Will truing or blueprinting an action increase accuracy that much?

[MudRunner2005]

I have a 700 that is doing about 1 MOA using reloads. I've been on the fence about selling it or working with it. Thought about doing a recrown on it but didn't think it would do much. Anything more requires much more work/$$. It just collects dust. My local gun smith says a new barrel is of much better value than action work.

The crown can make a big difference...If your factory crown is uneven or damaged.

Also, proper bedding and torquing of the action screws can make a huge difference.

Get action work/blueprinting done at the same time the new barrel gets installed...If your action isn't square, then your new barrel will not be living up to it's maximum potential, and you won't be doing your rifle any justice.

 

[JDD]

quality barrel with a good bore , is paramount ! A true chamber dead in line with that bore is paramount. bedding is a must! Those three thing make up 95%of a top end rifle. With out any tor hose 3 things it doest matter how well the lugs have been lapped or how fine the fit is on the threading of the barrel extension or how square the face of the receiver is. Those things help in forming quality fire formed brass for reloading after the shot is fired. The bullet hitting the leade dead on and not being deformed due to miss alignment then leaving a good muzzle the same time during barrel vibrations is what it is all about. Good triggers and stock design means more than the other stuff in shoot ability.

 

[hemiford]

Hello Gents,
I respect, and am very grateful for, information provided by the experts on this
forum.
Having said this, please allow me to make the following remarks.
The bullet only knows the barrel. The barrel is sacred.
I don't see how a few thousandths of an inch (at most) of machining correction on
the receiver can affect accuracy all that much.
Bedding I can understand. Shooting technique I can understand.
Am I that ignorant or stubborn ?

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Hello Gents,
I respect, and am very grateful for, information provided by the experts on this
forum.
Having said this, please allow me to make the following remarks.
The bullet only knows the barrel. The barrel is sacred.
I don't see how a few thousandths of an inch (at most) of machining correction on
the receiver can affect accuracy all that much.
Bedding I can understand. Shooting technique I can understand.
Am I that ignorant or stubborn ?

Harmonics are how we tune a rifle barrel. Binding in an action and poor lug contact have an effect on barrel harmonics just like poor bedding that allows movement or stress.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Hello Gents,
I respect, and am very grateful for, information provided by the experts on this
forum.
Having said this, please allow me to make the following remarks.
The bullet only knows the barrel. The barrel is sacred.
I don't see how a few thousandths of an inch (at most) of machining correction on
the receiver can affect accuracy all that much.
Bedding I can understand. Shooting technique I can understand.
Am I that ignorant or stubborn ?

If your receiver face and bolt face are out of square, you cannot be making full lug contact with the receiver, which means you have unequal pressure on your bolt, and your chamber will not be square to your bolt, and your brass is not going to form square with your chamber. This means that there will be unequal pressure on your barrel, affecting your harmonics, which will in-turn affect your accuracy.

There is a reason blueprinting is such a popular practice, and it has nothing to do with alchemy, magic, or old wives tales.

 

[Barrelnut]

I think all of this truing also helps keep the cartridge case head square with the chamber in the barrel. Otherwise the case head does not set flush with the bolt face, another thing that gets trued up by the way. If the case head and bolt face are not flush the case can deflect some in the chamber and affect bullet alignment to the bore. and zing.... you got a flyer. Also your brass then has a case head that is not square to its case body. Nit picky stuff but, in theory, it either all adds up or cancels each other out. As in most things your eliminating variables to get a more predictable result.

 

[JDD]

Harmonics are how we tune a rifle barrel. Binding in an action and poor lug contact have an effect on barrel harmonics just like poor bedding that allows movement or stress.

i disagree.. When a round is forced into a true chamber even if only one lug is engaged not much can go wrong, but a action moving in a stock different story.

 

[JDD]

I think all of this truing also helps keep the cartridge case head square with the chamber in the barrel. Otherwise the case head does not set flush with the bolt face, another thing that gets trued up by the way. If the case head and bolt face are not flush the case can deflect some in the chamber and affect bullet alignment to the bore. and zing.... you got a flyer. Also your brass then has a case head that is not square to its case body. Nit picky stuff but, in theory, it either all adds up or cancels each other out. As in most things your eliminating variables to get a more predictable result.

only matters when you reload that case

 

[JDD]

Hello Gents,
I respect, and am very grateful for, information provided by the experts on this
forum.
Having said this, please allow me to make the following remarks.
The bullet only knows the barrel. The barrel is sacred.
I don't see how a few thousandths of an inch (at most) of machining correction on
the receiver can affect accuracy all that much.
Bedding I can understand. Shooting technique I can understand.
Am I that ignorant or stubborn ?

Very true, A very lucky shooter will own a rifle that will shoot down into .001 once in a life time! I been lucky 3 times!

 

[Alex Wheeler]

i disagree.. When a round is forced into a true chamber even if only one lug is engaged not much can go wrong, but a action moving in a stock different story.

You can disagree, however it has actually be tested. Lug contact has a large effect on the vibrations in a barrel. Its not really a debatable topic. Pick up a copy of "rifle accuracy facts"...

 

[Frank in the Laurels]

Unless your taking the whole pie there's no use wasting time and money...in a hunting rifle used from 400 under it's not needed, you are shooting at a target in size from a basketball to as beach ball...just not needed. Look at the wear marks on your locking lugs, are they touching and showing signs of wear and tear. Good, it's fine...is one touching and the other not, yours needs help.. Target/competition, that's another story..there every little bit helps, barred, chamber, dies, trigger, bedding, stock, truing the action and most important..your shooting ability !

 

[JDD]

Don t miss understand what i am saying. Rifles don t get interesting until the shoot under a 1/4 moa. If I am building a match rifle, I surely going to blue print the action. That blue printing is the smallest part of the equation! I worked as a apprentice as a young man in a gun shop. I can't tell you how many rifles i tore down to clean where only one lug had contact and were still considered very accurate. I seen marlin 336 shoot 1/2 moa. with good hand loads. There are a ton of AR match guns that shoot sub 1/2 moa groups. The savage known for their accuracy hold the barrels on with a nut! The blazers with interchangeable barrels shoot well! Go to your gun safe and measure the inside dia , of the relief machined into the bolt face ,measure the dia of several case heads . You will be surprised how much wiggle room is designed into the system. and how much the case heads vary. If the bore quality is good , the chamber true, the muzzle proper, If the rounds heads spaces properly "even if only on one lug contacts, and the spec on barrel threading is a little loose} that rifle will shoot! as long as nothing comes loose and it does t move in the stock. Blue printing accurate rifle is like putting lipstick on a pretty lady. If she did no t start out pretty its not going to make that much of a difference.

 

[bigngreen]

If you have an issue being caused by a surface in the action being misaligned then truing helps, I've seen a couple rifles that would shoot excellent groups AFTER the cold bore shot that simply squaring up the lugs and receiver face solved but there was an issue there that could be chases, if a gun has no issue then there is a list of other things to first to bring the most accuracy out of the rifle as a system and as the shooter.

 

[JDD]

the important goal of the truing is getting the bolt face to push the round straight into the chamber.