Diagnosing a Precision Rifle

[Leper]

I don't know a gunsmith in your area. Sounds like an ogive problem to me. Too many variables to list all the issues. But another shooter with the same grouping with the same ammo at the same temperature will tell you a lot.

 

[ROGER4314]

The Remington 700 comes with a small "lump" where the barrel rests in the stock. Those who remove that "lump" find the rifle shoots better with it than without it. It may appear to be a mistake in bedding. It isn't.

Those action bolts/screws must be torqued. Just snug isn't enough and too tight is too much. I'll check my match notes to see if I have a torque spec for those. I torqued all action bolts before matches in "F" (scoped) class. I had to withdraw from a match because my reliable rifle turned into the "rifle from Hell". The reason? Loose action bolts/screws.

EDIT....I went back into my match notes on a 700VLS in .223, it takes a 5/32" Allen driver and I torqued it at 45 inch pounds before every match.

Flash

 

[Major Kong]

I am by no means an expert marksman, but I do know that guns can be particular about the ammo. I just started shooting .308 about 6 months ago and I haven't gone past 100 yards yet but am going to try some 200 yard shooting very soon.

I don't reload and it took some time, but I found that my T/C Venture Predator likes Hornady American Whitetail 150gr. The rifle is guaranteed MOA from the factory and I was finally able to get a few 1.5 inch groups with that stuff. It is also partial to the Hornady Superformance SST in 155gr.

I am in Katy and suspect from your Reedit pictures you are shooting at American Shooting Centers. We should hook up sometime.

Good luck with your quest!

MK

Sent from somewhere.

 

[Major Kong]

I couldn't edit my previous post b/c Tapatalk wouldn't cooperate, but here is my group with the Hornady American Whitetail:

Sent from somewhere.

 

[shortround]

I don't trust factory ammo to shoot tight groups in any of my rifles.

Just yesterday, I sighted in a 5.56 Colt with factory 55 grain FMJs at 100 yards. When I got three rounds on target (1 1/2" group), I switched to factory 62 grain rounds. The groups opened up to 2 1/4 inch.

Another batch of 62 grain M885 wannabe's made in Turkey yielded three inches.

Finally, I shot twenty rounds of hand loaded Hornady 68 grain HPBT Match sitting on top of 23.0 grains of AA2230 and a Winchester Small Rifle Primer in a Lake City 09 case.

The groups shrunk to 1/2".

In a pique of interest, I learned that the Army only demands two MOA at 100-200 meters for M855 62 gr FMJ.

So, for many of us who have stocked up for SHTF, G.I. ammo was probably the worst choice.

 

[Younggun]

Not really, considering it is made to withstand weather much better than most other ammunition and 1-2 MOA is equal to minute of man out to 800 yrds or so.

 

[40Arpent]

Highly recommended: Precision Barrel Work - Custom Gunsmithing for Benchrest, Hunting and Varmint Rifles of Highest Quality in Hempstead.

 

[40Arpent]

Another, in Spring: MG Arms - Custom Firearms, Custom Ammunition, Custom Coatings

 

[T-FAST]

I highly doubt it's ammo related. FGMM is the standard when it comes to factory match ammo. In my AAC-SD the FGMM shoots about 1moa, but my reloads are .5moa.

Personally I would get a torque wrench or take it to a shop that has one, and get everything torqued properly to spec.

 

[Sapper740]

Umm, it's probably both. Bedded action and free float barrel is pretty much the standard for accuracy.

Just wanted to make sure, some of us Old School guys bedded both the action and barrel. Placing a pressure pad under the barrel sometimes helped dampen vibration to improve accuracy too.

 

[TheDan]

I don't believe it is. The thing is, it grouped well with only one type of ammo: Monarch steel-cased. I shot two groups which were sub-moa with that stuff, so I believe it is a rifle problem unfortunately.

Your rifle shoots sub-moa with cheap ammo and you're complaining that groups open up with the expensive stuff?
You've got it backwards, Jack!

 

[Gunmonk]

Unfortunately you may have a non-concentric throat. You would need a bore scope to tell for sure. We send about 75% of rem 700s back to rem. due to this problem. There is no point in trying to accurize them. Their quality control has gone down hill.