Bad load? Bad scope? Bad barrel

[adk hunter]

Took me two seconds to type my thoughts so no sweat over here!
I tend to read theses to be a blind check on my own practices and thought processes and there is always time to learn!
Now back to it. keep us posted please...

 

[JAYgs8163]

The REMEDY is IGNORE! I'm not being ugly, but; this dude is trying to play us like a fiddle. I admire you passionate souls who have touched all the bases without the inquirer responding. Tongue in cheek: I hope he ends up with a German design that shot around 90 degree corners with 1/4 of his barrel life. Give us all something constructive to discuss?

Really? Guy posts it at 10:30 PM on a Sunday night. Hits the rack, gets up and goes to work, gets off work and replies promptly. Not sure I get the comment either.

 

[Phil Rizzo]

I'd have to try moving the bullet in or out. Surely it will show something, for better or worse. Your barrel has changed a fair amount in that fired round count.

 

[JAYgs8163]

After that much load development and testing that barrel probably would be a Tomato stake by now if it was mine. Don't ever hear of a bad Brux though.

 

[Koda_]

Have you tried rechecking your distance to the lands?

It is setup the way CEB recommends with their bullets as a baseline.

This doesn't matter, unless Im missing something? If your developing a handload, your developing your handload to that rifles chamber. You need to know the distance to the lands so your not jamming and so you can adjust your seating depth to tune the load appropriately. Your original post said you lost accuracy, you've got 1000rds thru the bore its highly likely the throat has grown quite a bit changing your seating depth node.
I would check your lands distance, compare that to your handload land distance and if its grown adjust your handloads seating depth.

 

[emp1953]

I have a custom rifle. I cannot get any traction creating a load for it. I either have a real bad load, bad scope or bad barrel.

It has shot 0.25" groups in the past, then I had a 3/4" load with Hornady ELD-X's of late, 2-3" is the norm now. I've tried 3-4 bullets, 3-4 powders, etc.

Ammo is loaded to a high accuracy level in terms of quality of components, accuracy of charge weight, accuracy of primer seating, seating depth, bullet runout. This is some of th3 best ammo i've made sd's are in the 7-12 range on several charges.

The load is not tuned, but who knows. I can't really tune it. Everything is bad. Barrel is a Brux….probably 1000 shots on it. Stock is tight. Scope screws are tight.

I'm stumped. I'm changing the scope just to see what I can see.

Thoughts?

use a Q-tip to check the crown. rub it in and out of the bore all around the bore to see if any cotton fibers are pulled off the Q-tip by a burr that you cannot see with your eye.

Are your fired rounds clean around the neck or are they fouled with soot?

 

[Lenny Foffa]

Were you ever using a Lead sled during you sight in tests????? I would suggest removing the scope and send it back to the factory for a complete inspection. I'm wondering of the cross have become loose. While the scope is off, remove the rings and bases and examine them and the screws carefully. Also take the rifle to a smith who has a bore scope, for a professional assessment of the condition of the bore. You may very need a new barrel, but you don't know that until someone knowledgeable, checks it out. With a response from the scope factory, and the response from the gunsmith with the bore scope, you can then make an informed decision. When the scope returns, reassemble and test. If the cross hairs were loose and the factory fixed it, you are all set !!!If the smith says the bore or throat is gone, then you can stop guessing and go get a new barrel, in the length and twist you really want. Good Luck Buddy!!

 

[VinceMule]

I'd have to try moving the bullet in or out. Surely it will show something, for better or worse. Your barrel has changed a fair amount in that fired round count.

Here is the key to the puzzle! When you were shooting those good groups, the bullet was a certain distance from the lands, you should try and maintain that distance over time.

At a certain point, in order to maintain that "sweet spot" bullet jump or touch on the lands, you will have to use the rifle as a single shot, or scrap the barrel as that COAL becomes too long for the magazine. There are options in shell carriers, running your rifle as a single shot.

 

[K.E.C. Darkside]

And you can cut a inch off and rechamber.

 

[VinceMule]

Usually, an inch is never enough as the throat wears in dia and length.

 

[cmarcu1]

I agree with most of what everyone else has said, but after eliminating all but the barrel, try cutting the barrel back 1.5"-2" and re-crown it. I've seen this return the accuracy of worn barrels indefinitely, without the expense of a new barrel. It normally produces an acceptable grouping, with a minimum loss in velocity. I know it sounds like it makes no sense, but I've seen it work exceptionally well 90+percent of the time .

 

[Phil Rizzo]

IF he has enough Shank to work with...right?

 

[emp1953]

Have you tried shooting a group hand feeding 1 round at a time. Don't use the magazine. I'm wondering if your bullets are jumping forward during recoil which changes distance off the rifling. If these are cases that have been fired several times you may not have enough neck tension. I would buy a box of quality factory rounds and see if that improves things.

I had an occasion where this happened to me. I was previously shooting 1" groups regularly then things went bad. I bought 2 boxes of premium Nosler Ammo loaded with 130gr partitions. Immediately had 1/2"groups so I never looked back. I got 6 boxes of the Nosler Premiums, they should last me a while since I only shoot it twice a year now. One to verify zero and one when a deer is dumb enough to walk within range.

 

[nksmfamjp]

Keep it coming. The CEB bullets have a driving band on them. that band is 0.025" off the lands. It is as good of a point as any. Varying powder charge in my last OCW iteration gave me 2 groups of about 1.5", one group at 2" and one group at 2.7". I need to quit posting and load more rounds to test!