Hello everyone!
Im new to the forum, as well as centerfire rifle shooting. I grew up in illinois hunting whitetail, so of course Im only knowledgeable of hunting with a bow, slug gun, and a 22. I moved to Utah a few years ago and and decided I need to have the option of shooting long range, so 30 06 is my choice!!
I picked up a 30 06 remington 783 with the Walnut stock because I'm on a budget and apparently the 783 is capable of sub MOA. I decided the Walnut might be a better choice than synthetic because I like wood and the synthetic stock on these is apparently a bit flimsy, which I assumed would hinder accuracy compred to the walnut. After taking it apart though, I noticed that the stock isn't pillar bedded the same way that the synthetic stock is. The synthetic version has the aluminum pillar in front of the magazine in the stock and my walnut stock only has a hole through it for the bolt.
I went out to sight it in today and had pretty poor results. My shots were all over the place on a 12x12 paper and didn't shoot any kind of group! I shot 10 rounds of Winchester silver ballistic tip 180g and 10 of Hornady 180g sst, thinking that heavier would be better for preventing wind drift. I also thought I should zero it with what I would want to hung with, but maybe I should have went with Remington core lokt since it's cheaper and I need to be able to shoot a group first! I also backed out the trigger pull adjust as much as possible, so it should be around 2.5 lbs. I had a Vortex Viper 4-16x50 mounted on it with Warne rings.
To start, I ran a bore snake through a couple of times with hoppes 9 then attempted t "break in" the barrel, shooting one round then running the snake through with solvent between each shot for 5 rounds. Then I added mpro7 copper remover to the snake and ran that through every 3 shots for about 9 rounds, then did the last 6 rounds back to back. There was 5-10mph breeze and I was shooting 100 yards.
After my total of 20 rounds, I cleaned with hoppes soaked patches on a jag, a nylon brush, and then dry patched until it looked pretty clean. I did the same with the mpro7 copper remover, but I did a fair bit of alternating the solvent and copper remover and let the copper remover sit for 10 minutes before brushing and dry patching. It took TONS of patches to get it "clean" and I still ended up with a bit of copper near the muzzle that didn't seem to want to come off.
I was always a pretty good shot with a 22 and slug gun (12 gauge 1.25 oz slug makes quite a kick) so I was really surprise to see how terrible my shots were with this gun. I was a bit suprised at how much recoil it has. But, I think my shots were decently executed.
My questions are:
Is it more likely that my shooting ability with a 30 caliber rifle is pretty poor or that I got a dud of a gun?
Should I continue to try to get the remaining copper out of the bore that's visible near the muzzle?
If I didn't "break in" the barrel properly (if you belive in that sort of thing), can any damage I did be remedied?
Should I bother with trying to bed the stock yet?
What should be my next steps to getting sub MOA?
FYI, my goal is to be able to harvest a deer/elk at 500-700 yards with this gun at some point.
Thanks!!
Is it more likely that my shooting ability with a 30 caliber rifle is pretty poor or that I got a dud of a gun?----- Centerfire rifle marksmanship is a learned skill. As in many rounds with good form to be good at it. Read up on all the human factors and speak them out loud if you have to while touching off a round. There is a reason why the range master in boot camp is screaming the fundamentals of shooting out loud as new recruits are firing their first live rounds down range. Practice the fundamentals and the skills will come with time and round count.
Should I continue to try to get the remaining copper out of the bore that's visible near the muzzle?---- I clean my rifles with either a bore snake or a one piece rod with the whole fancy getup. I never use a three piece steel rod that grandpa used. It will ruin the inside of your barrel faster then anything. Matter of fact I've had more rifles on my gunsmithing bench for work cause of improper cleaning attempts then all other factors combined. I clean the heck out of a bolt gun before I store it. But once I foul it and get it zeroed I don't clean it again until the seasons over with.
If I didn't "break in" the barrel properly (if you belive in that sort of thing), can any damage I did be remedied? As a machinist I personally believe "barrel break in" to be a few dozen rounds down the tube. Just to polish off any sharp edges on the chamber, lands and grooves. I personally believe the concoction of shoot clean shoot clean shoot clean is put out there by the guys selling the cleaning products. JMO relax fella's. Just fire a few boxes of ammo through a new rifle, while practicing the proper fundamentals of marksmanship before you start expecting tight groups.
Should I bother with trying to bed the stock yet? I would put a quality carbon fiber stock onto the rifle rather then try to glass bed a wood one. Unless you know what you are doing. Wood is old technology and is an organic material. It flexes, expands, swells, and contracts based on temp. humidity, and rain. Hunting rifles get wet, one way or another. Water, wood and accuracy are not friends.
What should be my next steps to getting sub MOA?---- Bubble level on the scope, cheek riser for proper cheek weld, and Start reloading. Trying to find a bullet, load, sub MOA combination by picking boxes of ammo off the shelf is like a dog chasing it's tail. You might get lucky, but reloading for a bolt gun is pretty easy especially with a 30 cal rifle. I learned with a Remington 308 bolt and loaded hornadys SST 150 grain (not a match bullet) and ended up with 3 rounds looking like a clover, all holes touching. So adjusting the powder charge is where matching the round to the rifles barrel whip happens. If you shoot a bow you know what "cant" does at range. A bubble level on a bow does the exact same thing on a rifle. It's worth the $30.00. And cheek weld, especially from prone, does not exist with a sporter stock. If your cheek bone is not mashed onto the stock, your face is floating around behind the crosshairs. Cheek riser, bubble level, and hand loads. Those three will shrink your groups pretty quick.
Just my opinion and experience. There are smarter guys out there so take in all opinions and make the best choice for you based on time, money, patients, and complicated recommendations. Which you are sure to get. I like solving problems and like turning regular rifles into accurate long range ones.
