Accurizing your rifle...

cohunter14

cohunter14

Administrator
Jul 10, 2017
5,345
How many of you out there go through steps to accurize your rifle? This has been something that has grown on me quite a bit over the last few years as I have worked to extend my range with a rifle. What steps do you go through, if any? What accuracy standard do you hold you and your rifle to?
 
Handloading!
That will really make your rifle accurate.
Then shooting more
 
My experience is that rifles shoot, or they don\'t.

I\'ve got a .257 Roberts Ackley Improved ... love the gun, but even with handloads, glass bedding, a trigger job ... I\'m happy with 1.5\" to 2\" groups at 100 yards.

My Savage .30-06 seems to throw about everything into sub-1.25\" groups, usually better, sometimes not, and I\'m happy with that. Why \"accurize\" beyond that?

One of my muzzleloaders seems far more inherently accurate than my others, regardless of loads or projectiles.

I had a Tikka .338 that never seemed to be over 1\" groups with anything ... but I sold it ... I didn\'t like being a victim of domestic abuse every time I shot it.

Honestly, for hunting purposes, I hang a 12\" steel plate at 100 and 300 yards and if I hear a \"DING\", then I consider myself \"ON\" for hunting purposes. Is that so wrong?
 
\"Deertick\" said:
Honestly, for hunting purposes, I hang a 12\" steel plate at 100 and 300 yards and if I hear a \"DING\", then I consider myself \"ON\" for hunting purposes. Is that so wrong?
Click to expand...

That is exactly where I was at forever, and I see nothing wrong with it. I believe that is where 99% of hunters are at. I just started to work on gaining more accuracy in the last few years. Why? Well, as I mentioned, to extend my range a bit. Plus it is another hobby that helps get me through the year until elk camp rolls around! :idea:
 
Right ... it\'s a great hobby.

Handloading, shooting, tinkering ... great hobby, and great skills to have.

Me? I just DO NOT need another hobby right now!

(But accurizing rifles would be a great one to pick).
 
My 30-06 group - 4 shots 100yds - handloads

A couple clicks to the right and call it good



 
Changed the trigger out in the Winchester. Timney was nice upgrade last year.

And changed out the cruddy plastic stock with a Hogue stock.The barrel free floats, and I can pass a sheet of paper between the barrel and the stock.

I get about a 1\" group at 100 yards with a Barnes TTSX 130G out of the .270. Shooting IMR 4350 (can\'t remember the load).

Passed through my elk last year at, oddly 270 yards measured. He dropped within 50 yards.

Plus I go out of my way to practice and hunt off shooting sticks. It made that shot doable. Just sat down, plopped the rifle on the sticks, took a few breaths and let it fly.
 
Dana, those sound like a lot of steps I have taken. Just recently swapped out the trigger for a Timney and swapped out the stock for a Bell & Carlson with the aluminum bedding block. I also bedded the action and free floated the barrel on it. Still working on groups and loads for it, but it should be a sub MOA gun when all is said and done.
 
I\'m sold on Browning rifles! Mabe just lucky, but the last 2 A Bolts I bought have been able to produce 1/2\" groups out of the box after working up a load. Building a load is the first step for me. I\'m in the process of bedding one of those actions in a Boyd\'s thumb hole stock. I hope it works. It\'s my first attempt at restocking a rifle & things haven\'t been as easy as I thought. I\'ll post pics if I ever get it done. I thought I would be able to just drop it in ... :crazy:
 
It isn\'t just dropping in for you? Most aftermarket stocks that I have heard of simply drop in. With Boyd\'s reputation, I would have assumed it would be the same. I would maybe give them a call before tinkering too much, maybe they\'ll send you a new one?
 
I have added a Timney trigger, floated the barrel, and worked up several hand loads for my heavy barrel M77 varmit rifle in 220 Swift. So far my best 5 shot group has been 0.41\" @ 100 yards. Not bad but certainly not the best in the world. One guy where I used to work was getting 0.2\". That is basically 5 shots in the same hole. That\'s about as good as it gets. I doubt I will ever get my gun shooting that well.
 
I have a book written by Bryce Towsley on Home Gunsmithing Projects. He talks about barrels not being clean and leading to accuracy problems. Many rifles brought to him by folks complaining of poor accuracy only needed a thorough cleaning. He no longer tells them in advance that he suspects that the barrel is dirty becauce, invariably they respond \"I have cleaned it and know how to do it\"! He likes brass brushes that are one size larger than the bore (for .277 use .284 for example). He also likes the old Outers Foul Out (name not positive of) rod system that uses solutions and anode/cathode technology to remove lead or copper fouling. Some bores require several treatments to get really clean.

I now clean more frequently and much more rigorously that I previously did! And, I own an Outers unit....

>>>>-------->
 
when i was younger, you could sell me a ketchup sandwich even if i was wearing a white suit.

i sent my rifle, (and my brother\'s) to some company out in virginia. i sent an old 30.06 W70 post 64. he sent a Remmy BDL 7mm.

cryo treat barrel, full stock bedding, full float barrel..etc. our triggers were done by a local gunsmith. chuy.

when we got our rifles back..nothing!! my rifle was super accurate to begin with. clover leaf groups at 100 yards. handloads. reloader 19, gameking bullets..etc. nothing changed..
funny thing. i think my brother\'s rifle got less accurate. maybe he needed to work up a new load.

shortly after that, i quit caring. i could hit stuff, i was happy. then i went all archery. now i am insane again.
 
Lapped bolt polished trigger glass bedded rifle handloads and cyro barrel shooing 1/2\" MOA at 600 yards so I feel thats about all I could ask for. we won\'t keep a gun that shoots over an inch and we dont have any custom guns or anything that expensive we just tinker with factory guns to make them shoot.
 
\"Tdiesel\" said:
Lapped bolt polished trigger glass bedded rifle handloads and cyro barrel shooing 1/2\" MOA at 600 yards so I feel thats about all I could ask for. we won\'t keep a gun that shoots over an inch and we dont have any custom guns or anything that expensive we just tinker with factory guns to make them shoot.
Click to expand...

I would call that accurate....
 
well I usually have to practice up a bit before I can do that but thats not the guns fault. If im shooting often we look for right around a 3\" group at 600 of course thats with no wind and all if wind is blowing it gets trickier to shoot good groups.
 
Reloading your own ammo really makes a different with consistent powder charges and bullet seating. Trigger pull is huge I would recommend adjusting your trigger to around 2 pounds. On my tactical match rifles I run a 1.2 lb trigger and hunting rifles 2-2.5 lbs. Also check your barrel and stock contact on some guns your barrel will rest on your stock and then after it heats up it will shift and then when u shoot u will have different point of impact then when you let it cool you will also have different point of impact due to heating and cooling of your barrel. One thing on that skim bedding your stock will keep everything in one place causes it forms to your receiver and then keeps a gap between your stock and barrel. Make sure your scope isn\'t canted aka level and torqued to specs, with a scope canted shooting at longer ranges you will be shooting to the left or right which ever way your scope is canted. When shooting your gun don\'t ever rest your barrel on anything use a bipod or some kind of rest that is on your stock,resting your barrel on a tree branch or pack will cause different barrel harmonics changing point of impact. Just a few things that I would keep in mind.
 
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