BA110 wont shoot

[9hound]

Hi guys, New to the forum, nice to be here.
Just a couple of questions, I just took delivery of my new BA 110 in 300 Win Mag, Love the look and feel of the gun and when it fires, ssooooo cool.

Problem is, I put a Millet 6-25 X 56 scope on and took the gun to the old mans who has been shooting for 60 years and in my view, would be one of the best riflemen in the country (New Zealand) He shoots in Africa twice a year and impresses the guys he shoots with so much, was asked to shoot a wounded cape buffalo on the last trip.

He has his CZ 270 and 300 Win Mag shooting into 1/4 inch at 100M and 1,1/4 at 300 and a 458 Lott to 1" @ 100. Not bad for light sporting rifles with factory barrels.

We shot the BA in at 50, was ok but a couple sprayed.
Then tried 100 with some factory federal 180 grain ammo. It shot 3" group
We then pulled the bullets and reloaded the Federal with 80 Grains of AR 2217SC and a Magnum primer, shot 3" inch group
Put a couple of dads hand load 165 grain game kings down and they shot a bit better
Then we loaded once fired brass with 2217CS, Magnum primer and 180 Grain Game King, Shot 3" group

At this point the old man, who loves his sporting rifles, hand builds them nice and light, slim and elegant with beautiful woodwork Said "take the dam heavy ugly thing home and use it for reinforcing steel in the foundations of your shed you are building"

Hmmm, Not sure where to go from here, We will try a new scope this week, but my experience is that the problem is rarely the scope.
Barrel has been cleaned properly after every 10 shots, Very little copper, probably due to the VERY light smear or Kroil prior to firing the first shot each time its cleaned

Can any of you good folk offer any advice, I want this thing shooting to 1/4" at 100 and 1" at 300 at least.
We are starting to wonder about the Barrel

Regards
Jason

Regards
Jason

[barrel-nut]

At this point the old man, who loves his sporting rifles, hand builds them nice and light, slim and elegant with beautiful woodwork Said "take the dam heavy ugly thing home and use it for reinforcing steel in the foundations of your shed you are building"


Ouch !!! That hurt! What a coarse old geezer!
Welcome to the forum, by the way! I think the 110 BA is pretty cool. I also think you will get better than the 3" groups you're getting now. I don't know about the 1/4" you're after (doubtful), but 1/2-3/4" should be doable.
My first line of attack would be to replace the Millett scope with a known good performer, preferably of higher quality. And make sure all screws are securely tightened, especially the action screws and all the screws in the scope bases and mounts. Pretty standard advice, I know, but that's where I'd start.
Good luck, and keep us informed. When you get it dialed in, take it back to the old man's place and teach him how to shoot a milk jug at 1000 yds. Please.

[seanhagerty]

The Rifle will shoot. You may have to coax it along a bit to get it to shoot as you wish.

I dont think I saw how many shots you have through this barrel. If its less than 100, I might try shooting it a bit more to see if it "shoots itself in."

Some barrels just like certain bullets, you might try a few different bullet/powder combinations to see how they work together. The powder you mentioned is not one I am familiar with, so I can not comment on it.

Something you may try is tubbs final finish. These may clean the rough edges off the barrrel enough for it to shoot a bit better.

Another thing to try is to torque the action screws to different torque levels and see what that does. You may also want to bed the action.

Last thing to try is a barrel replacement. You can get a replacement barrel for that relatively cheap. I think there is a 7.62mm barrel group buy going on right now...

You can get that thing to shoot, it may just require a bit of effort on your part.

Sean

[243LPR]

Check all action and scope base screws. If barrel is free floated make sure nothing is touching it.I just love how some guys recommend replacing barrels on a brand new gun.I guess they have more disposable income than I do.Would you foot the bill to replace the engine in your new car if it only gave you 18 mpg and was supposed to be 20? No, you would contact the mfr. and do what they suggested. I've had good luck with Savage customer serv. so it would be worth a shot after you get some more rounds through it. Also,after you're done with the barrel break-in, keep shooting it dirty. I get about 30-40 rounds through my LRP before accuracy starts to go away.Good luck.

[jonbearman]

A friend had a model 10 in .308/heavy barrel and couldnt get it to shoot.When he finally took my advice and reduced the torque to 20 inch pounds on the rear screw and the front was at 65 inch pounds.BANG it started to shoot like it should.He shot a 3/8th's group at 200 yards and can repeat it. So try what I say and if it doesnt work,set them both at 35 inch pounds and work up in 5 inch pound increments and see what happens.It certainly wont hurt a thing.

[ellobo]

Go ask that old fart how long it took him to get his rifles to the point they shoot tiny groups. If he says they shot tiny groups right off I would call him a liar. Savage barrels need break in and initial decoppering frequently until broken in. I have never heard of the powder he is using but it may not be compatable with your caliber. The rate of twist of your rifling will determine what wgt bullets work best and what velocity. Make sure the barrel is free floated and the tang. Take whatever you folks use for paper currency and run it under the barrel and tang. If it doesnt hang up your ok. Let the barrel cool between shots. I do something that most people sneer at but it has worked on many a barrel for me in over 50 yrs of shoting and building. Put some No. 4 (fine) steel wool on a jag and smooth out that Savage barrel with about ten strokes. Most barrels today are made by button broaching and that process does not make smooth barrels. If you can get a loading manual from an American powder maker, check for loads. Hornady makes a good manual.
dont give up Lad, keep working.

El Lobo

[243LPR]

If Hodgdon powder is available there the load data for it and IMR are on their site.

[mytwo60]

Asking a factory rifle to shoot 5 shots at 1/4" @100yds is ridiculous. Asking it to shoot 1" at 300yds is also ridiculous.

But it doesn't hurt to try. ;D

I recommend using IMR7828 with 208grn A-max. Play with the seating depth and you should be able to shoot right at 1/2" at 100yds and should achieve decent groups at 300yds.

[Eric in NC]

I'd get rid of the kroil too - start each shooting session with a clean dry bore.

[keeki]

AR 2217sc is H1000

[geargrinder]

My opinion would be to quit cleaning it. I've had several 300win's in Factory varmint barrels. They all liked to be shot dirty. At least 15 rounds before the groups would shrink. I'm talking from +2", down to .5-.75" groups.

Then, don't clean it until the groups start to open back up.

I went through the same process you are going through, my barrel wouldn't shoot anything until I let it get real dirty. Then it would shoot everything.

[pdog06]

I agree with Grinder. The barrel will tell you when it needs cleaned.

How many fouling shots did you shoot before shooting for groups? Some barrels only take 1-2 shots, but some can take 10-15. And the amount they take will also change as the barrel wears in.

[helotaxi]

Do you know that the scope is good?

[CAPTBEACH]

I'm going to agree with some of the guys who responded to your post...I've had several Savages and most shot better with a dirty barrel (fouled bore) also CHECK YOUR SCOPE, replace it even if you have a spare...at a minimum, remove it, lap the rings if your able and re-install and tighten properly.

If it were me...I'd gather a couple of boxes of 300WM and head to the range and punish my shoulder...I'd fire at least two boxes out of it (40 rounds) by firing 5 and clean, 5 and clean, 10 and clean and repeat until you've fired all 40. Clean...THEN start looking for some accuracy...

Once clean allow to cool completely(if your shooting the same day) once it is cooled to ambient temp THEN fire a 3 shot group for accuracy, allow to cool then WITHOUT cleaning fire another 3 shot group, repeat again with a cooled barrel then clean...I'm betting the barrel will start shaping up...if not try lapping it before giving up on it...

Capt Beach

[9hound]

Well well, guess what. I have been out a couple of times with the BA110 and wouldn't you know it, the last group I shot is easy under 1/4 inch at 105 meters. The factory ammo I bought is junk, Only good for the brass.

Last Load was 180SST with 73.5 Grains of AIR 2213sc and a mag primer. The cases where prepped perfect and the bullet was inserted so there was 5-8 thou clearance to the lands. As soon as we did that, almost in the same hole. I have the target, I will try to scan it.

Also here is the thing. I think the barrel has shot in some as the factory ammo has tightened up a little, not much though.
On the last couple of goes we did not put a smear of Kroil in the barrel, and as such, got 8 rags of copper out quite blue, With the Kroil, there is 1 or 2 rags of blue so that stuff really works in reducing copper build up.

Also the barrel looks the same after 1 shot as it does after 10, you could never tell the difference as far as how dirty it is, so the whole dirty barrel thing is a bit of a mith in my view

Any way, off to the range in a few days to move out to 300, Will let you know how it goes, but based on what we have seen, should be in 3/4 at 300 which will be very good for a stock rifle

Jason

[setterman]

I am working on a buddies 300 right now tat has the exact same problem.... Have changed scopes and put know tack driving scopes on it . Have shot factory loads and hand loads(300-400 combined) but to no avail. Checking the the stock for pressure points next and if that s not it gonna loosen the barrel and Re-headspace it.
If someone finds a solution please post... I have been building and rebarreling savages for years and this is the first out of the box that I have ssen that wont shoot.

[9hound]

Well mine had 72 rounds through it, at that point it started to come right. Cleaned and well de coppered after each 9 shots and a smear of Kroil so as not to shoot a dry barrel. As soon as the bulletts where loaded to within a couple of thou from the lands, It started to shoot VERY well. My one has a long throat so you will need a length test. Jas
Its almost never the scope!
Defiantly need Mag primers