New Rifle Shooter Accuracy Help
 

Hello everyone,

First, I did my best to post this in the appropriate forum but I am not sure if this is the appropriate place. My apologies if it is not.

I am new to semi-serious rifle shooting. I grew up shooting muskrats in the local canals with a Ruger 10/22 but that is about the extent of my shooting experience. Recently, I have been buying some accessories (Redfield 4-12X40 Acu-Range scope and a UTG bipod) for a pre-64' Winchester Model 70 that my dad gave me so that I can practice varmint shooting at 300 yds plus. I went to sight in the gun today at 100 yds and I finally got on paper when I took my first 3 round shot group. I was using a bipod and a sand bag underneath the butt. I was giving the trigger nice consistent squeezes as well, but my groups were all over the place. The last group that I shot was about 3". As far as I can tell, I was doing my part to get the bullets out of the barrel as accurately as possible.

There are some other things to note that I think are possible answers to my accuracy problems. First, the gun was not taken care of very well. As far as I know, when my dad owned the gun, he never cleaned the gun at all, not even the bore. He probably did not shoot more than 40-60 rounds though. I do not know the condition it was in before he got it. I cleaned the bore thoroughly yesterday with swabs, solvent and brass brush. Second, the gun was getting pretty hot by the time I got on paper. I had taken 12-15 shots or so before I took my first 3 shot group.

Taking all of this into account, is it likely that I will never have an accurate varmint rifle with this barrel or do I need to let it cool off and try again? Any other questions advice and/or insights are appreciated greatly.

Thanks in advance,
Matt

Could be any number of things. Certainly letting the barrel cool between shots would improve things. Getting the bore clean should also help.
Most high-powered rifles have an accuracy preference for loads. One load will shoot poorly, another will be a tack driver. Based on your description, I didn't get the idea that you tried different loads. Before you do something drastic, try some different brands of ammo, bullet weights, etc. plus, slow down and let the barrel cool and do a good job of cleaning before you go out.

Letting it cool off couldn't hurt. Check everything over. Make sure your scope mounts are solid. Clean it again. You can pull the bolt and look at the barrel to get a good idea of how bad it is. If it cleans up nice and shiny and it only had 60 rds through it, the barrel is likely still good. Try a couple different load combinations too. Mess around with it a bit, you should have a good shooter there.
-Jake

You need to "know" that you have a clean barrel first.

Did you use any copper removing solvent ?

Did you check the bases & rings on your scope.

You need to remove the bi-pod and get on a bench with sand bags at the very least.

Once you know that the barrel is clean, you need to shoot 3-5 rounds to "foul" the barrel.

Then you can shoot 3-5 shot groups, where you have given the barrel a chance to cool down between each shot.

So, as you can see..............you need to start over.

It could be anything from you flinching to the ammo used...Have you got a buddy that's experiened with guns???

That's what my buddy's do when they have trouble...

They bring it to me... :)

+1, This is pet peeve of mine, bi-pods are for field use. I used my bi-pods one time, years ago to double check my zero and couldn't believe how much my heartbeat moved the crosshairs, now i carry a rest and sandbags in my truck almost year round.:happy0001:

I shoot 3 shoots then let it cool to the ambient temp then shoot 3 more. It's funny to watch guys shoot 10 or more shots then complain how their groups look like their checking turkey loads out of their shotguns.:happy0157:

Bring it to a smith for a real good cleaning and oiling, have him check bases/rings. When he puts it back together he will make sure the stock bolts are tight too.

Try a few different brands of ammo.

LET IT COOL!! A typical 3 shot group should take about three minutes.

The bi-pod should work fine as long as its a solid bipod, not some cheapo flimsy thing...

Jeepkid,

I'm surprised; you do your range/bench shooting off a bi-pod ?

Yup, bipod and a rear bag...works good enough for this...



:s4:

I can also shoot very well off of a bipod, if I'm using a rear bag. You just have to learn how to put forward tension on the bipod, and then good groups come easy. I like it just fine, however with out a rear bag, I'd not be able to do very good groups at all I'm sure.