model 70 225 accuracy

[car15bill]

i have just gotten around to shooting a 225 post 64 winchester that i picked up a few months ago. i slapped a 3x9 nikon prostaff on it, and i have been getting 1.5-2 inch groups at 100 yards, with a clean, cold barrel.

Should i expect better accuracy than this, or are these groups as good as it gets with a standard weight barrel?

 

[Art Eatman]

Aw, you oughta do a tad better than that, seems like. If you're using a good benchrest and are doing the proper sandbag thing, I'd figure on around a one MOA average, maybe. (Guessing; I've never owned one.)

The least hassle, least cost deal would be to check the forearm to see if it's free floating, clear of the barrel by a smidgen. If not clear, make it so. After that, I like to take a strip of kitchen wax paper and fold it back and forth to make a shim, out at the front of the forearm. Maybe a five-pound pull to separate the barrel and forearm to insert it, and then trim with a razor blade. The shim acts as a damper; I've found it helps shot-to-shot uniformity.

Then there's always the issue of ammo selection. You're probably sorta limited there, unless you reload your own ammo. Lotsa different bullets available, then.

 

[car15bill]

ok, thanks art, thats what i was thinkin. i'm just getting all of my reloading stuff in order for it now, so we will see what the handloads bring

 

[MMCSRET]

The 225 is a rimmed case, its just possible that if you set up your reloading/sizing die to head space on the shoulder you may be able to tighten up your groups a little. That was how we got our 30 Herret to shoot years ago, still works.
Just a thought.

 

[car15bill]

how do i set up my dies to only headspace on the shoulder? (hornady dies)

 

[NCsmitty]

car15bill, I'm guessing that you have brass from shooting factory ammo. When it comes to running the brass through the full length die, providing that's what you have, do a partial sizing down the neck, to almost the shoulder, but not quite. Then try the empty brass in the rifle to make sure that it fits the chamber. By doing that, you're using the brass from your fired chamber to set the headspace on the shoulder. If for some reason it won't chamber fully, adjust the die down in small increments until it just allows the bolt to close.
I hope I explained it ok for you.



NCsmitty