picked up a rifle fired all types of ammo and all the results were tears on the paper.bullets not stabizing.I had the barrel looked at and the gunsmith said nothing looks bad.then someone told me to make sure the stock is not too tight to the barrel.i sanded it down,sliped a bill through,put it back together.It shot good.I heard this could improve accuracy,but did not think it could effect the bullet that much. is this common ?

Bad bedding can cause accuracy problems,but keyholing indicates that the bullets are not stabilized which has nothing to do with bedding.

agreed

what kind of rifle?

What cartridge are you shooting and what rifle is it?

I would bet that you are firing a 22 centerfire of some kind????????

This is very often caused by the wrong bullet for the twist of the rifleing. A slow rate of twist will not stabalize some bullets and visa-versa.

Itsa model 7 rem. .243 9to 1 twist 18 1/2 barrel.shot 58/80/100 gr.all shot bad before .but it shoots real good now,great with 58gr.hornady,will try some others. nice lite gun,possiby something was in the barrel,but almost positive the stock relief helped alot.

A9" twist should stabilize all 100 grain bullets and even the 105 Hornady A-Max. Something is fishy here . . . .