Accuracy questions

[THEWULFF]

hey guys new to the high road, glad to be a member
i have a few questions and was wondering if somone can point me in the right direction, i have a remmy sendero chambered in 300 win mag, out of the box gun shot great for first few groups, same hole accuracy @ 100yds, now i can not get a 1 inch group to save my life i have even adjusted handloads trying to find a sweet spot with no avail, should i check action screws? recrown the barrel? help please!

 

[THEWULFF]

oh and by the way copper fouling has been removed and rifle properly broke in

 

[THEWULFF]

bump?

 

[ford8nr]

Check all screws including scope mounts first before looking at more drastic things

 

[readyeddy]

Get a shooting sled.

Tighten down the screws, including scope mounts and rings.

Change the scope.

Go back to the same ammo that produced one hole groups, double check your charge weight, weigh your bullets and verify OAL.

Give your barrel 3 minutes to cool down between shots.

 

[Hopkins]

If you had the barreled action out of the stock or changed the torque on the action screws that could be a factor. The scope base and rings screws are the first suspects though. I have seen plenty of broken screws in rings and bases particularly in the magnums. A happy byproduct of recoil.

 

[redneck2]

As noted, my first thought is the scope/sights. I have spent a lot of time and ammo chasing after bad scopes.

 

[d2wing]

unless you used the rifle for a crowbar, it is the scope or mounts. Rifles don't change unless something happens to them normally.

 

[THEWULFF]

thanks guys! got a wheeler fat wrench ready for pick up at midway usa, I live roughly 5 miles from their main building so that helps, scope is leupold vx3 6.5-20x50 30 mil main tube, 20 moa base im thinking about changing to regular leupold bases and swapping rings while im at it, even with the same ammo it grouped with before it wont hold under 1 inch, I just remembered I did tighten an action screw down after shooting it the second time as it had worked loose, I will go over everything again, torque at 45 in lbs and see if that changes anything, will shoot and get back to you all. I really appreciate it !!

 

[loose noose]

THE WULF, I would think that 45 inch pounds of torque might be a bit too much, I would go with 35 but that's just me.

 

[Hopkins]

Before you switch to Leupold/Redfield style base and rings find your problem with your existing set up. If the scope isn't moving in the rings or shifting over the base, the change won't solve your problem.

 

[THEWULFF]

I will start with 35 in lbs and work my way up and see if I can find that harmonic sweet spot, again I appreciate any help here guys!! And yes I agree I won't change anything unless the issue isn't action screw torque

 

[THEWULFF]

went to the range Saturday afternoon, loosened the action screws up , retightened to 35 in lb, stuck with my 2008 grain a max hand loads with h1000, and started to see some improvement! I found the sweet spot at 41 in lb and had a 5 shot group 3 minutes in between each shot at .83 inches, thanks for the help!

 

[Hopkins]

The permanent fix for the problem you identified is pillar bedding the action. The pillars will support the action without the torque of either action screw being critical so long as both are snug. The caveat to that is that the stock has to be sufficiently rigid so as to not flex the action by way of the pillars.