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New Rifle Shooter Accuracy Help
03-31-2011, 02:05 PM
#1
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 7
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
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
03-31-2011, 02:30 PM
#2
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: west central wi USA
Posts: 2,251
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.
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.
03-31-2011, 02:34 PM
#3
Super Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Trumbull County, Ohio
Posts: 9,557
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
-Jake
03-31-2011, 02:36 PM
#4
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location:
Posts: 5,130
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.
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.
03-31-2011, 05:33 PM
#6
Fork Horn
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Slippery Rock, Pa.
Posts: 393
Then you can shoot 3-5 shot groups, where you have given the barrel a chance to cool down between each shot.
03-31-2011, 06:14 PM
#7
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: ****ifornia
Posts: 5,052
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...
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...
03-31-2011, 08:58 PM
#10
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,519
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.