Factory Rifle Accuracy

[Frankr]

Not talking AGG's or competitive Target shooting.
What kind of accuracy to you expect from a factory rifle at 100 Yards hand loaded ?
I have owned several Savage Heavy Barrel Varmint rifles in 223's 22/250's that have shot .350's to .450's very consistent.
A cooper 22 22/250 .300-.350 consistently
Remington 40X 223 .260-.280 consistent I tried every custom bullet and power/brass just never got below .250

Big rifles. several brands .270 win. over the years 3 shots in a hole to all 3 cutting at 100 Yards I never really measure them but I would say it could be .100's for a 3 shot group...Now could I do that every time...NO..but most times if I could do my part...that is not easy with a rifle like that.
I have one now in a Kimber 8400 that if I do my part can shoot 3 shots in a hole to cutting. If I dont do my part or if load tune is off it can be 1" to 1.5"

So I would tell you most factory rifle's I have owned could shoot with a tuned handload under .5 and some would do it easy.

I have a had a few that would not shoot very well at all, but few.

 

[hogpatrol]

From what I've seen in the last few years, manufacturers have put their money in the barrels as the stocks and triggers went cheap. Joe Consumer is ok with a gun that shoots even if it does look like it came out of a Chinese toy factory.

 

[Fotheringill]

Until my Savage F/TR in .223's barrel got shot out, I was able to do .3" at 200 yards with handloads lovingly produced. Awaiting new barrel next week.

 

[watercam]

Ruger American in '06. Lapped the barrel a tad, relieved the sides of the stock. Loaded Berger 185 Juggernauts in front of Reloader 17 and it was putting them into ragged hole groups @100, under 1/2" @200. Ended up with a Timney trigger when I broke the blade on the factory unit (dropped the barreled action and it landed just wrong).

 

[jimmymac]

Until my Savage F/TR in .223's barrel got shot out, I was able to do .3" at 200 yards with handloads lovingly produced. Awaiting new barrel next week.

If that is the norm, you should take that gun to a SR BR match and whip up on everybody.

To the OP. I hardly shoot my factory stuff anymore but...

I try to get my factory deer rifles to shoot 5 shot groups into an inch at 100 yards. I can only do so much with reloading though. Some guns just won't regularly hold an inch at 100. Some guns will stay under an inch on most days. I have a heavy barreled factory CZ 550 that is a .5" to .75" shooter pretty consistently.

I'm not the luckiest guy in the world when it comes to factory guns. I've been through a bunch of them. It seems I don't get the accuracy that many claim.

 

[Deleted old_dood]

Until my Savage F/TR in .223's barrel got shot out, I was able to do .3" at 200 yards with handloads lovingly produced. Awaiting new barrel next week.

are you or the missus gonna do it?

 

[BP1]

are you or the missus gonna do it?

That’s kind of a personal question

 

[Falfan2017]

I think there's a lot of factory rifles that will do .5" or better but the problem with a lot is they are thin sporter barrels that heat up quickly so they couldn't be competitive in a match. I had a 3006 Winchester xpr that would do .5 for the first group but would then start stringing verticals all over the place as it heated up.

 

[JBT47]

If that is the norm, you should take that gun to a SR BR match and whip up on everybody.

To the OP. I hardly shoot my factory stuff anymore but...

I try to get my factory deer rifles to shoot 5 shot groups into an inch at 100 yards. I can only do so much with reloading though. Some guns just won't regularly hold an inch at 100. Some guns will stay under an inch on most days. I have a heavy barreled factory CZ 550 that is a .5" to .75" shooter pretty consistently.

I'm not the luckiest guy in the world when it comes to factory guns. I've been through a bunch of them. It seems I don't get the accuracy that many claim.

Same here. I’ve only had two factory rifles that were acceptable (to me) accuracy wise. Both were varmint weight barreled R700’s in .223 and .22-250.

 

[Tommie]

I don’t expect much from factory rifles. Deer or medium game bolt action guns that make 1.5” at 100 yards with factory ammo suit me fine. Usually a load can be worked up to get it closer to one inch. Good enough.

Varmint calibers should make 1” with factory ammo and maybe half that with a pet load. Anything smaller is nice but we’re talking mass-production rifles. And yes, I’ve coaxed factory rifles below .25” groups but only to see if could be done.

Rimfire is a whole different story.

 

[Damon555]

It seems I don't get the accuracy that many claim.

.....there's a reason for that....not many other people do either. The internet is full of factory rifles that would beat the pants off of some full blown BR rigs. In real life? Not so much.

 

[grovey]

For some reason I expect a varmint caliber gun to shoot better than a "deer rifle" sized cartridge. I also think a hvy bbl'd gun should outshoot a sporter bbl'd gun. Neither is always the case. That said I expect a 1/2" from a factory varmint gun, and 3/4" from a factory deer rifle with handloads.

 

[Toby Bradshaw]

The internet is full of factory rifles that would beat the pants off of some full blown BR rigs. In real life? Not so much.

That's why these claims are never backed up with a series of targets on one page. Once in awhile a photo of a single "wallet group" will be posted. But mostly there is no evidence offered at all.

P.S. Here is a 200-yard hunter BR target shot with my Rem 700V .222 in competition (factory class). Two shots per record bull (not counting the .30 cal crossfire!). 24.0gr H322, 52gr Bruno FB, Win brass, Rem 7-1/2 primer, Leupold 6.5-20x40.

 

[Bc'z]

shot this this morning
Rem 700 06

 

[newbieshooter]

There are 2 factory Savage 12 6BRs at our monthly club score matches that consistently shoot small and score well. Shooting "Factory class" anywhere from 100 to 300 yards - these 2 6BRs are consistently at the top. None of them would claim to be able to out shoot/agg the BR rifles (6PPC/30BR) that shoot in custom class.

 

[Richard Coody]

that is why i always say shoot five 5 shot groups on one target. doesn't matter how long it takes. let the barrel cool while you shoot something else. when it is done average the groups and you have a pretty good idea of the consistency of you groups.

some like 10 shot groups for the same purpose but i find my concentration starting to wane after 5.

 

[270WinDude]

There are 2 factory Savage 12 6BRs at our monthly club score matches that consistently shoot small and score well. Shooting "Factory class" anywhere from 100 to 300 yards - these 2 6BRs are consistently at the top. None of them would claim to be able to out shoot/agg the BR rifles (6PPC/30BR) that shoot in custom class.

Is there a difference between the savage 12 models? If I’m not mistaken there is the 12br chambered in 6mmbr and then the 12fv and maybe a 12vlp. I suspect the BR which is a lot more would perform better, i’ve Shot one and it seemed like a different gun and action but I’ve never shot a 12fv.

 

[Richard Coody]

There are 2 factory Savage 12 6BRs at our monthly club score matches that consistently shoot small and score well. Shooting "Factory class" anywhere from 100 to 300 yards - these 2 6BRs are consistently at the top. None of them would claim to be able to out shoot/agg the BR rifles (6PPC/30BR) that shoot in custom class.

savages shoot great. easy to upgrade barrels. i believe you can build one with benchrest accuracy very inexpensively. the trigger and bolt lift are their downfall.

 

[newbieshooter]

Is there a difference between the savage 12 models? If I’m not mistaken there is the 12br chambered in 6mmbr and then the 12fv and maybe a 12vlp. I suspect the BR which is a lot more would perform better, i’ve Shot one and it seemed like a different gun and action but I’ve never shot a 12fv.

Using the Savage search feature - these are the 3 factory rifles chambered in 6BR:



There are two 12 F class rifles at our matches (one is mine). There used to be a 12 Benchrest model shooting there too - until it was sold.

 

[Bc'z]

that is why i always say shoot five 5 shot groups on one target. doesn't matter how long it takes. let the barrel cool while you shoot something else. when it is done average the groups and you have a pretty good idea of the consistency of you groups.

some like 10 shot groups for the same purpose but i find my concentration starting to wane after 5.

Here's another 1 same rifle different powder

Then there is my lil brother's 270, savage 111
all these need a lil tweaking.
This is all initial load work. Time to play with seating depth.