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Savage 111 long range issue

Went to the range and put about 50 more rounds downrange trying to develop a load. I had one that shot decent but am still getting flyers here and there so the gun is going to the gunsmith to see whats wrong.
 
Hello, I'm having a problem with my new savage in 6.5x .284 Norma. I have only been able to get it to group for the first two to three shots. I've changed my loads, changed my scope, I don't know what to do with the stock.... I went to the range today with a new scope and my first three shot group was less than .5" at 100yds. Then my next group I had two in the same hole with about a 3" flier. My next shot was 4" from my point of aim so I quit. I took the stock off the gun to see if it had a wedge to remove but it did not. I can't see how you would glass bed it with all of the aluminum in the stock. Also I don't want to send it to Savage for 6 weeks, it's hunting season. I could use some suggestions from someone who may have had this problem. Thanks, Josh.

ever thought it could be the shooters fault too? Most savage rifles out of the box are just as or more accurate than the remington 700...
 
Related shimming question for a Savage 11: Best my groups have been are about 1.5 inch at 100yds with 100g Speer Soft Point Boat tails. I have not checked the stock for any contact points yet but I have noticed that the dollar bill test seems a little snug to me. My question is about weather to sand the stock AND shim the front pillar or just do one. Another question with shimming, I have seen videos of people putting the shims just in front of the aluminum pillar but wouldn't it be better to find/make a thin washer that could just go right on the pillar/screw? It seems like it would be more solid metal on metal then having the shims be between metal and plastic stock... Thoughts?:)
 
Related shimming question for a Savage 11: Best my groups have been are about 1.5 inch at 100yds with 100g Speer Soft Point Boat tails. I have not checked the stock for any contact points yet but I have noticed that the dollar bill test seems a little snug to me. My question is about weather to sand the stock AND shim the front pillar or just do one. Another question with shimming, I have seen videos of people putting the shims just in front of the aluminum pillar but wouldn't it be better to find/make a thin washer that could just go right on the pillar/screw? It seems like it would be more solid metal on metal then having the shims be between metal and plastic stock... Thoughts?:)

My experience with the plastic savage stocks is that the tight areas are a small section at the tip or along the barrel channel. It's more of a stock irregularity issue and can be cleaned up with some sandpaper very easily. Shimming works better when the issue is an action alignment issue with the stock bedding. In that case, I would agree with you and keep it metal on metal, but also do some glass bedding for additional support. If it was a cheap Tupperware stock, I would consider replacing it before going through all that. I would try opening it up with sandpaper first and see what happens. This all assumes your load is optimized.
 
Related shimming question for a Savage 11: Best my groups have been are about 1.5 inch at 100yds with 100g Speer Soft Point Boat tails. I have not checked the stock for any contact points yet but I have noticed that the dollar bill test seems a little snug to me. My question is about weather to sand the stock AND shim the front pillar or just do one. Another question with shimming, I have seen videos of people putting the shims just in front of the aluminum pillar but wouldn't it be better to find/make a thin washer that could just go right on the pillar/screw? It seems like it would be more solid metal on metal then having the shims be between metal and plastic stock... Thoughts?:)

move upto a 140 grain bullet, and see if that makes a difference. You maybe over spinning the bullet for it's B/C (probably around a .3 B/C at best). The 140 grain bullets usually run in the .40+ area, and will make better use of the case capacity.

The pillars can be a crap shoot, as the very first ones Savage did were done wrong from the factory. Think they've long since corrected this issue. A shim is a temporary fix to a problem that needs to be fixed if it's even there. The problem is usually on the point closest to the recoil lug. I have seen the rear of the reciever in a bind and the stock needed a little bit of reliefe in that area.

The first Savage I pillar bedded was several years before Savage offered it on the guns. I made my own pillars, and they fit very well. But I think I did mine slightly different that the way Savage did theirs. After installation, I went back and recut the bottom area where it mates with the trigger guard so that there was a .01" to .015" step to make sure everything tightens up all the way. (also a good place to check)

For the barrel, I'd hunt up a piece of wood dowl rod that's about 3/4" in diameter and some 80 grit sand paper. Then relieve the barrel channel for at least .06" clearence all the way around. (some like more and others like less, but that's a good starting point. Also check to see if the handle on the bolt is binding up against the stock. I've seen this a few times, and the fix is easy. Also if the stock is one of the standard synthetic ones, you may want to beef up the forend ( recycled arrows work well). The forend of those stocks are know to flex a lot.
gary
 
I have somewhat of this same issue with my LRH 6.5-284. I have about 85 rounds through it so it should be broke in. I've been cleaning it with hoppes no9, which I thought was a copper solvent. Maybe it's not appropriate for barrel break in. I've also been using a 12x scope and doing load developement at 200 and 350 yards. I don't know if lack of scope power is effecting my point of aim or maybe I've already got too much copper built up if hoppes no9 won't take it out. I put a new 20x scope on it today and gave it a thorough cleaning, with the no9 still but I cleaned it a lot. My best groups so far have been at .07 off the lans with 57.5 grains of Retumbo. I have some more test loads at .06 first time trying that and some at .07 and dropping the powder from 57.5 to 57 grains of Retumbo. I am allowing 2-3 minutes to cool between shots and at 300yards the first two shots are 1'' apart then the 3rd and 4th are 2-1/2" away and not together. I do not have a torque driver to check the screws. I took the stock off to adjust the trigger and float the stock. I have no idea how to get the screws tension right now. I have looked for a cheap torque driver but can't find one.
 
Thanks Greyfox and Trickymissfit, I forgot to put in there that its a .243Win but none the less. I will start with the sanding and go from there. I know there are lots of ways to skin the cat (and coyote:)) that range in price and man hours but I figure get the most out my current setup with as little cash as possible.
 
a few points that may help folks with the bedding screws every so slightly. Leastwise they work well for me anyway.

* buy a small tin of Neversieze with Nickel. Forget the Loctite Antisieze as the stuff is garbage. A small tin of it will last you a very long time as you don't use very much of it. Put a very light coat of it on the screw threads and also your barrel nut & barrel threads!

* torque wrenches are a crap shoot. sometimes you get a great one and othertimes you get a junk one. When you get into small inch pound stuff at least buy one with a dial read out. The ones that break over with a snap don't do all that well in very light settings. I use a Snap On unit that I picked up on Ebay for about $75. It's made like a screwdriver with the read out dial built into it, and is very accurate. Look for one that readsout to about 75 in.lb. max.
Prior to the Snapon I used a Sturdevant that was of conventional design with the dial. Worked pretty good, but didn't like really low settings. I gave it away, but it was a fine wrench. Also had a 1/4" Proto and another Snap On, but they just didn't work all that well for watching a very small thread tighten up. Gave them away as well. I might toss in here that the Snap On unit I use right now is not their best one. I had one of those, and it had a digital read out that was extremely accurate down to one inch pound (had all them calibrated). But it was also three times the price of the one I now use. For what I used it for it was a had to have thing (used it building machinery). It would be well over the top for anything to do with firearms.

gary
 
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