SPS WILL NOT GROUP

[puddlejumper]

Need some help. I have an SPS with the varmint barrel 26" long in 204 ruger. I am having trouble getting it to group. I have tried Hornady factory ammo, both 32 and 40 grain. It liked the 32's better. I have been trying handloads with Nosler 32 gr with Winchester case, CCI small rifle primers, H322 powder. Best accuracy load was with 25.7 gr of powder. Best group is .855 at 100 yards. Barrel is 12 twist. Anybody having trouble with this rifle? Stock does not look great. I have a 700 ADL in .243 with a 20" barrel thats a tac-driver.

 

[willyCJ]

I finally got my 270 to shoot, so I'll share a bit of what it took me.

-Trigger- How heavy and repeatable is the trigger?
-Shooting position- are you shooting off hand or from a rest. A good quality rest will make a big difference
-Floating Barrel-Is the barrel supposed to be floating, but it doesn't actually float? I had a Rem700 in 223 that didn't have adequate rigidity in the stock. Thus any torque on the stock was also applied to the barrel.
-Optics-Do you have good quality optics? If reticle shifts due to recoil you'll never get a good group.

On my 270 I found the length of the round to be the most sensitive parameter. Remingtons are known for long throats. I don't know enough about the 204 to know if it does better jumping or in the lands.

 

[vlcakc]

My M700 .204 with standard barrel shot poorly with Hornady 40gr VMax factory loads and reloads with 40gr VMax with several different powders. Groups were 1.5" @ 100 yds for 5 shots give or take. Copper fouled badly also. Was about to pull the barrel and rebarrel when I read that many M700's do not shoot 40gr VMax well. Cleaned the barrel and gave it 80 passes with JB compound. Swapped the Tupperware stock for a HS Precision. Loaded 39gr Sierra with several different powders and the groups shrank by half. Also the 35gr Bergers shoot well. Still fouls more than I like, but not nearly as much as before. I plan to rebarrel with a new custom barrel after the next PD season, but at least I got some use out of the factory barrel. Vic

 

[puddlejumper]

It has the new trigger that I'm not really thrilled with. It is adjustable but with a single screw. The old triggers were easy to get a really good feel on. I am using a Caldwell Rock rest and rear bag. The barrel is floated everywhere but up front. There is two small molded in buttons that the barrel rest on in the front. I really don't like the stock much and will probably change it shortly. I think the bullets are short and causing a jump situation. Mine also will not shoot the 40 gr bullets. I wonder if it could be the Nosler bullets? I will try the bergers, they work great in my Rem 243. Never had a barrel that was touching the stock the way this one is. It was designed this way. I will probably try and take them down with a dremel.

 

[kelbro]

Could be the crown.

 

[BradY]

Heard of alot of SPS rifles that dont shoot. Seems remingtons QA is a bit average. But under an inch at 100 isnt bad. I would not jump up and down too much and try the sierra 39gr blitzking bullets as they are pretty magic little babies. H4895 is the powder of choice here in aus. Try running a little bore paste down the tube to smooth it off a bit and make sure you really keep on top of copper until you have put a couple of hundred shots through it.

The triggers can be lightened easily, get that done, float the barrel fully and get it glass bedded into the stock. Check your action screw tension and make sure the crown looks even too.

If it doesnt shoot any better after that, then you might as well shoot it out at that or get a new barrel for it straight away.

 

[1000yardstare]

My Rem. SPS Varmint has a ton of leade, more than one caliber. Only shoots the 32 Sierra but very accurate with that one. Worst is Hornady - factory or reloads. Nosler not much better. Hornady bullets foul very fast. Some shooters overlook carbon fouling which also affects accuracy. Best Factory cartridge is Rem 32 AccuTip. Reloads shoot well with RX7, H322, H335, H4895, BenchMark, BLC-2.

What is your over-all cartridge length and how does this jibe with the chamber`s leade? How short of the rifling are your bullets and how much of the bullet`s shank is in the case neck?

 

[fdshuster]

puddlejumper: I'll second the above suggestion about carbon fouling: when, not if, it builds-up, accuracy will go into the toilet. I've looked inside several bores, including my Hart, with my "Hawkeye", when accuracy deteriorated, and in every example, when the carbon was cleaned out, groups shrank-- a lot. This ctg. seems to build-up with carbon much worse than my 222s', 223s', 22BR, etc. Benchmark with the 32 gr. Sierra BK, .030" of jump is working for me. 5 shot groups average almost 1/2 moa. At a documented 585 rds. fired, am already seeing some serious firecracking on the tops of the lands, directly in front of the chamber. I'll be lucky if it lasts 1200/1300 rds.

 

[1000yardstare]

Best carbon remover I have used is the new Hoppes Elite Gun Cleaner. Brush with this in what you thought was a clean bore and the first patch will come out looking like a lump of coal. Won`t touch copper though. Butchs Bore Shine or Sweets for copper fouling. The sub-calibers foul fast in rough factory bores.

Took a good look at my Win .204 case necks. The neck walls on one measured .009 by .013. You can eyeball the difference. Have resisted outside neck turning up to now. I think it weakens neck walls but have just ordered a Sinclair neck turning kit.