.300 Win Mag Accuracy Woes

[SixFive]

So a year ago a purchased a Savage 116 Bear Hunter second hand, it was like new. This is a 23" barreled in a 1:10twist rifle with a brake that can be turned on and off, stainless fluted barrel. I replaced the Accustock with a nice Bell and Carlson full aluminum bed stock. They say it is 23" but they count the brake, I say its more like 20 or at most 21"

My bullet of choice was to be the Federal Terminal Ascent 175gr which I scored 200 of these rare birds. I have run through RL25,RL22,RL19,RL16,H1000,4831SC and Reloder 16 has been the most accurate so far, the best group I can get is 1.5" at 100 yards.

I am simply not satisfied with this. I noticed the rifle likes 150gr bullets better than heavier 175gr still not tight enough but better, I am wondering if it is the shorter barrel? Browsing the Internet I found a few other people who are experiencing the same issue with the same model rifle.

I am going to try an experiment, I am going to load a ladder of BARNES 110gr with H4350 and see if it likes it. I see 84.5gr is the MAX at 3807fps in a 24: barrel. I probably should split the difference and load 130gr BARNES but I have the 110gr on hand. All I hunt is White Tail at a max range of 300yards, I think a 110gr Barnes at 3600+ would be devastating if it will shoot them.

Barnes are funny bullets in their own right, some guns LOVE them and some seem to have issues with them, I have a .257 Weatherby Magnum that shoots 1 hole with the Barnes TTSX 100gr.

I am really just thinking out loud, what are your thoughts? If I cannot get this rifle down to at least .5 MOA I am going to rebarrel it, of the many rifles I have built and bought nothing but this one shoots less than that. Frustrating.....

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

Have you checked if the action is being flexed/warped by the action screws? Does the point of impact shift between brake on and off?

 

[SixFive]

Have you checked if the action is being flexed/warped by the action screws? Does the point of impact shift between brake on and off?

I do not think it is being warped, I have the correct torque spec on the screws, I have never shot it with the brake "turned off" but I did try a tuner brake that did not improve it at all so I put the factory brake back on.

 

[ShtrRdy]

Do you have a bore scope? Maybe there's something wrong in the bore or chamber. Or maybe it just needs a really good cleaning.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

Is the grouping round, or stringing horizontal, vertical, diagonal? I haven't tried the terminal accents, but reports are good accuracy, even factory ammo.

 

[Belton45]

I have a 300WM in route now. Hopefully mine likes everything.

 

[Rodney]

I second the bore scope. If you don’t have access to one, then a thorough cleaning would be my next option.

 

[SixFive]

I second the bore scope. If you don’t have access to one, then a thorough cleaning would be my next option.

Great thoughts but I did use my borescope and see no issues, also it was fully cleaned, made no difference. As I am not the only one with this model having the same issue I suspect something more systemic. I am guessing moving to a lighter bullet may help as stepping down to the 150gr tightened the group some, about 1 MOA.

 

[46and2]

Borescopes will tell you if your barrel is clean. It will not tell you if a rifle is accurate.
Never look down a Savage bore, just shoot it.

BTW, it's second hand rifle. No one sells their outstandingly accurate rifle. They sell off their problem rifle.

Just re barrel it, it's easy and probably cheaper than cramming hundreds of rounds down an inaccurate barrel trying to get it to shoot 1/2 moa.

 

[pikespeakgoat]

Does it suffer from the same woes when placed in the accustock too?

 

[Ranger188]

Did you check the brake for carbon buildup?
Is the barrel free floated back to the action?

If you don't have confidence in it after all this, sell it.

 

[SixFive]

Does it suffer from the same woes when placed in the accustock too?

Yes it did

 

[SixFive]

Did you check the brake for carbon buildup?
Is the barrel free floated back to the action?

If you don't have confidence in it after all this, sell it.

I will not sell it, I will rebuild it if it continues. Tear it down, blueprint it and put a 26" X-Caliber barrel on it.

 

[KMart]

I do not think it is being warped, I have the correct torque spec on the screws, I have never shot it with the brake "turned off" but I did try a tuner brake that did not improve it at all so I put the factory brake back on.

A couple of things. You bought a used rifle and It won't shoot less than 1.5" at 100 yards. That may be why the original owner got rid of it. If it was my rifle, I would be looking at a barrel change out.

Aluminum bedding blocks. They are a great idea but the action and block fitting can still induce stress and cause problems. I have chased that rabbit down the hole myself. You will need a proper STRESS FREE bedding to correct this. Do a search, here, for AlNyhus. He has supplied a lot of info on how to check for and properly bed an action that is stress free.

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[SeabeeKen]

I bought a Savage 10mp many years ago in 223. Thing was never very accurate, about .7" and accuracy dropped worse fast. Borescope revealed a bore that looked like grandmas washboard. Looked like the button chattered all the way down the tube. Roughest bore I've ever seen. Copper fouled in 2 shots. Bought a 20 Vartarg barrel for it and never looked back. Shoots under .1 now and using the same tupperware stock. Changed out the trigger too, which helped. Shot tons of Barnes bullets over the decades and taken countless deer with them. They always shot well for me, .5 or better. IME, they liked to jump .030-.050 with one exception. My 280AI liked .010.
Try the 110 barnes and if it wont shoot then I'd rebarrel. Can you post some pics of the throat and bore?

 

[Frankm]

Maybe it’s a no go for you but if you want to see if the rifle will shoot try some other bullets in it. Heavier, lighter, flat base, etc.

Some rifles just dislike certain bullets and could be that.

 

[K22]

I don't and never have owned a 300 Win Mag, but I have a few friends that do, and I have helped them with tuning theirs over the years preparing for big game hunts in the West and / or Canada.

First, I never understood what a mfg. would produce this caliber in any barrel length less than 24", 26" being even better. In order for this caliber to reach its full potential with large charges of slow burning powder, a long barrel is needed. Otherwise, you're getting 308 to 30 06 velocities.

Second, most shooters I know that buy this caliber do so for hunting heavy big game. A 1 1/2" group is more than adequate. It takes a very seasoned rifleman to handle the recoil off the bench to shoot a 1/2 moa assuming the rifle is capable of that level of accuracy in a sporter weight rifle.

Lastly, before I re-barreled or dumped the rifle, given the relatively short barrel, I would try some faster burning powders with 150 grain bullets. In addition, I would reassess the intended purpose for this rifle and make my decision as to the disposition accordingly.

 

[CNC-Dude]

I bought a Savage 110 Tactical in .300 WinMag a few years ago. It shot just like yours did at first. Everything was loose on it, the scope rail, action screws and even the scope came loose after my first range session. I didn't find all of this at once, but once I did realize all the issues and corrected them it began shooting 3 shots inside a dime at 100 yards.....

 

[nmkid]

Second, most shooters I know that buy this caliber do so for hunting heavy big game. A 1 1/2" group is more than adequate. It takes a very seasoned rifleman to handle the recoil off the bench to shoot a 1/2 moa assuming the rifle is capable of that level of accuracy in a sporter weight rifle.

That is very true for me. I lived in Wyoming for many years and the 300 Win Mag was my preferred choice for elk. My 300 was a REM 700 and, for the life of me, I could not get it to shoot less than 1" consistently. At that time "pennies in my pocket" weren't readily available to think about a new barrel. I went with it anyway...Over the years, many elk hated that rifle.

 

[coldboreshot]

So a year ago a purchased a Savage 116 Bear Hunter second hand, it was like new. This is a 23" barreled in a 1:10twist rifle with a brake that can be turned on and off, stainless fluted barrel. I replaced the Accustock with a nice Bell and Carlson full aluminum bed stock. They say it is 23" but they count the brake, I say its more like 20 or at most 21"

My bullet of choice was to be the Federal Terminal Ascent 175gr which I scored 200 of these rare birds. I have run through RL25,RL22,RL19,RL16,H1000,4831SC and Reloder 16 has been the most accurate so far, the best group I can get is 1.5" at 100 yards.

I am simply not satisfied with this. I noticed the rifle likes 150gr bullets better than heavier 175gr still not tight enough but better, I am wondering if it is the shorter barrel? Browsing the Internet I found a few other people who are experiencing the same issue with the same model rifle.

I am going to try an experiment, I am going to load a ladder of BARNES 110gr with H4350 and see if it likes it. I see 84.5gr is the MAX at 3807fps in a 24: barrel. I probably should split the difference and load 130gr BARNES but I have the 110gr on hand. All I hunt is White Tail at a max range of 300yards, I think a 110gr Barnes at 3600+ would be devastating if it will shoot them.

Barnes are funny bullets in their own right, some guns LOVE them and some seem to have issues with them, I have a .257 Weatherby Magnum that shoots 1 hole with the Barnes TTSX 100gr.

I am really just thinking out loud, what are your thoughts? If I cannot get this rifle down to at least .5 MOA I am going to rebarrel it, of the many rifles I have built and bought nothing but this one shoots less than that. Frustrating.....

It appears everyone has ruled out pretty much everything here associated with accuracy factors. If I can toss in another idea... One contributor suggested perhaps this is why the original owner sold. I had a friend who scratched his head bald trying to figure out why his rifle shot so bad when it was supposed to be a higher grade factory rifle. It was discovered that the muzzle was not finished well during production of the barrel.
before you scrap the project, try a muzzle facing kit from Brownells which you can turn by hand yourself. It's a reasonable price to perhaps resolve an accuracy issue. It does not require a lot of material removal. I figure, what do you have to lose, not to mention you will now have a refined muzzle anyway. It solved my friend's problem. Sometimes there's just overlooked Quality Control. Hope this helps.