Well here she is:
Lets look at the hardware:
1 - MVP Predator 18.5" medium bull barrel
2 - DNZ Medium height game reaper scope mount
3 - Nikon P223 3-9 x 40 with BDC reticle / butler creek scope covers
4 - Triad Tactical comb raiser/pouch
Maiden voyage notes:
Took her out Saturday afternoon after I got home from my conference in DC. Day was great 80*F with small breeze topping off at 5-8mph… great time to get a zero in so I couldn't pass up the opportunity.
I began sighting in at 50 yards as I broke in the barrel with 30 rounds using PMC Xtac 55 gr XM193:
1 shot - clean barrel (repeat process 5 times)
5 shot group - clean barrel (repeat process 5 times)
of the 30 shots I had 4 light primer strikes. I attributed it to the gun breaking in and after 20 rounds in it never did that again.
I moved over to 100 yards and zeroed using Hornady Vmax .223 55gr and nailed it with 5 shots. I did this for 2 reasons - 1) a huge amount of users of this rifle state the Vmax and Zmax rounds perform the best out of the barrel, and 2) the Nikon P223 scope specifically states it traces the trajectory of a 55gr .223 polymer tip round is set on the BDC reticle.
I had some variety of rounds after I zeroed at 100 that I was curious so I decided to put in 5 shot groups to see how they performed:
Top left - Hornady Vmax 55gr .223 - not bad
Top right - Hornady Zmax 55gr .223 - much better. I think it was me actually doing my part as the zmax and vmax are the same bullet
Center - PMC Xtac 55gr XM193 5.56 NATO - hits a little high but the grouping is decent
Low left - Privi Partizan M193 5.56 NATO 55gr - hits high and I have a huge flyer! Could be me and could also be that the barrel was heating up a bit by this time. I wasn't allowing the barrel to cool between shots.
Low right - Freedom Munitions Vmax 55gr .223 - Barrel was hot by this time. This could have contributed to the low right shots… or it could me not doing my part…. or both. Big flyer to the left of it too (probably me)
I'm going to redo this test again in a few weeks when I have the day off. I will change up the order in which they are shot and see if a colder barrel makes the bottom shot ammo perform better and vice versa with the top ammo used.
After I performed my test it was time for some fun…. taped a nickel on a target at 100 yards and took aim at it with the Hornady zmax ammo:
Conclusion:
This is my FIRST scoped bolt action rifle and I will be using it for an intro into precision rifle shooting. Getting steady on the scope was an issue I've had the whole time so I will need to learn better techniques on how to steady before the shot. By the end of my shooting session I was becoming more comfortable.
The rifle does its part and I'm satisfied with the scope selection so far. I do notice the crosshairs are a bit thin and do get "lost" when holding on a target with a black bullseye.
No issues with recoil as I'm recovering from disc herniations in my neck.
Shot around 100 rounds that day and was super excited the whole day shooting it. I was taking high fives off the line when I nailed the nickel within 3 shots. I think I nailed it twice.
Lets look at the hardware:
1 - MVP Predator 18.5" medium bull barrel
2 - DNZ Medium height game reaper scope mount
3 - Nikon P223 3-9 x 40 with BDC reticle / butler creek scope covers
4 - Triad Tactical comb raiser/pouch
Maiden voyage notes:
Took her out Saturday afternoon after I got home from my conference in DC. Day was great 80*F with small breeze topping off at 5-8mph… great time to get a zero in so I couldn't pass up the opportunity.
I began sighting in at 50 yards as I broke in the barrel with 30 rounds using PMC Xtac 55 gr XM193:
1 shot - clean barrel (repeat process 5 times)
5 shot group - clean barrel (repeat process 5 times)
of the 30 shots I had 4 light primer strikes. I attributed it to the gun breaking in and after 20 rounds in it never did that again.
I moved over to 100 yards and zeroed using Hornady Vmax .223 55gr and nailed it with 5 shots. I did this for 2 reasons - 1) a huge amount of users of this rifle state the Vmax and Zmax rounds perform the best out of the barrel, and 2) the Nikon P223 scope specifically states it traces the trajectory of a 55gr .223 polymer tip round is set on the BDC reticle.
I had some variety of rounds after I zeroed at 100 that I was curious so I decided to put in 5 shot groups to see how they performed:
Top left - Hornady Vmax 55gr .223 - not bad
Top right - Hornady Zmax 55gr .223 - much better. I think it was me actually doing my part as the zmax and vmax are the same bullet
Center - PMC Xtac 55gr XM193 5.56 NATO - hits a little high but the grouping is decent
Low left - Privi Partizan M193 5.56 NATO 55gr - hits high and I have a huge flyer! Could be me and could also be that the barrel was heating up a bit by this time. I wasn't allowing the barrel to cool between shots.
Low right - Freedom Munitions Vmax 55gr .223 - Barrel was hot by this time. This could have contributed to the low right shots… or it could me not doing my part…. or both. Big flyer to the left of it too (probably me)
I'm going to redo this test again in a few weeks when I have the day off. I will change up the order in which they are shot and see if a colder barrel makes the bottom shot ammo perform better and vice versa with the top ammo used.
After I performed my test it was time for some fun…. taped a nickel on a target at 100 yards and took aim at it with the Hornady zmax ammo:
Conclusion:
This is my FIRST scoped bolt action rifle and I will be using it for an intro into precision rifle shooting. Getting steady on the scope was an issue I've had the whole time so I will need to learn better techniques on how to steady before the shot. By the end of my shooting session I was becoming more comfortable.
The rifle does its part and I'm satisfied with the scope selection so far. I do notice the crosshairs are a bit thin and do get "lost" when holding on a target with a black bullseye.
No issues with recoil as I'm recovering from disc herniations in my neck.
Shot around 100 rounds that day and was super excited the whole day shooting it. I was taking high fives off the line when I nailed the nickel within 3 shots. I think I nailed it twice.
