Accurizing the Factory Rifle

[Boozer]

Subject: Rem 700 CDL .30-06 w/ Leupold 3-9 x 40 Rifleman

I've been hunting a while now, but just getting interested in LR hunting. My goal is to be confident enough to kill anything I want out to 500 yards (deer, coyote, targets,) so lets say a 5 inch circle at 500 yards, 1/2 MOA. (PS the set-up shoots a little over 1 MOA @ 100 yards currently, the rifle probably has fewer than 100 rounds through it, and I am currently doing a break-in on the barrel shoot, clean, shoot clean...better late than never, it copper fouls bad!)

Here's the kicker.... The wife probably won't let me spring for a LR specific set-up, so my current rifle will have to do. I'd like to know what I should do in order of INCREASING COST, and DECREASING EFFECTIVINESS for my accuracy. For example, lightening my trigger will probably be #1 as it has a really heavy pull. It will be cheap, and probably help my grouping signifigantly. I think #2 would be to float the barrel. Both of these will either be cheap or free if I feel confident enough to tackle them, and will probably help my accuracy.

I know that an adjustable turret scope or one with hold-over recticle will be necessary, but for right now let's stick with gunsmithing-type work.

I will soon start hand-loading, and I know I know that will help... until then, best bang for the buck ammo?? I'm thinking Black Hills Gold. I currently am shooting Remington 150 gr, Accutip Boattail BC of .4 I think....


All help is greatly appreciated!!!!

bonus points for a good gunsmith in the KC area...

 

[trebark]

Boozer - easy....

1. Trigger Job ~$60

2. Glass and Pillar Bedding Action (this will include freefloating your barrel)~$150 This step also assume you have a stock that is worth bedding.

3. Recrown Barrel ~$50

These prices are if you do the jobs separately. Many smiths will do the all three as a package for $200

Optics is an entirely different conversation.

 

[Boozer]

you have a stock that is worth bedding.

3. Recrown Barrel ~$50

The rifle is completely unaltered... I believe that it has a walnut stock from the factory...is that worth bedding? or do I need to upgrade to a plastic/fiberglass type stock, then bed?

My crown looks to be in good shape, is this necessary? is this something that isn't held to a tight enough tolerance at the factory?

 

[winmagman]

I'd agree with 280 on the above.

Good smith in the KC area would be Chris Matthews of LongShot Rifles.

Chris

 

[trueblue]

Use the wood stock that you have and pillar bed w/ Devcon steel putty.

After Shot Show2010 I would look into a Vortex Viper PST scope. Will be a great scope at a very great price for LR shooting and in your price range.

 

[ATH]

You are correct, #1 adjust the trigger (I did my own cost $0), and #2 bed (again, cheap to DIY and there is plenty of instruction on the internet).

Reloading is the next biggie. Telling you the best factory ammo is a crap shoot, I have seen guns shoot cheap ammo very well but hate premium ammo. With reloading you can optimized and overall this is usually the biggest factor in maxing out accuracy.

For LRH, the scope is next. With a 30-06 and a goal of 500 yds a 1" tube scope will save you some money. The Nikon Buckmaster is $300 or a bit under and would work very well for you. Leave the turret caps off and you have low profile target turrets underneath.

 

[Chas1]

+1 with 280fan. I would use the existing stock and also consider blueprinting the action along with trigger, bedding, recrowning and see what all 4 in a package deal would cost...IMHO cheaper in the long run and will save probably on alot of testing/ammo $ at the range. Keep in mind 1 moa at 500 yards is approx 5" which is good for the game you want to take. IMHO 1/2" moa really isn't necessary but it will cost$'s

 

[foreign]

hey mate. lots of the work you can do your self. i lightened my trigger and bedded my rifle. (remi 700sps)
the crowning will have to be done by someone unless you have a lathe. the reason for recrowning is that often the factory crow isnt quite square. ive yet to do this to mine.
but if you search the net there is heaps of good information on lightening remi triggers and there are some great clips on youtube for bedding rifles.
good luck. keep us updated.

 

[Boozer]

+1 with 280fan. I would use the existing stock and also consider blueprinting the action along with trigger, bedding, recrowning and see what all 4 in a package deal would cost...IMHO cheaper in the long run and will save probably on alot of testing/ammo $ at the range. Keep in mind 1 moa at 500 yards is approx 5" which is good for the game you want to take. IMHO 1/2" moa really isn't necessary but it will cost$'s

My math might be wrong, but I guessed the kill zone on a coyote at about 5"-6" across. 1/2 MOA at 500 yards is roughly 2.5 inches, 1MOA would give you 5" from center to edge, or a 10" circle.... correct? anyway... just trying to make sure that I have this whole MOA thing down.

It sounds like I'm in for trigger, bed and pilliar, barrel float, and maybe some action truing. about like I thought.

Thanks for all the advice. I've heard that GA precision does excellent work, but also has a large backlog.

 

[roninflag]

you can adjust the trigger yourself. directions are available on line. the 30-06 can be very accurate, and it is a very powerful round . if you can handload or have a friend that can; both of my rem700 30-06 like 168 berger and 50.5 varget. lapua brass.

 

[MontanaRifleman]

These guys have given you some good advice. One thing I would do different is sell your present stock (You could probably get $50-$100 for it) and get a B&C Medalist with full aluminum bedding block for about $250. Unlaminated wood stocks are very susceptible to warpage. I wouldn't waste the effort of pillar bedding walnut stock and selling as is would retain more value. Do your own trigger job - I did two of my 700's, and it worked well. I would try this first before the recrown if you want to save a few dollars and see how it shoots. You might find significant improvement.

Start hand loading as soon as you can and use good quality dies. I cut the accuracy in my Ruger from about 1.5 MOA to .75 MOA when I started hand loading with plain Jane RCBS dies. And 1 MOA @ 500yds = about 5". So you aren't too far from your goal.

You could start with Black Hills ammo and if it doesn't work try something else. Sometimes to the cheap suff works well, it all depends on what your rifle likes. Shoot at 200 or 300 yds to check your groups, not 100 yds.

Hope it works out... keep us posted.

Good shooting,

Mark

 

[3006savage]

Take a look at this article from Chuck Hawks.

Affordable Accuracy

They did a pretty decent job IMHO. After reading this article last year I free floated the barrel and tried some Tubbs Final Finish and it did improve my accuracy. My Savage fouled with copper very quickley and the Tubbs improved that quite a bit along with improving accuracy.

I am not sure if Tubbs Final Finish works as well on hammer forged barrels as it does on button rifled barrels. I have read a few posts from remington owners that claim the Tubbs bullets damaged their barrels rifling and hurt accuracy.

 

[RBetts]

Stocky's has the B&C for $203. If you choose to rebed your own here is a great article on pllar bedding Stress-Free Pillar Bedding
I'm using the threaded tube that is found in light fixtures for my pillars. It can be found at your local hardware store, the cool thing is you thread them into the stock so they stay put while you figure out how much you want to fill with bedding compound.
I would go with a laminate if I were to buy a stock myself. Trigger job is a good start. If your going to stick with the barrel you have and it's a factory one. Cast the chamber for cartridge length overall. You should have it bore scoped. If the throat is good but rough you can fire lap it if the smith won't/can/t do it. If the throat's bad but the money is tight. Save up some money so you can have the action trued at the time of rebarrel

 

[Boozer]

Take a look at this article from Chuck Hawks.

Affordable Accuracy

They did a pretty decent job IMHO. After reading this article last year I free floated the barrel and tried some Tubbs Final Finish and it did improve my accuracy. My Savage fouled with copper very quickley and the Tubbs improved that quite a bit along with improving accuracy.

I am not sure if Tubbs Final Finish works as well on hammer forged barrels as it does on button rifled barrels. I have read a few posts from remington owners that claim the Tubbs bullets damaged their barrels rifling and hurt accuracy.

Thanks everyone for their advice, but a big thanks to 3006savage. That article was awesome!!! exactly what I was looking for!!!

Does anyone else have any experience with the Tubbs Final Finish System??? I've heard lots of good things about it. Usually making vast improvments on copperfouling, and modest improvments to accuracy and velocity stabilization.