ORIGINAL: Duckbutter48
Heres my question. I recently purchased a Browning A-bolt in a 243wssm. I finally got some loads ready. Im going with a 85 grn Nos PT and at max load with Rel 19the gun shot right over a .5" group but when I went 2 grains over it shot about an inch group.
My question is would you rather have the xtra speed or the accuracy. This is for whitetails and I have a 3x9x40 VX II for now.
What you are asking is whether a little more velocity is worth the 0.5 MOA in accuracy loss it is going to cost you. IMO, you cannot answer this without a chronograph, because you have no idea how much extra velocity that 2 grains extra of powder is giving you! But my guess is that you're getting maybe 100 to 200 fps more. If this is true, it is significant, for a person who shoots at game much beyond 200 yards. If your shots are at 200 yards MAX, then don't bother.
1 MOA is plenty accurate enough for deer hunting-
most deer hunters are settling for a lot less!! So,
IF your case life is acceptable at the higher load level, use it!