The bullets were dancing around quite a bit inside a 10 inch target at 100 yds. I tried a number of brands of factory ammo and bullet weight. It finally tightened up with a 150 grain after I gained some knowledge about twist and tried it. But it still wouldn't group more than 3 without a couple fliers. Groups were in the diameter of 6 inches and not consistent. It was acting better on cold barrel shots, is why another thought of bedding. After heating the barrel up a little is when bullets danced around more. My expectation is to get it to group and stay consistent.
The good news is that it shoots so bad that almost nothing can make it worse.
So, it sounds like a great project gun.
I would try bedding it, and free floating the barrel.
There are lots of threads and videos around on how to do that.
You also need to verify the following...
- action screws torqued correctly
- scope mounts are solid and not moving
- scope is reliable
- trigger is light, clean, crisp, safe
- good rest plus technique and nothing touches the barrel when shooting
- crown and throat are not damaged or erroded
- barrel is clean and free of copper fouling
- barrel cools completely between shots
Typically, there are a couple of concerns here...
- shooter (see video forum here regarding shooting tips)
- harmonics/vibrations (handload or get lucky)
- loose or broken parts (find and fix)
- heat/stress on the barrel and reciever (gunsmith)
The first 3 above concerns are easily addressed. The last one usually requires a smith.
Let us know what you find.
-- richard