Diagnosing Hunting Rifle Accuracy, Part Two

Given a customer rifle, let’s take some specifics to determine how to proceed in different situations. I know that many of you have different ways of doing things. I am going to present some of the tips and techniques that have helped me over the years in my quest for accurate rifles. Feel free to disagree but no death threats please. For anew rifle that won’t shoot anything well, tighten everything— all stock screws, scope mounts, and rings. Make sure the scope is mounted correctly.

Check the barrel and crown with a bore scope for any factory flaws. If nothing looks overtly amiss, I stop here for now. Hopefully your customer will have brought targets as proof of his claims. Ask him about ammunition used and if he used a benchrest. This one from Brownells (080-000-515) is high quality. Remember inch-pounds, not foot-pounds. Inch groups are still hard to come by for most shooters with virgin factory rifles and ammunition. This could be more the shooter’s fault than the rifle.

I have some representative groups from stock rifles to show my customer to determine if they are about the same as his. If his gun is really shooting poorly, send it back to the manufacturer with the targets. If the gun is sent back to the customer with no explanation and shoots no better, ask your customer if they want to go further before starting accurizing. With used just-bought rifles I perform the same checks before continuing standard procedures to enhance accuracy.

Rifles can be thought of as several systems brought together to form a whole. I like to break down my projects into separate components (action, barrel, stock, trigger, and sighting system) that together yield a good shooting rifle. For the action, check the contact of the bolt lugs in their seats. Many factory rifles will have contact with one lug (assuming two lugs) and very little or no contact with the other lug.

Lapping the lugs is the answer, but this may create excess headspace requiring the barrel be set back and rechambered, a serious expense and not to be taken casually. If bolt misalignment is really egregious it should be done, but I have rifles that aren’t perfect in this regard that shoot well. Blueprinting and truing the action is another big step that, although it certainly can help, is probably overkill in trying to get a factory rifle to shoot better.

For 7mm-.30 caliber rifles, a goal of about 1-1.5" three-shot groups at one hundred yards is good enough for that rifle’s intended purpose. Some of them might shoot better, but I’m happy with consistent groups in that range. Yes, five or ten-shot groups area better indicator of a rifle’s real

35 Whelen Remington CDL. At least it is round and not "stringing." This rifle will do better but don’t let your customers expect one MOA groups without some tweaking. This is what it should look like. accuracy potential, but I am talking hunting rifles here. The barrel may be the most important part of this equation. A bad barrel will not shoot anything well. A good barrel will shoot everything at least adequately and some loads very well.

Most factory barrels are in between these extremes, but some can really surprise us. I’m not going to pick on any brand because all of them have the potential to shoot great groups. I had a rifle that was known as a generally accurate brand but gave me a fit. I used bullets that were also regarded accurate but couldn’t get this gun to live up to its potential. I glass bedded the wooden stock, free-floated the barrel, lapped the scope rings, and to pillar bedded it.

I could have hunted with this rifle, being accurate enough for that, but I wanted more. I did bore scope the barrel early on and wasn’t impressed. Chatter marks were all over it, but scoping many other barrels from this same manufacturer revealed the same flaws and some of them were highly accurate. I tried several bullets and found one respected as accurate and highly regarded as an excellent hunting bullet. It gives good, consistent, round groups that I can be satisfied with.

I still feel that this rifle needs anew barrel, but several deer have fallen to it without any problems using the new bullet combination, so what the heck? Barrels are funny things. Some look like they should shoot like a house afire and usually do, but some won’t. Some look like crap but still manage Since they must be cleaned from the muzzle, damage to the crown is a strong possibility. All can shoot well. to produce adequate accuracy. If your customer is adamant, maybe anew, custom barrel is in order.

Just be sure to mention the cost up front. Some will ask why I haven’t mentioned the crown as a main culprit in our dilemma. That’s because if I look at the crown under magnification and can’t see any obvious flaws, it isn’t. A minor flaw in the crown will usually cause unexplained fliers and may contribute to a larger group, but won’t usually cause overly-large groups. Cut anew one if you feel like it but don’t expect much benefit unless you are

I put a lot of pressure on this one. It was OK. correcting severe damage. I look at the crown first and last, but I always do check it. There is no question that a really screwed-up crown will defeat our purpose, but let’s keep this part of the equation in perspective. I once owned a rifle with four inches of rifling missing about halfway down the barrel. Guess what? It didn’t shoot very well. If you find something like this return your gun to the factory.

They usually will stand behind obvious problems in manufacture. Now for the stock. If your rifle doesn’t have a good base it doesn’t matter if your barreled action is perfect or not, it still won’t shoot to its potential. By the same token, if your barrel is a stinker all the glass bedding in the world won’t do much good. If your customer’s rifle has a wood stock look for glazed areas along the barrel channel that indicate where the barrel is touching the stock.

If there are some, this barrel may benefit from free-floating. Some ‘smiths still advocate fully bedding the barrel in epoxy for best accuracy. I am not going to dispute this but I think each rifle will let you know which is best. The old trick of using some business cards to try a pressure point at the end of the barrel to soften barrel harmonics could reveal a fix. Many factory stocks, both synthetic and wood, come with a pressure point in this area.

I don’t hold myself smarter Polyurethane products can seal a basketball court against Lebron James. Good enough for me. Instead of adjusting the original I recommend replacing it. than the boys that created this rifle. If the gun shoots OK I don’t mess with it, but if I’m not satisfied I free-float the barrel. You can always put it back. There is a consensus among many, but not an absolute agreement, that free floating is best for top accuracy. This includes synthetic as well as wood stocks.

However, there is free floating and not really floating. Some synthetic stocks have a serious gap in the area between the barrel channel and barrel. Old-time ‘smiths prided

It is acceptable for a hunting rifle, not necessarily for precision shooting. Manufacturers will usually stand behind their products. This is one of the first things to check if a trusted rifle suddenly goes bad. themselves in bedding this area very closely and precisely. Even today I read reviews of rifles that extol the maker’s ability to keep the stock line gap almost nonexistent. Take one of these guns and squeeze the barrel and tip of the stock together.

Most likely the synthetic stock will bend enough to touch the barrel and wood stocks can do the same. If this is the case, how can the barrel not be expected to slap into the stock when it is fired and vibrating like a rattler’s tail? If free floating, hog out the barrel channel well and use some tape wrapped around the barrel when you bed it to get it up and away from the stock. This must be done with aesthetics in mind but there is a fragile balance that can be achieved with care.

Bedding the action can be done by only addressing the area around the recoil lug (many factories now do this with some kind of sticky goo) or including the rear tang and the whole action. I don’t like the stuff they are putting in there. If it’s my rifle I pull it out. I am not second guessing the manufacturers, I just have the time and inclination to do the bedding myself. I usually bed the tang and recoil lug including about two inches of barrel, free floating the rest.

If I am not bedding the entire action I like a little clearance in that area. This has worked well for me on wood stocks.

Some synthetic No matter what some folks may have told you, small groups are easier to come using higher magnification than 4X. stocks will not hold any epoxy and there is very little you can do with them except try to get a good fit and make sure the barrel is really free floated (although most have a pressure point installed at the factory.) Many of the ones I’ve seen lately from the factories have the sticky bedding in the recoil area. It might be best to leave it alone.

It depends on the particular rifle of course. Try the manufacturer’s version first before modifying the stock.

One other factor to consider when your customer is shooting off a benchrest to try and make little holes is if the stock actually fits him. A guy who is getting pounded from every shot cannot shoot good groups. I went to my range one day for maintenance at the 200 yard bench and met up with a fellow trying to sight in a .300 Winchester Magnum with 190 grain factory loads. He had just bought the gun. For the caliber it was a relatively light rifle.

My shoulder started to hurt watching this guy struggle with the recoil. Why he was trying to sight in at that distance I don’t know but he confided this was the first time he had shot it. He never did get close to shooting a group and was highly dissatisfied. I’ve had rifles and shotguns that weren’t stocked well for me that I couldn’t shoot without getting slammed in the cheek. I sold the ones that I didn’t restock.

No one can shoot well when anticipating a smack in the face from a prize fighter every time they pull the trigger. This could be a real problem which your customer doesn’t want or doesn’t think to talk about. Most men don’t want to come crying that his gun kicks the hell out of him. Many will just tough it out. Women are usually smarter. A good stock fit, a decent recoil pad, maybe a muzzle brake, or maybe a step down in caliber will do wonders.

We aren’t psychologists, but these types of problems can be worked out if we look for them. When dealing with a wooden stock I recommend sealing all spots unprotected by stock finish with polyurethane products. After you’ve hogged out the barrel channel, coat it well and let it sink in. Another coat won’t hurt. Don’t forget the buttstock under the recoil pad and perhaps inside the action mortise.

Although I’m not sure that anything can totally stop a wood stock from warping, this step can help to keep your accuracy improvement efforts viable. How about the trigger? Most of the factory triggers area lot better than the lawyer-heavy ones of just a few years ago. It appears that the ambulance chasers haven’t figured out away to bamboozle a jury when it comes to such products as the Savage Accu Trigger and similar units from other makers.

All of these triggers are good and welcome and don’t need any introduction by me. All of them are user adjustable and can be brought to a great pull without too much trouble. However, there are still plenty of rifles out there with the older style triggers attached. We used to adjust them as a matter of course. Nowadays, I hesitate because of legal liability. If you suspect that a trigger is giving your customer problems with his accuracy shooting I recommend installing anew one.

Timney, Jewell, Rifle Basix, and others have triggers for almost any rifle, are relatively inexpensive, easy to adjust, and come with clear instructions. They should make your customer happy and will take some of the heat off you. Here’s my favorite problem: The old reliable rifle that has suddenly went sour. You and your customer know this rifle is supposed to shoot. It’s your job to figure out why it won’t. Again, check for tight screws. This is probably the most common cause for a gun to start acting up.

This is about the same as those trouble shooting guides you get with appliances (Is there is gas in your mower? Is the dryer plugged in?) I look at the scope critically even if it’s been mounted for awhile. You will see streaks of finish scraped off if it moved in the mounts. An easy fix is to lap the rings and maybe apply a little rosin. Be aware, if a heavy scope is mounted on a big kicker something could me amiss.

Heavy recoil plus high scope weight is an indication of potential trouble, especially with the current trend of using the highest magnification scope possible. Does your customer have a "scope cut?" Something is wrong with his bench shooting technique or there is a bad or mismatched scope mounting. There are easy fixes for this, but look at the rifle and the shooter as well. I like to use the analogy of the mechanic who takes your car in for service to change your windshield wipers.

When you get it back you find that your brakes don’t work. "Well, you didn’t ask me to fix that." Try to go a little beyond that kind of thinking. Your customer will appreciate it. Don’t discount the notion of a scope, even a high dollar special, going bad. Usually if a scope holds up through a hundred rounds or so it should be OK, but bad things happen to good scopes. This can be checked by running the scope through its paces on a collimator and by mounting a proven scope to compare.

Scopes that have a problem should be returned to the manufacturer with targets of before and after to prove your point. They usually repair or replace a bad scope without any hassle. Sighting systems are important for small groups. I have a Model 94 Winchester .30-30 with peep sights and can shoot better groups than with the traditional buckhorn sights, at least off the bench. That isn’t to say that factory sights would cost me a deer in the woods.

A trainload of venison taken with traditional sights is a pretty good argument that they work. What about lever actions and pumps? What can you do with rifles that wear two-piece stocks and clean from the front of the barrel? Take things as a whole. Evaluate the shooter, the targets, and the gun. A vague, "This thing won’t shoot," doesn’t tell us much, although there are techniques we all have where we can start the process to make sure this type of a gun can shoot to its potential.

Start by checking if anything is loose and for any obvious problems. These guns can definitely have a problem at the crown and further down the barrel due to cleaning rod wear. If the crown can be repaired all is well and good, but if the barrel is damaged

there’s not much you can do except replace it or maybe shorten it to remove the offending area. Now is the time to discuss bore guides with your guy. Some of these guns shoot very well, but your customer’s expectations may be unrealistic. I always use three-shot groups with these types of rifles and score them for hunting accuracy using factory ammunition. Scope mounting is just as important as with any other rifle. If a guy comes in with a 6-24X scope mounted on a .30-30 I’ve immediately got my doubts.

But, winning hearts and minds when your customer has his mind made up can be whimsical at times. One thing I do agree with is that although good groups are possible with a 4X scope at 100 yards, it’s easier to shoot one with a 3-9X set on nine power. I have a little Ruger lever action I’m fond of that wears a Weaver 1- 3X variable. I use a lot of cheap paper plates as targets marking my aiming points with abroad ink pen. When Complete your American Gunsmith collection. Or read up on a special subject!

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