788 in 222 accuracy problems

[BigDMT]

$205 !!! ;D

 

[MrMajestic]

Consistent groups! ;D

 

[tlf65]

I know you have thought of this but is your sling swivel stud bouncing off of your front rest?

 

[BigDMT]

Consistent groups! ;D

Lol, I just noticed that. Lol.

 

[LHSmith]

Do you make an attempt to adjust the scope(s) for minimum parallax?....... not just relying on the scopes yardage markings....they are notorious for being wrong. Also use some means of checking conditions (wind, mirage) such as surveyor tape at 30 yd increments, .222 bullets are easily affected by wind. Lastly, tape a piece of target paper over the barrel to eliminate barrel mirage as a possibility ........mirage can occur in cold weather also, it is caused by temperature differential. What scope?

 

[maximimum]

The scope is a Brunton lite-tech 3-10x50 yesterday was 50f and dead calm. The stud is in front of the bag.

 

[LHSmith]

You did not say if you checked for parallax with your non adjustable model.. Never heard of Brunton rifle scopes, compasses yes, optics no.....so I did some checking on the customer reviews. I believe that scope model is discontinued. I did not find reviews for that particular scope model, but other Brunton models have a high occurrence of failure to hold zero. I would change out scopes to a product that has greater reliability.

 

[snert]

+1, change to a scope that can be counted on. Borrow a good one if necessary. Start looking north of $350...

Snert

 

[snert]

And since this gun is now costing you money, I am feeling sorry for you and will toss in a little extra...$250, and don't let those other guys suggest I am not being nice!

Keep at it, and really, get a decent scope on it of known quality.

Snert

 

[Steve Ladino]

Pay particular attention to your bench set up. Try positioning yourself upon/to your rifle the same way for each shot, preferably enableing the gun to recoil straight to the rear. Stressing/pushing the rifle in order to align the cross hairs on the x ring is not good. Unless you know the history of your rifle there is a possibility that it has a bad bore/leade/throat from impropper cleaning, your crown may need a little more than polishing too, check for carbon build up in bore just a few inches ahead of the chamber. Ioso bore paste works well for cleaning out carbon there. You may need to shoot several fouling shots to get a truly representative group for your rifle.

 

[maximimum]

yesterday i got to looking at the hole where the front sight was mounted and noticed a tiny opening in to the barrel could this be the root of all my troubles?

 

[BigDMT]

yesterday i got to looking at the hole where the front sight was mounted and noticed a tiny opening in to the barrel could this be the root of all my troubles?

It probably doesnt help anything. I say chop the barrel back behind the hole and re-crown.

 

[snert]

Don't put any more work in it...I will buy it from you before you have an emotional breakdown from the frustration. I happen to torture myself often with such projects...

 

[Tommie]

IF:
-All the accurizing as suggested has been done
-There's nothing wrong with the scope/rings/base
-Your bench technique normally works

THEN:
-I think the barrel is buggered. A borescope might reveal your 788's demon.

Every centerfire rifle I own is a 788. I have quite a few. Your gun should shoot one MOA with generic factory loads, let alone tweaked hand loads. Get the barrel scoped! A 788 in .222 is a treasure.

 

[SW Iowa Shooter]

I had a 788 in 22-250 in 1969, my first centerfire. It would shoot 5/8" to 3/4" groups with handloads. After at least 1,500 rounds, mostly on prairie dog towns, three really thick ones, it started shooting larger groups, 1-3" IIRC. The chamber throat was fire cracked and the rifling eroded some for at least an inch. I had to load 52 gr FBHP out too far to load in the dbm, but got it to shoot 3/4" to 1" even with the really embarrassing throat. Probably lucky I guess. Mel