Accuracy Issues... Cant figure it out

[Will Gray]

Check the crown or recrown. remove the stock look it over, make sure the barrel floats, torque the screws with a torque wrench, do not over tighten. loosen and retorque all the screws associated the rail, mounts, rings. with a torque wrench 25 in/lb. is what I use. Be sure the bullets are not touching the rifling. Check the headspace. Take an hour to shoot three. Same brass (start with new), same primers... All the regular stuff.

 

[gohring3006]

I wouldn't do anything until I went back to the range another day.
Two rifles suddenly shooting bad, would have me suspicious about the problem being myself.

 

[Poppadoer]

Had this problem with my.243 rem semi.model 7400.The scope mounts wouldn't stay tight.Changed them and problem solved.I was using factory ammo .

 

[5gauss]

Would try again after checking mounts etc...then relax...breathe deep....self aware...take time....proper technique....see what happens. Important to keep detailed log but you know that....

 

[Prairie]

Be vewy vewy quiet boy lest you give away our age...

That's a good one!!!

 

[zb338]

I had a .338 with a glass bedded action and a free floated
barrel. Turned out that after a rather long storage period
it stopped shooting well. It turned out the stock had warped
and was leaning against the barrel. Easy fix; shot well again.
Zeke

 

[DT400]

One thing I have found that can affect my ability is too much coffee in the morning just before I go to the range. Some days I am fine, others I'm a bit jittery. Are you a coffee or caffeine drinker?
As others mentioned I would look into things that could have affected both guns in the same time frame. You, humidity and wood stocks, ammo heating up just as mentioned.

I doubt this is the issue but my Savage 110 LRH in 6.5 creed really likes to be copper fouled before it produces tiny groups. That wouldn't be what affected two rifles at once unless they were both dirty, and liked to be, and then the barrels thoroughly
de-coppered before this last outing.

Darrell

 

[5gauss]

Yes Coffee/caffeine is / can be a problem. Our young shooters on the team are not "allowed" on match days or practice days for that reason....

 

[MoaFlat]

What is puzzling is to have both suddenly gone south....how bad is the shift? And are they the same amount? 3 things come to mind:
1: both lots of Handloads been sitting for quite some time and the brass to bullet connection can weld...try adjusting the seat .020 - .030 on a couple to see how hard they breakaway. Then go shoot those later on.
2: beg borrow buy a digital endoscope (5.5mm) and Check the bores (WiFi models that work on Ipad available for $75. And have very high res 1080, 720 Scope the bore and bet youlll find some copper or carbon ring fouling.
3: last but not least (the acid test) is to try a couple rounds of known reasonably good Factory ammo in one of the rifles... If it comes right then you know where the bones are burried.

 

[RYEWSKY25284]

I brought a 300 Win mag and 7wsm, both very good custom guns which have always shot well to the range the other day. Neither would shoot accurately. I went home and cleaned them both very well. Went back to the range and no difference. The only thing I can think of is the heat is causing some sort of problem??? Handloaded ammunition . Any thoughts??? I need to figure this out .

#1. Check the lug bolt & trigger gaurd screws. Make sure they are torqued properly.
#2. Check scope mount & rings torque.
#3. make sure the action is solid within the bedding and that there aren't any high spots that might effect accuracy.
#4. inspect the bolt face.
#5. inspect fired brass.
How's your health? anything going on that might cause you to be a little off.?
I hope you get it figured out. It can be frustrating.
Good luck.

 

[zb338]

Besides the above, get a friend who is into guns or a gunsmith to look at
what you are doing. I used to repair electronic equipment. If I couldn't fix
it in a short time the boss called on one of the other guys and once in a
great while they would point out the problem without measuring equipment.
Repair people sometimes get fixed on one thing.
Zeke

 

[DT400]

Another question. You said both guns are"off". How much off? Are they .5 MOA guns now doing .75 or 1" MOA or are they now doing 3 MOA?

Darrell

 

[MNbogboy]

I brought a 300 Win mag and 7wsm, both very good custom guns which have always shot well to the range the other day. Neither would shoot accurately. I went home and cleaned them both very well. Went back to the range and no difference. The only thing I can think of is the heat is causing some sort of problem??? Handloaded ammunition . Any thoughts??? I need to figure this out .

when was this ammo loaded that you were using?

A very important question. If the handloads were older (say last fall or even this spring) there is the possibility of "cold weld" has totally changed bullet "grip" and completely changed results.
Just a thought

 

[EricParthenay]

I brought a 300 Win mag and 7wsm, both very good custom guns which have always shot well to the range the other day. Neither would shoot accurately. I went home and cleaned them both very well. Went back to the range and no difference. The only thing I can think of is the heat is causing some sort of problem??? Handloaded ammunition . Any thoughts??? I need to figure this out .

I've noticed that to. Are your bullets moly coated?Ive been thinking about doing this cause I've noticed when pulling my bullets from the brass that have been reloaded for quite some time I have to seat the bullet a bit deeper to loosen the bullet to be pulled. I use press and coulets. Fresh reloaded bullets aren't a problem. So I was thinking maybe just seat the older reloads a hair just to loosen them again and shoot them right away. Maybe the bullets sticking in the cases cause a different pressure thus shooting differently. Does anyone know if moly coating would help this problem or is there another solution?