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Quick way to find if gun will shoot well
- Thread starter bkondeff
- Start date
Help Support Long Range Hunting Forum
Sounds like the boy is interested in Hunting, not necessarily in long-range precision shooting (not yet, at least BWAAHAHAHA), so maybe it's better to keep things a little simpler than you and I would approach OUR new rifle...
For twenty-some-odd bucks, a box of Super-X or Core-Lok'd and a known good scope and you should know very quickly if the rifle has a chance to work out this season. Or use your loads if they're within the safety margin for a starting load.
After that, you can spend time where needed. Who knows, it might shoot shoot minute-of-deer, save you a day or two of doing a load workup and he has some shells left over to practice with.
After he gets his first deer, and hears some stories of how far away you can shoot YOUR rifle accurately, then he might be a little more interested in shooting HIS rifle like that....and let the fun begin!!!
Good luck....and keep us posted!!!
Chris
For twenty-some-odd bucks, a box of Super-X or Core-Lok'd and a known good scope and you should know very quickly if the rifle has a chance to work out this season. Or use your loads if they're within the safety margin for a starting load.
After that, you can spend time where needed. Who knows, it might shoot shoot minute-of-deer, save you a day or two of doing a load workup and he has some shells left over to practice with.
After he gets his first deer, and hears some stories of how far away you can shoot YOUR rifle accurately, then he might be a little more interested in shooting HIS rifle like that....and let the fun begin!!!
Good luck....and keep us posted!!!
Chris
You cannot isolate one item i.e., the barrel, and make that decision. There are many things that affect accuracy. Some have mentioned bedding, and that is a biggie. Scope and mounts need to be solid. The action has to be reasonably straight especially at the barrel tenon threads, same with the bolt face. The trigger should be smooth, with no creep.
If you want to check the barrel, have someone with a borescope look at it.
If all of this does not fit your quick and easy requirements, start playing with loads. Sometimes you can find the right combination quickly, but not always.
If you want to check the barrel, have someone with a borescope look at it.
If all of this does not fit your quick and easy requirements, start playing with loads. Sometimes you can find the right combination quickly, but not always.
The OP said it's a Ruger 77. Those are pretty decent guns. Worn stock finish and absence of blueing won't affect accuracy, you can always make it prettier. The trigger may be the place to focus if it is really crappy. Even that is more related to shooter gun handling than function.
I just went through this with two "new to shooting" son in laws. First I'll check bedding, scope/mounts, trigger, crown, etc. I'll use a proven recipe for the twist rate, that is below max powder charge, new or FL sized brass, and two or three different bullets designed for the intended job. I'll load 5-10 round of each bullet type and do a 100 yard test out of a clean barrel. Found a good load quickly for each. One son in law is now an avid Reloader, and great shooter. The other, oh well, can't win em all. I should have just bought a box of Wallmart Remington SP's for $10.
Joe King
Well-Known Member
You know when I read the OP the thought that came to my mind initially was "great! touch up the trigger, and it sounds like a perfect hunting rifle! hey! sounds like my 270!"
This aint a tuff question=will the gun shoot 1.5MOA or better and how to find out in the least amount of effort and cost?
#1 Its a Ruger. Take the action out of the stock and give the trigger a good spray of carb cleaner or WD-40 work the empty action and trigger a few times to get it freed up as much as it will. Then put the action back in the stock with the stock sitting on the recoil pad, with the screws started but not tight. Tighten the front recoil screw to 65 inch lbs and then the back one to the same, the middle one you want to be just tight enough to stay put.....finger tip tight with a screw driver.
#2 Put a known scope on it that you trust! Not a new unproven scope or one that is laying around.
Pick up a box of remington corelocks and a box of the federal classics....100-117 grains. They are cheap and good indicators of the rifles ability to group out to 300 yards.
#3 Shoot them slow with a good rest, dont count the first three after you have cleaned the barrel.
You are going to have a good idea of how the rifle is gonna shoot after 6 rounds from each box of shells. Your reloads might help shrink the groups a little or be faster but my $$ is on the 110grain accubonds being larger.
#1 Its a Ruger. Take the action out of the stock and give the trigger a good spray of carb cleaner or WD-40 work the empty action and trigger a few times to get it freed up as much as it will. Then put the action back in the stock with the stock sitting on the recoil pad, with the screws started but not tight. Tighten the front recoil screw to 65 inch lbs and then the back one to the same, the middle one you want to be just tight enough to stay put.....finger tip tight with a screw driver.
#2 Put a known scope on it that you trust! Not a new unproven scope or one that is laying around.
Pick up a box of remington corelocks and a box of the federal classics....100-117 grains. They are cheap and good indicators of the rifles ability to group out to 300 yards.
#3 Shoot them slow with a good rest, dont count the first three after you have cleaned the barrel.
You are going to have a good idea of how the rifle is gonna shoot after 6 rounds from each box of shells. Your reloads might help shrink the groups a little or be faster but my $$ is on the 110grain accubonds being larger.
As a banker i do appreciate the legal disclaimer and caution, but I have enjoyed helping out more than a few of my son's friends in this endeveavor. I do the tests in the guns and build them the bullets and then they usually start on their own, with a copy of one of the primary manuals that give the basic directions and cautions.
So for this gun I scubbed the barrel down good and took the advice to simply load for 3 grains below max, up to max, in .5 grain increments, and look for pressure signs. I used some Win Brass I had, IMR 4831, up to 51 grains, CCI 200 primers, and seated .010 off the lands.
I only shot at 25 yards as I wasn't sure where the scope was set, but put all the rounds within a very small area. No flyers and the only spread coincided with an adjustment to the scope elevation.
I know better than to call this good at this distance, but I saw enough to tell me there don't seem to be major issues that would make this gun spray 2moa or more with this combo. I just didn't want to waste a whole box of bullets to find out it's just a crappy gun.
I sent the gun, with the kid, to a gunsmith for a trigger job as the creep was attrocious, and the pull was about 6-7lbs.
Once back I will go back down to 49.0 grains and shoot 4 shot groups up to 51, which is right where I started to get some flat primers and sticky bolt(at 95 degrees on Sun).
Again, I am only looking for 1.5moa or better gun, or sub-milk jug out to 400 yards. I coach them all if they can't hit 4/5 milk jugs from multiple field positions you havn't earned that distance yet.
If our load meets our parameters, I load them 50 rounds on new brass and let them shoot over a month or two, then load another 50 before season and shoot another 20 or so in Oct. They are usually pretty good and need to work on their nerves at that point, not their technique.
Thanks to all for your opinions. I hope we get lucky with this gun/load. Otherwise, this kid will use my Tikka in the same caliber for hunting this year until he can afford a better one of his own.
So for this gun I scubbed the barrel down good and took the advice to simply load for 3 grains below max, up to max, in .5 grain increments, and look for pressure signs. I used some Win Brass I had, IMR 4831, up to 51 grains, CCI 200 primers, and seated .010 off the lands.
I only shot at 25 yards as I wasn't sure where the scope was set, but put all the rounds within a very small area. No flyers and the only spread coincided with an adjustment to the scope elevation.
I know better than to call this good at this distance, but I saw enough to tell me there don't seem to be major issues that would make this gun spray 2moa or more with this combo. I just didn't want to waste a whole box of bullets to find out it's just a crappy gun.
I sent the gun, with the kid, to a gunsmith for a trigger job as the creep was attrocious, and the pull was about 6-7lbs.
Once back I will go back down to 49.0 grains and shoot 4 shot groups up to 51, which is right where I started to get some flat primers and sticky bolt(at 95 degrees on Sun).
Again, I am only looking for 1.5moa or better gun, or sub-milk jug out to 400 yards. I coach them all if they can't hit 4/5 milk jugs from multiple field positions you havn't earned that distance yet.
If our load meets our parameters, I load them 50 rounds on new brass and let them shoot over a month or two, then load another 50 before season and shoot another 20 or so in Oct. They are usually pretty good and need to work on their nerves at that point, not their technique.
Thanks to all for your opinions. I hope we get lucky with this gun/load. Otherwise, this kid will use my Tikka in the same caliber for hunting this year until he can afford a better one of his own.
