I just bought a H&R handi rifle 30-06. I put a 3X9 Nikon (Bushmaster) on it. It has solid scope rings as well. Good RINGS!
I bought some remington core lokt 185 gr. psp's and 165 gr. psp's at Walmart..
Headed out to the range today and had the gun in about a 3 inch circle at 100 yards. It took me about 4 rounds and a few clicks to get me close.
My set - up::::
Gun vise for sure..I am not a flincher or a jerker...I squeeze until the stock and gun knocks the spit out of me. Taking human error out of the picture this gun should be 1.5 to (at most 2 inch groups at 100 yards)
I could not hold anything under 4 inch groups.....The bullets were sporatic...I couldn't hold a pattern good enough to tweak into 1 to 1.5 inch groups.
Whats wrong? My thoughts are..
1)Gun doesn't like the remingtons
2)Barrel is hot and producing inconsistent groups (no bull barrel on this gun)
3)I got a bum barrel?
I have an H&R 12 gauge ...and my hornady ssts hold better groups then this 30-06
Please let me know your thoughts...
Brian
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First I'd check to make sure your scope or rings aren't moving.
Then I'd try a different brand ammo. I know tons of people on here swear by the cheap Remington ammo, but it generally won't shoot like premium (Federal or Hornady) ammo in most of my rifles. You said you tried two different bullet weights, so I'm guessing it may not be the ammo though.
From a cold barrel you should able to shoot a three shot group before heat starts doing too much damage.
If after trying all that it still won't shoot, I'd start leaning towards you just have a rifle that won't shoot. If you shoot enough rifles, you will run into that now and then.
if the gun is brand new, it might just be a matter of breaking it in. Clean it after every shot for the first 20 shots and then once every 10 shots up to a 100rds through it.
could be the ammo, look for something mach grade.
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What are you going to hunt with it? I have a Rem 700 in 30-06 and it also seems to be less accurate with 180gr bullets, but with 150's its a tac driver. This past summer I was hitting woodchucks out at 250 yards with a 3-9x50 on top. The 150's hammer whitetails and will even work well on heavier animals like black bear, caribou, and even elk.
Not sure what a handi is but , my ruger 270 did the same thing when I got it and with the wooden stock it needed to be re-bedded. The barrel was touching the wood, due to a knot in the groove,and when it expanded due to heat, after the second shot,it tweaked the barrel. Floated and accu-beaded it and it,s been right on ever since.
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If its brand new first thing you should clean the heck out of it. Then i would make dang sure your scope isnt moving. Doesnt matter the type of scope or the type of rings, if it moves it aint gonna produce. And as far as corelokts being "cheap" remington ammo, they are one of the most deadly hunting bullets designed. I also agree that the sandbags are a better test thana vice.
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RE: I need some help....
I agree with using sandbags. I also recommend trying different ammo, but a 4" group out of even a fresh gun is unacceptable. If you are sure the scope/rings combo are tight, and you can't get it to shoot better than that with some sort of factory ammo, you'd be better off to get rid of it, IMO.
Not sure why your Handi rifle is shooting so poorly. These rifles usually are fairly accurate. Not being there I could offer some suggestions. Like some of the posts said use sandbags instead of the gun vice. If you don't have access to any sandbags, get a couple bags of cheap birdseed and fill up some old tube socks. They will work and are much lighter than sandbags. Secondly, be sure to only rest the gun on the forearm and not the barrel. And try to be consistant from shot to shot with cheek placement and pressure.
And you said the rifle is knocking the spit out of you! It is possible that you are anticipating the shot and subconsciously flinching and not knowing it. Try placing a pair of gloves or some other padding under your shirt to soak up some of the recoil. The '06 really isn't too bad of a kicker.
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I need some help....
