Precision carbine not grouping

[Garander]

Hi all,
Try as i might i cannot get my model 10 carbine in 223 to group under 3 " at 100 yds.
From a sand bag with a good good quality scope, good reloads , different weight heads up to 69 gr smk
Varget powder and properly processed brass + concentricity adjusted.
I'm an ok shooter and regularly wring 1/4" groups out of my 700 sps in 308 . This my first go around with a bolt 223 and a savage rifle, I suspect either the accustock, or the crown at the end of the threads leading into the protector nut.
It,s been very disappointing to say the least.
I've read and heard only positive feedback from savage owners and possibly my experience can be unique.
With the scarcity of ammo and components i am not sure this rifle is worth the trouble.
The carbine is a nice concept, but this one is not on par with savage reputation.
Thanks for any and all advise and opinions.
Garander

[thomae]

What's your barrel's twist rate? Have you tried any different bullets?

[outback andy]

I just realized that i wasn't cleaning my.223 savage 11 very good ,my grouping wasn't as good as it used to be, and someone told me
I needed to try a good copper cleaner, so I purchased some wipe out barrel cleaner and now my grouping is like new again...

[davemuzz]

Cleaning (for copper) is a good suggestion. That can always throw you for a loop. I will tell you that my reloading experience from my .223 Savage Carbine, the 69gr.SMK's didn't group all that well. I can't recall the groups, but I know I wasn't impressed. However, what did shoot one-hole ragged groups was the Hornady 68gr. BTHP Match bullets. I loaded 'em over 24.5gr. of Varget and just set the COL at the Hornady recommended of 2.250. (Honestly....with this Savage and my previous T\C .223, I never had any group difference when I seated the bullets longer or shorter than the recommended COL. Now, that was just with the .223 caliber.)

Oh, one other thing is when I size my brass, I DO NOT use the sizer button. That does give the brass a tighter neck tension, but for me, I have found that it gives me those teeny groups. Your results may differ. You may want to load say, ten with the sizer button in, and ten without. (For the .223 I just use a Lee Sizer die and I screwed in the lee universal de-cap die pin. That universal de-cap pin is thin enough to pop out the old primer without touching the brass neck.)

Of course....for sizing my other "big boy" cartridges, I use those incredibly expensive RCBS bushing dies. But....they do work well.

If you haven't tried the Hornady's then don't give up yet.

Dave

[tammons]

If you are sure everything is up to snuff you might want to call savage. 3" is a TOO big group.
Have you tried another scope, mount, rings etc ??

[Orange_Crush]

Is there a pressure point at the end of the stock ? My 111 long range hunter had a pressure point right at the end of the forearm. I was shooting 3" groups, removed that pressure point so that barrel is now entirely free floated , shooting 5/8" groups with same load now.

[Westcliffe01]

Mine has shot 1/2" groups from day 1. But I was shooting Hornady Superformance Match 75gr bullets.

Depending on whether your version has a wedge for the bedding block, you might need to make sure that the action is properly installed in the stock. If yours does not have the wedge, you might want to bed the recoil lug.

In case your not aware, the back screw on the trigger guard is just a wood screw, so don't mess with it. The action is just held in with the 2 front screws.