338 wm
 

i have posted quite a bit on here about my remington 700 338wm that i bought this year and not being happy with the groupings. i sent it back to remington and they replaced the barrel. since then i have shot 1 box of core lokts thru it and i am still not happy with the groupings. i had a friend shoot a group and they were no better than mine. my groups out of my 270 & 7 mag are considerably smaller than the 338. i am at the point of considering trading for another 338wm or going to a gun smith for help with the setup. my local cabelas where i purchased it has a savage bear hunter that is looking good to me. it has a much heavier barrel and i am wondering if that wouldn't be a good idea with a magnum gun like this. i have a leupold scope on it which i don't think that should be an issue. what are your thoughts on the savage or having a gun smith work it over. i kinda hate to put more money in this gun as it just seems to be jinxed. also since i got the gun back it can be extremely difficult to chamber a round after i have shot a couple of rounds. its like things swell up with the added heat.

Considering the issues that you are having (recoil, accuracy, time, etc.) have you considered selling the .338 and shooting elk with your 7mm? Some things are just not meant to be.

I still think your problem may be cured with a bedding job and proper handloads, but if you are feeling like this is a losing proposition it may be time to cut your losses. Somehow I doubt that the Savage .338 will be the answer, but maybe you will get lucky.

The first thing I would do is try a different ammo...not all rifles shoot all ammo equally. Plus, core-lokt's aren't the highest quality ammo out there...I've only ever had one rifle that shot them well...a Marlin Model 336 30-30. Go buy 2-3 boxes of different branded ammo and try that...any premium ammo loaded with a premium bullet is where I would start (Hornady, Nosler, Federal, Wnichester)...while some people will claim Core Lokt's are ok (and they might be) it doesn't mean they will shot well in your gun. Finding the ammo your rifle likes sometimes is easy...other not so easy. I have a Savage Model 99 in 308 that I hand load for that took me ages to find a load it liked...on the other hand, my Tikka T-3 Lite in 270WSM has shot everything I have put in relatively well.

You're saying your groupings aren't what you like. What are they? Also, emt does have a point. Try some different ammo. You don' need premium ammo for elk out of a .338 WM. But if that's what your rifle likes it is worth the extra cost. Let's face it, a 338 is not a rifle you will shoot a lot on the range. If other ammo doesn't fair out any better I would dump the Remmy. Savage is usually accurate right out of the box but the accu-trigger, although great, takes some getting used to.
Brownings and Tikkas have beautiful triggers. I haven't tried the triggers on the new Rugers but the 77 is also a solidly built rifle as are Winchesters.

Trying different types of manufactured ammo is certainly the less expensive thing everyone should try with any new gun to find the "bullet" your gun shoots best.


There are other ways to "tweak" your gun to get tighter groups, but there are also such a thing as "lemons" out there.

Here are my $.02.

I have shot countless rounds through probably 250-300 different rifles over the years, and if there is one constant it is that an individfual rifle will "like" a certain round more than it dopes other rounds, and often dramatically. By "like" I mean group well. Here is just one example .... and I have no dog in the hunt as far as recommending any manufacturer or bullet (other than using a quality bullet for the specific game that you are hunting). The most dramatic example that I have come across in 40+ years of setting up hubnting rifles has to be a buddy's 2011 vintage BAR in 30.06 Spr. The groups of the initial hunting cartridge selection were miserable. I am talking in the range of 5 MOA. This is about as lousy as I have ever seen from a NIB, hunting rifle made by a reputable company. Frankly he had gone overboard (but he usually does) and had purchased 13 different factory loads for this 30.06 Spr. Some of this stuff was over $70/20 !

To make a long morning at the range short, we came across 4 cartridges that grouped great, including one clear winner. Just happened to be a Federal Premium loaded with the 180 gr. Nosler Partition bullet. I am talking groups of 3 consistently in the 1.00 MOA range. I advised him to head back where he bought this particular ammo an buy all of that lot that he could afford !

So I suggest you try other loads before you quit on this rifle.

saturday i took my rifle to to remington repair center in tulsa. they will test fire it and tell me what they think. 190 miles each way but i am hopeful i will find out what is really going on with this gun. i was told it would be 2-3 weeks before they would get to it. i did try some federal premium 250 gr nosler partitions before i took it in. they grouped at about 3" @ 100 yds as compared to 4" with the 225 core lokts. with the price of ammo i hate to keep going thru various loads when i really don't know if it is the gun or the ammo.

338 wm
 

Anytime I've had a Remington 700 that wouldn't shoot I've pretty much cured that by having the action bedded and the barrel free floated. While this work is being done I would have the trigger adjusted to your liking. In the many rifles I've owned I had only (1) that was not greatly improved by the work above. It was a Browning A-Bolt in .300 Win. Mag. that was returned to Browning. They replaced the barrel and returned the rifle. This cured the issue. Good luck!

Superpig-Remington has already replaced the barrel and the trigger. the grouping did not improve. i am still trying to work thru this, but is a bit frustrating. i bought the gun to take to alaska bear hunting. it was @ remington when i was in alaska. i ended up using the outfitters 700 in 338wm. it worked great. so i think you can see my frustration.

Are you sure that it isnt just you?? The thought of the 338 might be causing you a flinch whereas you are used to the 270 and 7 mag. I personally never seen a 338 Win mag that wouldnt shoot. I mean if Remington has replaced the barrel and trigger and you are getting the same results, I would look at the one variable that cant be fixed at the factory, you. I have a Rem. 700 that shoots almost every load at a 1" or under and I have never touched it, never even adjusted the trigger.

fritz-as stated above i have taken the gun to a remington repair center in tulsa and am waiting to hear back from them as to wether it is the gun or me. if it is me i will install a muzzle brake and hope for the best. while in alaska i shot my outfitters 338wm with a muzzle brake and had excellent results. wether it was the fear of the recoil that caused my problem i don't know. i also shot the outfitters 375H&H with no problems.

With a new barrel I really doubt it's the rifle. I've had a lot of M700s and except for thin barreled Mountain Rifles all shot better than MOA. To me that leaves three things:

1-Shooting bench. Rock solid setup or not?
2-Shooter.
3-Optic. New scope or old? Did you try swapping scopes?

I'd say that more than 90% of the bad shooting I see at the range is shooter related problems, not gun problems.

1-shooting off lead sled-rock solid
2-shooter is always the first ? i did have a friend shoot for me with same results
3-optics is a brand new leupold-not cheap

hopefully the remington repair center can figure it out for me.

I too have owned several 700's and they have all been shooters right out of the box except for one...a 7MM Mag...couldn't hit the board side of a barn from the inside! Sent it back to Remington and they replaced everything but the wood...said the barrel was bent and there was no sign of abuse...has shot MOA or better ever since. I still have that 7MM and a 270 which happens to be one of the best shooting rifles I have ever owned. If you have sent it back to Remington and even after a replaced barrel and trigger you have the same results? Gotta say there's not much chance it's the rifle at this point...try shooting some decent quality ammo (Core-Lokts are junk)...pick up a couple of boxes of ammo loaded with premium bullets (Barnes, Nosler, Speer, Hornady, etc...) in a couple different bullet weights and head to the range. I would also double check the scope...I know Lupy's are considered high quality scopes, but they have been known to fail (especially the lower end ones...VX I, II and III's)...I stopped buying Lupy's awhile ago after having a VX-III fail on my 7MM Mag (retical failed due to recoil), IMO they aren't as good as they once were. Check all of the scope bases and mount screws (use blue lock-tite) as heavier recoiling rifles do knock scope bases/rings lose at times...especially if you are using the Lupy Dove-Tailed bases (double/triple check them for tightness) which is the reason I now prefer Warne and Millett rings/bases these days over Lupy's.

I personally suspect the ammo...not all rifles shoot everything dumped down the barrel well...

Just curious, what size groups are you getting?

As stated earlier every gun has its preferred loads. My M77 MKII 338 winny liked 185 Hornady GMX's for factory ammo. Last year I think I got a box or two for less than $40. Might be worth trying.

Based on what I've seen the monometal bullets due on deer I think they would work pretty good on some of the bigger critters.......

If I had your problems I would find someone that knows what they are doing help you with some proper handloads. They would measure your chamber to get the right length for the bullet that is to be loaded. The SAMMI standard lengths may not be the best fit for your chamber. A couple of different bullets along with a couple of different powders and a couple range days should eliminate any concern about ammo being the problem.
Handloaded ammo is usually much better than factory, and much less expensive to boot.

How about finding that guy at the range that shoots "clover leafs" with their gun.

Ask him to put 5 rounds down range for you with your .338 WM.

Trying to find a problem like this is a process of elimination. Here's the steps I would take in your situation:
1) give the barrel a good cleaning to remove all copper
2) pull the scope and remount to eliminate a mounting issue
3) pull barrelled action from stock and reseat to proper torque settings
4) patiently try several factory loads waiting between shots for barrel to cool
5) swap scope with one that you know is working correctly
6) replace the nut behind the trigger

After we have eliminated the above easy and obvious, then and only then would I start working on the hardware of the rifle. Since the barrel and trigger have been swapped, I'd bed the action and make sure the barrel is floated. If she still doesn't shoot, time to either bring her to a quality smith or get rid of it.

All excellent suggestions Wayspr...I would also add...if this is a new barrel, completing a methodical barrel break in may be necessary...not all rifles require this to be accurate, but many do.

Here is one of many recommended break in procedures, and the one I use most often.

http://www.larrywillis.com/Barrel.html

If it is a synthetic stock and the action is torqued down proper you should not need to bed the action. A synthetic stock does not move like a wood stock, even a wood stock doesnt need to be bedded if it fits correctly and torqued down properly, it wont move. My 338WM is a 700 BDL and is over 25 years old, wood stock and I have never bedded the action, or done any trigger work on it, POI has never changed other than when I have changed scopes. It will shoot under a MOA with almost any bullet I put down range with it. I would do like Sheridan said, find someone at the range that has experience with stout kicking guns that shoots really good and let them give it a shot. Not everyone can shoot a 338 WM, that is why you dont see alot of people shooting them.

What method are you using to sight in. Try a shooting rest like the Caldwell DFT Lead Sled to take out a bulk of the human factor. It seems like you may have to consider the .338 is too much gun for your frame, so mistakes in your technique are occurring.