Help With Remington 700 Accuracy

[Don A Parsons]

I'm not dire

 

[xsn10s]

I'm pretty sure that it can be set up again to shoot the same. The box mag could be binding after the reinstall of the stock which and can affect accuracy. It's possible the bases, rings, or action screws are loose. Reticles have been known to shoot loose too so don't rule out scope failure. Keep things simple. First youtube how to torque down and install a rem 700 in it's stock. Hand tight will work but an inch/ pounds, not foot/ pounds torque wrench is what I use for my precision rifles. Wood stock rifles I just hand tighten them and they have shot fine too. Try that first and then see what happens.

 

[CGWVU]

Question... I've seen where when reassembling the action and barrel into the stock the butt is tapped on the ground to ensure the recoil lug is all the way back. Is it possible that the recoil lug isn't all the way back? Would this cause inaccuracy issues?

 

[xsn10s]

Question... I've seen where when reassembling the action and barrel into the stock the butt is tapped on the ground to ensure the recoil lug is all the way back. Is it possible that the recoil lug isn't all the way back? Would this cause inaccuracy issues?

It could but I haven't seen where it would make it a 3" group. But if the mag box is binding up against the action and stock the action can rock back and forth causing issue. The reason why I say start with reinstalling the action and tightening or torqueing the action screws is it's easy, and not very evasive. Kinda of the KISS system of ruling out problems. Go cheap and easy and work your way to the more expensive or labor intensive fixes.

 

[Frog4aday]

I've been on this forum long enough to have heard (many times) about the issues with Vortex scopes (in particular) being damaged by someone over-tightening the rings. Knowing the gun is a .300 WM, some 'home smiths' will give the ring screws a little extra tightening that they don't need. That's my first thought. From Vortex website:
"Note: Vortex Optics recommends not exceeding 18 in/lbs (inch/pounds) of torque on the ring screws."

My second thought was what @xsn10s is mentioning - the steel sheet metal internal box magazine isn't in the rifle correctly. It's cocked out one side slightly causing issues. That thing can be a bugger on some Rem 700s. My .308 Rem 700 always went together easily and the box fit in place just perfect; sadly my .270 Rem 700 takes a bit more 'fiddling' to get that 'box' in correctly, so some guns go back together easily, others need more time and attention to detail to get right. Just remove the action from the stock, re-fit that sheet metal-stamped box in the bottom of the action, then reassemble action into stock, assuring it is not bumped out of place in the process.

Final thought is what you said yourself - make sure the recoil lug of the rifle is all the way back against the stock abutment before tightening the action screws. Put the screws in so they are just starting to show some resistance, then hit the buttstock on the ground, then finish tightening that front action screw to about 50 in/lbs (yep, that Wheeler torque wrench would come in handy both here and when re-doing those scope ring screws...) and tighten the rear screw to about 30 in/lbs.

Hopefully the crown of the rifle wasn't accidentally 'dinged' at some point during this process of getting your trigger pull lightened. That would be my last thought if the gun still won't shoot. (And - as pointed out earlier - we are all assuming you are using the same ammo that the rifle shot so great BEFORE being taken apart. If not...that could be the problem right there. Some ammo shoots way better than other ammo. Gotta be comparing apples to apples here.) GOOD LUCK!

 

[Mram10us]

Very easy to bed the front recoil lug. Never have to tap the butt or anything. Just put the barreled action in the stock. Let us know if you want help doing that

 

[John Klingenberg]

Sounds like the smith changed up your bedding unintentionally. A cheap fix for a lot of Remingtons is a box of acraglass and LOTS of release agent. Read up/watch videos on how to do it. A lot of people talk down on Remmingtons but I've owned some box stock ones that shoot amazing.

 

[flylo]

I think it's the action screws & would use a torque wrench for those. If you don't have the $50 rent one or buy a Harbor Freight for $10 till you can do better. Good luck!

 

[xsn10s]

I think it's the action screws & would use a torque wrench for those. If you don't have the $50 rent one or buy a Harbor Freight for $10 till you can do better. Good luck!

I really like Harbor Freight stuff but had a in/lb HB torque wrench lock up on me when checking the torque on a aluminum transmission plate. I ended up having to retap the threads on the housing. I stick with my MAC torque wrench now. I even tested the HB torque wrenches before using them.

 

[HRM Johnny]

I really like Harbor Freight stuff but had a in/lb HB torque wrench lock up on me when checking the torque on a aluminum transmission plate. I ended up having to retap the threads on the housing. I stick with my MAC torque wrench now. I even tested the HB torque wrenches before using them.

30+ years ago, I spent a year working in an automotive machine shop. My personal opinion: buy a click type torque wrench. If you work on things you'll be using it the rest of your life. Just my two cents.

 

[liv4thehunt]

Have you cleaned the bore! I have seen custom rifles that go from 1/2" groups to 1&1/2" groups once the barrel is dirty. That being a factory rifle, it could easily have some copper build up. A good copper streak will start to tear copper off of the bullet every pass. Bullets don't fly straight with part of the jacket missing.

 

[elj1973]

Go to a Auto Zone store and get a loaner torque wrench in inch pounds.

 

[Tim Sharp]

Maybe your scope may have lost its zero. Experience has shown that virtually all scopes fail...however, some fail sooner than others. Remember, it is made of glass, brass and aluminum and the recoil generated by magnums can wreak havoc. If the scope is moving in the rings, one can check by using a piece of masking tape as a indicator by placing just behind the front ring on the scope tube. If the scope is loose or slipping in the rings, the scope will shift to the rear forming a gap between the tape and the ring. Generally this has a vertical effect on groups and will take several shots to show. Action screw torque is of great importance in particularly in a factory stock. Remington really tightens the screws on the B&C M40 stock the factory (I would say in excess of 65in/lbs).

Short answer, mount another scope and retry.

 

[jcbjr]

I agree that 20 rounds isn't enough but I'm just extremely concerned as it is no longer holding groups. I'm young and new to long range shooting and have no idea how to fix it. I know it could be a couple things but I am wondering where to start. Here's the whole thing how it went down. I had the gun and loved the way it was shooting. I simply wanted the trigger tuned up and lightened and I knew a guy that does really nice work on triggers. He did an amazing job on the trigger but he decided to check the whole setup somewhat against my will. I bit my tongue as he is my girlfriends father and claimed he knew everything about 700s. Unfortunately I do not have a reputable gun smith within a couple hours of me or I would've taken it to them. Now I'm stuck with a gun that isn't shooting the way it was and I don't know what to do to fix it. Should I break down and buy a torque wrench. Again I'm a college student but I'll pay it if I have to and it will likely fix my problem.
Thanks again guys

Wheeler FAT wrench, $42.30 on Amazon. Decent wrench, comes with multiple bits. Consistent cheek weld is more important than you may think, as in very important.