" can do more to help yourself.

My Howa has a thumbhole stock instead of the standard Howa one, and its glass & pillar bedded. The barrel and action are all standard but the act of fully floating the barrel with a solid bedding has improved accuracy.

One ammo i'd stay clear off is the Fiocchi 50gr HP. I tried them in my rifle, my Remington and a friend's custom built (completely custom) and they were dirt. 1 to 1.5" at 100 yards was the best any of us could get. Inconsistency was the problem too. You might get two shots close then the third goes high and left/right or low and left/right. It was completely unpredictable.

All my groupings/testing was done in a range setting. Usually a front rest or solid bipod with back bag at known distances in measured conditions.

Are the batch numbers the same, or close? Could actually be the same batch, hence the same problem.