savage 30-06 accuracy quest

[fordwrench]

guys i was hoping for a little advice on tuning a savage 30-06. its a thin barreled 14 classic deer rifle . been shooting sierra 168 moly and 175 non coated. each were used with proper barrel conditioning. all moly removed when shooting naked bullets. tried 2 differant scopes 4 differant powders. seating depths all over including up in the lands. 2 differant primers. i cant get this gun to group tightly with any consistantly. also tried bedding the action and lug. still not much improvement. any advice would be very welcome. i expect 3/4 inch or better. right now i'm not a happy camper! i have many accurate rifles moreso than this one. it just dont impress me.

 

[cliffe]

is the barrel free floated? alot of the time with a thin barrel groups improve by letting the barrel cool between shots. how clean or fouled is the barrel? what powders did you try? and how much did you try? how good did it shoot????? cliffe

 

[Elkbane]

Fordwrench,
Three things to try:

1. When you install teh action in the stock, rest the stock on it's butt and insert the action, making sure the action lug is in full contact with the recoil lug inletting, then turn in the bolts just until they snug up. As you tighten them down, look to see if the barrel or action moves - if so, the bedding may be stressing the action. This may be caused by the bedding being tight under the recoil lug - it should have a little space there.

2. On Savages, the tang,below the safety) should be free-floating. Slip some paper under it and see if it is. If not, relieve a small amount of the stock under the tang until it free floats.

3. Sometimes the front-most scope mount screw is too long and it will contact the barrel threads before it tightens down the mount base to the action. Test by removing the rear screw and wiggleing the base. If it wiggles, that means the front screw is bottomed out and not tightening the base to the action. Grind off or file off a few threads and re-install.
Elkbane

 

[fordwrench]

thanks for the help. barrel is floated. tried h4350, h4831,imr 4350, benchmark, h335, with speer 130gr sierra 168 hpbt 175 hpbt.cci and rem9.5 mag primers. having the crown redone tonight and gonna redo the bedding . it groups at a consistant 2in or better. also the barrel was cleaned after 15-20 rds. i used to shoot competitve br years ago and this gun has problem. i just havent found them yet.

 

[jb77]

Fordwrench have you tried a second scope on this rifle?

If not are you absolutely certain your scope is not malfunctioning.

 

[rhino]

It could be the barrel. You know even Savage lets a bad one through its gates.

I would try another scope and then maybe you'll need a new barrel like from ER shaw or something.

RHINOUT!

 

[fordwrench]

yes, i tried 2 diff. scopes both 24x one of which shoots holes on one of my varmint guns. barrel is re crowned and bedding is re done. also extended the bedding 2 in infront of the lug. at this point the barrel is the only thing left.does shaw sell pre chambered barrels for this and who has the shortest wait with a quality product. will re-post in a day or so. wanted to let everything cure up. thanks guys.

 

[2506]

You can get a barrel from ER Shaw direct from them. I saw their add in the ShotGun News the other day. If my memory is correct I think a complete ready to install blue CN barrel was $155.00 . I don't have the ShotGun News I was reading it at the Wal-mart while waiting on the wife.

 

[halfmoanut]

Try 56grs of imr-4350 with a 180 sierra fb pro-hunter just tuned one up for my buddy it shoots 3/4 at 100 for 5 shots. Y ou must let barrel cool between shots. I also had trigger replaced with a basix trigger.It is bedded & floated.56grs is a max load you probably should start at 53 and work your way up.

 

[fordwrench]

i finally got it! after new bedding, new crown bedding the scope basses and retuning the load it is shooting some really impressive groups. most are 5/8 to 3/4 with some one holers mixed in. i almost gave up on this gun.. 61 grs h4831 win brass win primers moly 168 sierra bt on the lands if anyone could use the info. thanks for the help.