TRG-S 338 LM Bedding Job Results

[Perkules]

As y´all know I have had problems with this thing. When I switched to 300 Matchkings the weird variations got worse and worse while the best groups got better. The start with this rifle was good but it got bad really fast and since then I´ve been trying to eliminate the possible causes one by one, that includes the shooter.


The downhill started at 200 rounds only, nothing was consistant except every now and then, especially in sub-zero temps things were pretty good. After shooting this five shot group the other day I took the rifle apart. What I found was crap. Pure crap in the real meaning of the word.


Here, 100 meters, bipod and sandbag on cartop, free recoil:

That´s an honest four or five inch group,folks.


You will find more about this job in another thread, anyway I did a careful bedding job including pillars and this is my WORST group of today´s test shooting, the first one after the epoxy dried:

The grid is not one inch, these are just printed targets that are not scaled. This is a 1.2" group having three shots within 0.47" and I didn´t let the rifle cool down at all plus the gun was in room temperature when I started. Low 30´s outside.

I shot five more five shot groups and they all stayed within 1.1 " and the POI drift was 0.4 maximum, logically to the left. That can be the shooter but anyway this is consistant now, as far as I understand.


I really prefer shooting consistant 1.2 " groups with the POI staying there, compared to occasional 0.35" groups somewhere else and then a 4" group every now and then... Within 1.2 MOA I´ll do good up to 500 meters every time when talking about that moose which is my reason to use this rifle in the first place. Whoa.

Do I win money now? Practising got quite motivating all of the suddden.

 

[Len Backus]

Quite an improvement. Does your rifle now have an after-market recoil lug?

 

[Perkules]

No it doesn´t.

In case this will not hold I´ll make a new lug and strengthen it up by bolting it through the sides. But the lug looked healthy, the problem has been in the fit so that the bolts have had all too much to do during recoil. Now the lug is finally at work.

 

[Sako7STW]

Petander,

A good freind of mine pointed out to me the other day something about Sako's. he has had several and does the same thing to each one. Once he has found his pet load he loads up about 25 of them and heads to the range. What he does is he takes a inchpounds (not foot pounds) torque wrench and tightens the action screws(or whatever they are called) to 30 inlbs and shoots a 3 shot group, then he tightens to 35 inlbs and shoots another group. he goes all the way up tp 50 inlbs. at that time he will then evaluate which setting yeilded the best group. Every gun has been different. the groups have varied as much as 3" in size. His latest gun shot a .6" group at 300 yards after doing the adjustment. Might be something to try and I am going to try it on my TRG-S as well. I usually just tightend them as tight as I could before.

 

[Brent]

Petander,
Nice improvement there! That's got to be refreshing!!

Sako,
One three shot group -
I guess you could tell what "didn't" work very quickly, just like one 3 shot group during any other test of something else might show too, but is this how he approaches it, i.e. heading away from poorest groups type deal and not necessarily focusing on the tightest one, possibly a "lucky" group?

I've heard of guys checking the same thing with reguard to tightening the clamping force on their barrel blocks to barrel, to tune them also. Something else I'll have to play with now.

 

[Sako7STW]

Brent,

By the time he has his pet load figured out he has a pretty good idea of what the gun is capable of. His shooting skills are top notch as well so that helps. He showed me the results of one said test and you can definatly tell where the sweet spot is. Of course once he is at that point he does several groups to rule out a "fluke". suprisingly it isnt always the tightest that is the best. He has 2 of the identicle gunsa and one liked 30 inlbs and the other liked 45-50 inlbs.

Sorry I'll be quiet now, I dont want to highjack the thread. Just thought that might help Petander get even better than his already awesome results. By the way can anyone point me towards his bedding thread?

 

[Brent]

Thanks Sako.

Just thought that might help Petander get even better than his already awesome results. Only reason I asked.

Petander

You've got me excited now! I hope my sons 308 shows that kind of improvement also!

 

[Perkules]

Thanks everyone!

Sako,here is is the bedding thread :

My Last Sako

That bolt tension thing makes sense, I will try it right away,thanks. For the last two days the groups have stayed the same, I really like this now because I actually know where the zero is and can work on loads and bullets. And I can practise,dammit!

My MK load is luckily pretty good, I know it up to 600 meters now. This may be fun after all but I really expected more from this rifle in the first place. No BR gun for sure but 5 MOA was a little too much even for a light hunting rifle.

IMO the stock is the real problem. Just too soft for the gentle Lapua.

 

[Dave King]

Petander

Good to hear it's working out a bit for you, the critters will not be so pleased I suspect

. All this puttering with the Sako took care of some of that long dark winter I'd guess.

Take Care

 

[Perkules]

Yes it did!

The dark time isn´t that long really. Three months ago we had five hours of daylight time, now we have twelve. In June the Sun barely goes down at all.

Winter is good time for reloading and hunting fox and snowshoes, for example. Snowshoe season lasts six months, deer about four. Also good time for LR practising in this kind backwoods where I live, easy to find places to shoot if you don´t mind walking or skiing out there in the swamps in all this snow. There´s nobody around and the noise gets absorbed ,good light too.

Time to roll some 225 SST:s now to confirm the trajectory and group at 400 meters.

BTW, I know most people would have given up on this rifle. I found this trip rather educational.

 

[NorthernSniper]

Petander, I would love to love Sako's but after the experiences I and others I have come accross have had I am very disapointed with Sako rifles. The first Sako I had was in the TRG-S 308 WarBird caliber, the firing pin assm. broke after the first 12 shots. By the way the firing pin in the TRG-S is retained by a very small diameter roll pin, if that pin breaks as a result of a pierced primer the firing pin can come straight back through your face. The second Sako was also a TRG-S 308 WarBird which pushed the first 3 bullets fired almost through the same hole @ 100yds. Well groups began to grow after 20 shots so I switched bullets and powder and got the groups down again, (Temporarily!!) Once again the groups at minimum loadings began to grow so I learned from this forum about relpacing the recoil lug and glass bedding the action which I did and this cut my group size in half (Temporarily!!). When groups again began to grow I sent the second rifle back! Now I have a Sako Hunter 75 SS 300WM as a temp gun for this hunting season. My conclusion is that Sako barrels are the absolute ***** scince they went away from cut rifling to cold hammered barrels. If you look at the cold hammered barrels you can see that the rifling is faint and almost non existant at the muzzle and poorly defined through out. I think they are an O.K. meat gun for the average 100yd Joe but not for the serious enthusiast. The best route undoubtedly is to buy a McMillan stock, a 700 Mag action and a RockCreek barrel and have a good gunsmith assemble it for you!