Thanks for your help guys, Iwas at the gunsmith last night to drop of a savage 99 with a safety problem to get fixed, so I took my rifle along...long story made short....hes pretty sure its got copper fouling in it still and is gonna clean it out for me....i let you know when i get it back if it helps out or not...hope it does though.

Just an idea:

but the gun in an immovable vice. Make sure it's secure in the vice and that the vice cannot move when the gun is fired.

I mean it simply cannot move, neither the gun in the vice, nor the vice on whatever it's attached to. 100% solid.

Shoot it 3 times without moving it and that's (in theory) the precision of the gun.

I've always wanted to try this....is it a dumb idea?

Since your shots on groundhogs have all been 200 yards or less,you don't require a great deal of accuracy to make them.Even 2" to 3" groups will get the job job.However on paper 2" to 3" groups would be considered very poor by many people.I have seen people sight in rifles by shooting at stones or bottles.Yes they do hit them most of the time,but they don't even know if they hit them high,or low or to one side,or the other.Like yourself,these people do often shoot very poorly at paper targets.In reality,you may not be any more accurate when shooting objects or animals but because the targets are quite large by comparison to the bullseye on a paper target,you are made to believe that you are.

stubblejumper: that is a very good thought in theory...I myself thought of that too, but there is only one flaw I can see in it....I can take any other rifle out of the safe and put 3 shots in less than a one inch group at 100 yds.
here is the target i was shooting w/ my .308 and then my dads 30-30. you can see the 2 shots from my .308--not even close....and then the 3 shots from the 30-30. The group from the 30-30 measures right about 7/8. So as you can see, im no great shot, but i do know how to punch out bulls eyes.

ohh well....when i get the gun back from the gunsmith hopefully it'll be all fixed and i can drive some tacks with it

Sub MOA groups can be hard to achieve without consistancy at the bench. Little things like cheek pressure on the stock, where the forearm rests on the bags (I presume you are using a sandbag or some type of padded front rest), and the rifle itself. Some rifles just won't shoot 'tiny' groups and some shooter think every rifle should shoot 1" or less. Some shooters won't agree with me but I don't like the pressure point Remington puts in the barrel channel, especially if the rifle isn't shooting well. And this may be your problem not being able to watch your bench shooting technique.You may be varying your stock location on the front rest changing the pressure on the barrel.
You said you clean your rifle. Thats a start. I' wondering if it could be a bedding problem. A simple check that my local gunsmith showed me is this: Take the screws out of the stock and remove the action. (this is good to do occasionally to clean the underside of the action/barrel and wipe off the stock). Replace the action andsnug up the front screw. Do not make it super tight. Then put in the tang screw and as you tighten it up, watch the point where the barrel meets the forearm end of the stock. As you tighten it, if the barrel starts to lift away from the stock, there is something wrong with the bedding.
But, before you have any work done on your rifle, on your next shooting session, make a conscious effort to make all your shots the same. Place the forearm on the bag in the same location, Use consistant cheek pressure on the stock, same grip tension, smooth trigger squeeze, etc.

i had the same problem with a shotgun of mine. it was a rifled barrel and i was using all different brands ofammo. i could shoot all my other guns straight, but this one wouldnt hit paper consitantly. i tried everything i hear or read about. everyone said try as many brands of ammo as i could. so i tried all the brands on the shelves. it only made me poorer. so i did some studying of my own. i baught this copper, lead, and nitro fouling remover. i was amazed at what fell out of the barrel. it appeared to be metal shavings. almost as if they milled it in the factory and they didnt clean it out. anyways, i took it to the range the season after. i shot it and the groups got a bit tighter. they were all on the paper. i cleaned it again,and again. i took it out again, i was hitting 5 inch groups so i still wasnt happy. so i hunted with one of my other guns for that season. the next season i cleaned it out again i braught it out and i was shooting groups aboutthe size of about a 50 cent peice at 155 yards. that was 5 years ago, and still to this day i get the same very small groups. i dont know why it did this, but i do know that it frusterated me. there were times when i even considered getting rid of it. now im glad that i didnt. the gun has helped me take quite a few deer. i have read articles about seasoning your barrel. i dont know if thats what i did in that 3 year span? but i do know this, the gun has made an absolute 360 degree turn around as far as performance goes. so if i was you, i wouldnt give up. i would talk to more people and see what they say. but most importantly, " YOU STILL ARE HITTINGGAME IN THE FEILD" good luck with this delema and God bless.

As mentioned before, I would look at how you rest the gun when in the field and how you rest the gun while bench shooting. I'm no expert butI have found out that by simply holding the gun differently will definitely affect how the gun shoots.....true also when bow hunting. Just a minute difference can mean all the accuracy in the world.

Hows your trigger? A stiff trigger = ****ty groups

Ditto Razor!Use a Lead Sled or a heavy rifle rest on a good solid bench to
shoot a few 3 shot groups. You might be canting the rifle or you might be
pulling off to the side or a stiff trigger. Have you ever been measured for
rifle fit?Your trigger pull and cast off or cast on?