DreamMaker
12-02-2012, 01:18 AM
Making this rifle reliable and accurate has been a real journey. Besides having every know reliability problem it wouldn't group under 2.5 inches @ 50 yards. The rifle will now consistently shoot under 1/2 inch @ 65 yards if I do my part. I think it will due even better with more rounds down the tube and shooting for groups in zero wind conditions. Performs well with Hornady 17 grain, but the 20 grain HP's appear to be a tad bit more accurate - time will tell.
This is what I did in (chronological order):
Free floated the barrel.... some improvement
Gave bore 2 treaments of J-B paste... no measurable improvement, but a good practice for a rough bore
Had Jim Pixley cut barrel to 20 inches, thread for suppressor and recrown.... major improvement
Added DIP bottom metal and large washer to rear action bolt... provided a more stable base for torque adjustments
I'm still playing with torque adjustments, but 1/2 - 1 full turn past firmly snug is where I'm at right now. Now that it's a keeper, I'll bed the action. Right now I'm noodling how I want to go about it. I want to keep the OEM wood stock, but it needs to be made solid and repeatable. Once bedded, I'll go through the action torque process with my torque driver.
This is what I did in (chronological order):
Free floated the barrel.... some improvement
Gave bore 2 treaments of J-B paste... no measurable improvement, but a good practice for a rough bore
Had Jim Pixley cut barrel to 20 inches, thread for suppressor and recrown.... major improvement
Added DIP bottom metal and large washer to rear action bolt... provided a more stable base for torque adjustments
I'm still playing with torque adjustments, but 1/2 - 1 full turn past firmly snug is where I'm at right now. Now that it's a keeper, I'll bed the action. Right now I'm noodling how I want to go about it. I want to keep the OEM wood stock, but it needs to be made solid and repeatable. Once bedded, I'll go through the action torque process with my torque driver.