• This Forum is for adults 18 years of age or over. By continuing to use this Forum you are confirming that you are 18 or older. No content shall be viewed by any person under 18 in California.

Frustrated with fliers. Need help.

i am reloading for a Rem 7 mag and have shot almost 200 rounds the past 5 weeks and cant seem to get things right. The gun is a 1966 model with a 24" stainless barrel. I just had the action bedded, crown resurfaced and basically tuned up. I have tried different bullets, powders and seating depths and am getting nowhere. Everytime i shoot i get 2 bullets touching and the other 1" or more away. It never fails it turns a 1/4 to 1/2 inch group into a 1.5 inch group. Any ryhme or reason? I could post pictures of the groups if you want but dont know what it would help.
 
i had a 7mag an sold it, it can beat you up wondering if its the gun/ammo or the nut behind the trigger...
well i assume your scope is in order a proven, all the screws are tight on the bases an rings... an you have a good solid rest to shoot off of...
parallax .. what kind of scope do you have, a fix or variable < do adjust the AO if variable.. what distance are we talking about... if have a high power scope an shoot short range i will cause that an the other way around long shots low power plus the fix powered scope have a certain parallax set by the factory...
hows the trigger more then 2#'s.. i tell one thing you'll not believe.. the fire pin spring... change it an don't go to light either...
what type scale are you using to weigh your powder... is it consistent... are you using the same brand brass for each set of test bullets...
the stock action screws turn to the proper inch pounds... did some over tighten an crush the wood stock...
are you reading the wind is the target stand stable
gueeezz i could go on for awhile but maybe this is a start if you over looked any of these suggestion...
hope something may help...
 
I am using a rcbs 505 scale on every round. Winchested brass once fired, fed mag primers. The scope is a Mark 4 LR tactical 4.5-14. usually on 14 power at 100 yards when developing loads. No wind issues. good shooting table with sandbags. Chronograph ect. . The only thing that caught my eye on your reply would be the trigger pull. It has a nice trigger pull but when i sit down to shoot i will usually dry fire a couple times to prepare and sometimes i can see the crosshairs jump off the bullseye an inch or so and sometimes it stays right on target. Would you recomend a timney trigger?
 
Is the flyer the first shot or random? I use loads out of one of the manuals that shows their most accurate loads. Is this a factory barrel? Some factory barrels act this way. Has this barrel been shot a lot? have you done a cleaning to remove copper fouling? Is the barrel floated? Are both bolt lugs making full conact? I have had new factory barrels that never shot good enought, I pulled them and never looked back. good luck
 
Some mag's like to work near the max pressure, also are the flier's verticle or horizontal? verticle could be that the pressure is not uniform, horizontal can be beding problems. I hope this helps.
 
Morning. Do the cartridges have bullet runout. An easy test is to roll them on a flat surface and observe the bullet tips. Very little "wobble" is acceptable runout.
Years ago I discovered my fliers were due to having a cartridge with runout that was much higher than the others in the batch I was shooting for group. Choose and shoot three that have the least runout.

Pat
 
I had a winchester 308 that did the same thing,I ask my smith about it and he told me that flyers are a sure sign of a load that is a little to hot.I took his advice and backed down the load and it solved the problem.
 
Are you shooting reloads or factory ammo? If you are shooting reloads, try shooting a box of good quality factory ammo through your gun and see if you have the same problem...if not then maybe the reloads are the problem?

I can see that you are shooting reloads... I guess the question I should have asked is does it shoot those stragglers with factory ammo also?
 
Thanks for the info. I know this gun is a factory hunting rifle not a benchrest model but the gunsmith that worked on it showed me the target he shot and he put 10 shots in the size of a quarter a 100 using factory ammo so i figured since i reload i could do that or even better but by the time i figure out why i am having these flies my barrel will be shot out. The first shot is normally right , most of the time the second shot is the flier and the 3rd is touching or covering the first. The fliers are in a more horizontal move rather than a vertical one. The load is 71.5 grains of h4831sc with 140 grain 7mm berger bullet but sierra , nosler are behaving this way as well. The loads are a tad over the recommended max but no signs of pressure and running about 3050 fps. The barrel is floated and the action bedded. So dont think that it is the action. What ever it is it is very consistent. Probably my trigger pull? or load to hot. The barrel has been cleaned very well so not a case of foul play.
 
try a different powder. My old 1963 model 700 7mm mag ( maybe 64) loved RL22 with 140's.I put 9 shots in a row in under 5/8's...
 
Like fatalbert said (once again)
Usually unexplained horizontal means your too hot. Back down a touch and see what happens.
75% of the time this theory works. Sometimes its just the opposite ;D
 
after reading your new post i'd ask if your neck sizing or Fl sizing or did i mis.. that

your fired primer.. how do they look.. real flat or are the edges still alittle rounded.. any cratters..

if your doing FL you may be setting the shoulder back a bit to far... firing pin will thrust the case foward an pressure moves it back hard against the bolt face .. in this it would be hard to tell any beginning pressure signs.. unless you have resistence opening the bolt.. over pressure will cause what your calling flyers as someone esle mentioned
Edit: once you have all the corners covered.. i'd have another Good shooter shoot your gun with your best reloads ... triggers are tricky..
 
I am neck sizing , and primers are a little flat but still rounded on edges , no craters or anything. I looked back at the pile of targets i have shot and the fliers are usually off at an angle like low left, low right, high right , high left.
 
doubleDarms said:
I'm taking it from the op that you fire 3 shot groups, have you tried 5 or even 10 shot groups just for curiosity ?

that is what i would do. I shoot at one target to get the rifle shooting good (or maybe that is me to start shooting good lol ) then go to another target to shoot for groups. If I cleaned my rifle every time I shoot 3 rounds for a group I would never get any .
also use the smallest target that you can see the bullseye . The bigger the bullseye the bigger the chance of not getting a good group.

good luck
 
When shooting for group I move my elevation a minute or two low from point of aim. Consider a benchrest target where the aiming point is a square box that is above center of the scoring bull.

Or a blank paper with a orange dot as a aiming point, your bullets point of impact is below. This technique allows the shooter to always be sighting on a clean aiming point. Better groups may be the result. Works for me anyhow.

Pat
 
" " Thanks for the info. I know this gun is a factory hunting rifle not a benchrest model but the gunsmith that worked on it showed me the target he shot and he put 10 shots in the size of a quarter a 100 using factory ammo " "

looks like we are down to you an the reloads... trigger control, lower the power on the scope to Ten... make sure your rest is solid..
if can change the powder try H 4831sc.. unless the temp is really low you really don't need a mag primer try a fed 210...
keep a close eye on the powder w/ your beam scale..
 
i got looking around for some data... but get late an the eyes are closing... i came up w/ this ...

When loaded with a 140 grain spitzer, the 7mm Remington Magnum is a powerful and flat shooting cartridge, but for all use on game up to the size of elk and moose the cartridge is seen at its best with a 160 grain bullet loaded to about 3000 fps. For big game loads, the single best powder for use with all bullets weights is H4831. When loading the heavier bullets, H1000also does a fine job. In target rifles, faster burning powders such as H4350 and IMR-4350often produce the best accuracy with match grade bullets.

This text is based on information from “Cartridges of the World”, Hodgdon reloading manual, the cartridge designer and/or own resources.
 

Upgrades & Donations

This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.


Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.

You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.


To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.

Forum statistics

Threads
166,269
Messages
2,215,194
Members
79,506
Latest member
Hunt99elk
Back
Top