10 308 accuracy issues

[shelbyfan]

I just picked up a "used" but unfired 11 FCXP3 (according to Savage' website) scoped combo, still had all the grease in side of it. Ditched the scope and mounts for a weaver tactical one piece and weaver tactical rings and a Nikon prostaff 4-12x40. This is the accutrigger model, but not the newest version of savage.

I cannot get it to shoot. I have tried 147, 149, 150, 165, and 180 grain and it still will not go under 4" @100 yards. Checked and double checked my scope and mounts, double checked to make sure the stock was secure. This is off of a front and rear bag. Sometimes it acts like it wants to be accurate and then it throws a round. I always wait between shooting to not get the barrel hot so as keep the temps nominal and no warping can occur.

I am about to call savage and ask them, but I thought I would get ideas from you all first.

BTW, I can shoot, I have a stevens 200 in 300wm that consistently shoots 3/4 @ 200 yard. Plus I pulled out my MK2 Mach 2 and put two groups of ten under an inch at 100 Y. And yes, I cleaned it.

Think bedding could be an issue or maybe the barrel is not broken in? I really love the weight and balance of this rifle and would hate to mess with it.

Thanks.

[jinx-)]

Bedding can be an issue, is it free floated? 4"@100 that's more like the barrel issue... Check you muzzle crown, insert q-tip and check if it traps cotton, the chamber can be misaligned with the bore, but there is noway you can check it unless you have lathe and indicator rods, it could be missing riffling if you can get hold of borescope then look inside. I would recommend another barrel, there are plenty custom barrel for small shank also different stock, however I did bed my 111 synthetic stock and it works great. Oh yeah, try another scope, just to make sure, Nikon no longer made in Japan...

[airaddict]

call savage and maybe they willl swap barrels on it. u may have gotten a bad tube.

brian

[airaddict]

oh one more thing. have u checked to be sure the front scope mount rail screws are not bottoming out on the barrel if they are too long. u could have put the ones that are supposed to go in the back in the front? if they were that would mean the rail is loose and moving on every shot.

[82boy]

95% of accuracy issues are scope related. Just because the scope is new or it is a name brand doesn't make it good, try another scope. (Heck try what came with the rifle.) You said you check you mounts and that they are all tight, but they may not be tight. Many aftermarket base makers include screws that are too long, and they bottom out against the barrel before they ever get tight. Double check the length of the screws, just because they tighten up when you turn the wrench, doesn't mean they are tight. Make sure the action screws are tight, loosen them and re-tighten them.

[shelbyfan]

Thanks for the ideas. Will give the q tip a try. It's not the scope, mount or rings. Rifling looks good. I would love to install a nice barrel but I don't want to drop another $400 into this rifle.

[jinx-)]

400, well you talking Brux barrels, for 250 get McGowen. How do you know rifling looks good, you could have a bubble, if you do a pass with tight patch, is there a spot where it skips? I had 11 BTH in 308 with smooth nut, it did almost the same, I got it bedded got new crown, it did improve just a bit but still was more then 1.5", well I sold that thing quick...

[davemuzz]

Yeah...
1) the crown for sure as already mentioned.
2) Check the barrel for free float all the way to the barrel nut.
3) Check to make sure the tang is free floating as well.
4) IF all that has check out.....then I would pull the barreled action out and double check the recoil lug area to make sure there's no "stuff" there so that the recoil lug is making full contact with the stock. Then put it back together....make sure the gun is unloaded when you do all of this (of course)....and when you reinstall the barreled action, point the rifle to the sky....then lightly snug the action screws.....then tighten the front first and the rear last. If you have a wooden stock....I believe the torque setting is 65 in\lbs. For plastic I believe it's 45 in\lbs. For sure you should have a in\lbs torque wrench.

I made this mistake of not reassembling my 6.5 Swede correctly and got some scratch my head groups until I did it right.

DAve

[kkeene]

Spend some time troubleshooting it first including trying a 2nd scope. I assume that you are talking three shot groups and not heating up the light barrel? If that doesn't work call Savage before you do anything permanent to it. They fixed me up when my model 11 in 308 would not shoot, even paid shipping both ways. They did have it for almost two months but I was pretty happy with it after I got it back.

Just seems to be something about the light Savage barrels that we have more trouble with compared to the heavy Savage barrels that almost always shoot really well.

Keith

[shelbyfan]

Got the front lug bedded. Milled out nearly all the way around the lug and about an inch in front. See what happens this weekend

[davemuzz]

Sounds like a good plan! (Not just a plan....but a good one!!!) Let us know the outcome. ;D

[Mallard57]

Hi,
Just for giggles try shooting your rifle with the front bag only and not the rear one. I tried this the other day with my non Accustock tupperware stock and it seemed to really help. I'm in the preliminary stages of this but the couple of groups I shot without the rear bag were better. I have a bull type bag up front and a leather rear bag. I'm assuming my combination of bags are putting the stock in a bind during recoil.
Jeff

[shelbyfan]

went out and shot it today. It sucked. One shot would be dead on (accident I am assuming) the others not even on paper. So I am going to go through every screw on the mounts and see if I missed something, then I am going to swap scopes to one I know for a fact works.

Oh, and the accutrigger blade sticks, if I can't get it to shoot with a new scope I am sending it back to savage.

Are ER Shaw barrels worth the money. I see that midway has the 308 barrel kits for $200, I just don't want to spend much on this rifle as it is meant to be a deer rifle and occasional varmint gun. http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=631834

Grrr. With what I am spending in ammo to try to get it accurate I almost could have bought a much better gun.

[sharpshooter]

You will probably find that the problem is not the barrel.

[airaddict]

Shelby,

I had an old savage do that on me. I put leupold mounts on it and a nice 6-18x50 simmons and couldnt get it to zero for the life of me. And i reload. So i played w the mounts and still nothing. I finally hooked up my boresighter and moved the adjustments while looking thru it and it moved all crazy! I played with it some more and low and behold i found the scope adjustments were crazy messed up! I sent it back to simmons and they sent a newer one of a diff model but more magnification because they stopped making the one i had.

Test the scope adjustments to make sure they are holding.

Brian

[shelbyfan]

Well, I only got to shoot at 50y but it was remarkedly better. I don't know if it was the scope or something was tweaked wrong. Going to try again next week with the new scope, if it works then I will give the nikon another try, then I will know what is going on.

[jinx-)]

I bought prostaff for my muzzleloader it was on sale in Cabelas last year 89.99, before I had Tasco which I busted when I drop it from treestand, well with Tasco I could group 0.85"@100 and with prostaff it was like 5" - 10", I send that thing right back for replacement, got new one and 0.85" again...

[shelbyfan]

well, with my HM2 it shot just fine, if it is the scope it is recoil sensitive. What drives me nuts is the first shot would be right on and the next might not even be on paper.

[jinx-)]

I have buckmaster 6-18X40 and I think it might be defective as well here what it does @ 300 yards first shot dead on center then the rest of the group...
http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/7748/6mmnorma20.jpg

but I think its the barrel, just cold shot then the rest of the group, I had it on 308 and 223 never failed me before

[shelbyfan]

OK, IDK WTF is going on. It shot good with the new scope, then it shot REALLY bad. I thought it was grouping tight, at 50, but it was off the paper. I have sighted in many rifles, something is up. I think it has issues with heat also, two will be decent and the third will be WAY off. The trigger is screwing up also. About one in five shots it will "click" and lock up, no primer strike, have to cycle the bolt.

So I haven't a clue, but I think the gun is bad, but it could be both. Either way I am returning the scope and calling savage. I have spent to much ...... money on ammo to put up with it.

at 50 yards, my 22/45 out shot the savage. open sights. ten shots under 6 inches.