22-250 Shoots better when barrel is hot

[rbseagle]

Thursday last week I went to the range with my Winchester M70 HV in 22-250 with some reloads to see how they would shoot. I had two different loads 1 was a 53 smk over 40gr H380 the 2nd was a 60gr v-max over 30gr of IMR-3031. I also had some factory loaded Hornady 35gr that I was given. The 1st group of 5 with the 53gr was 1" with non of the holes touching, the 2nd group was 1 1/2", and the 3rd group was 1 1/8" very disappointing. I did all these groups letting the barrel cool between shots a minute or two in no hurry. The 60gr started out the same way 1" 1st group, 1 1/4" 2nd group, well on the third group I did not wait that long after the 3rd group of the 60gr to start by 3rd 5 shot group. The first bullet hit a little low, but the next 4 was inside of 3/8". The barrel was pretty hot at this time so I let cool for 30 minutes before starting with the factory stuff. The 1st group of the factory was 1 1/8" 6 shot group. I let the barell cool a little while, and then I started on the second group. The 1st three shots measured 1 1/4" then not letting the barrel cool any I shot 7 more rounds one right after the other, and they measured 3/8". The hotter the barrel gets the better it shoots, but I am talking about hot. What is the deal? Is the barrel in some kind of stress cold and not when it is hot? Any light on the subject would be great. I hate to have to shoot the rifle like that to get good groups.

Thanks rbseagle

 

[pacificman]

Sounds like the rifle needs to be glass bedded and free float the barrel. If that is already been done then you could experiment with shimming between stock and barrel. Just my thoughts anyway as a place to start.

 

[rbseagle]

the barrel is free floated, but not glass bedded. I have been thinking of having that done maybe it is time to bit the bullet and get it done

 

[25AI260]

loosen the rear action screw a little bit...

 

[Dave T]

I don't know enough to tell you how to fix your problem, but I do know for sure that if you keep shooting that gun blazing hot, that can be a real problem.
Dave T

 

[CaptainMal]

Right,

Shoot it hot, hot, hot and your barrel life will be not, not, not.

Try something.

 

[MrMajestic]

Check to see if it still floats when it's hot. Maybe when it expands due to the heat it is touching the stock and your barrel doesn't care to be floated. I have never had a barrel that doesn't shoot better when floated but heard it happens. JMHO

 

[jonbearman]

What kind of rifle are we talking about? Bedding is critical on Winchesters as they seem to move around more than say a Remington. Get it bedded by someone reputable and have them make sure it is free floated.

 

[lpreddick]

shooting a 22-250 till "hot" will definitely eat the bore...i did just that. 8 twist shooting 80 gr smks and you could not touch the barrel. the bore looked like a dry creekbed with pieces missing. do what they said.

 

['Freak]

Bed it so when tightening the action screws you are not forcing the receiver to conform to the stock.

 

[drover]

Tighten the front and rear action screws very snugly, regarding the screw just in front of the trigger guard it tighten it until you feel just begin to feel resistance, that may, or may not, help alleviate the issue.

If the rifle truly shoots better with the barrel hot then it is probably a stress issue with the barrel as it heats and reality is that there is not a lot that can be done about that, but do the simple stuff first such as mentioned about the screw torques. I have cured many poor shooting Win model 70's by nothing more than loosening the center screw.

In actuality you have shot such a small sample that there is no real evidence as to whether the barrel truly does shoot better hot, what you may have encountered may be no more than a statistical anomaly.

drover

 

[searcher]

I believe a lot of the guys are on the mark regarding the need for good bedding, etc.. If the bedding does not work, it may point to a barrel that contains a lot of internal stresses resultant from the manufacturing process. You hear a lot about guns getting weird when they heat up, causing vertical stringing, etc. - your stresses may simply be showing their worst in the cold state.

 

[bhoges]

I would agree the barrel might be stressed and once it hot it settles in. Thats why custom barrels cost so much. I would think a bedding issue would cause problems across the board.