McGowen on it's way from NSS
My Savage Model 12 BVSS in .243 Win shot ridiculously well when I first bought it . . . less than 800 rounds later and it groups just under 1 MOA. I've been reading a lot about Savage drop-in barrels on this forum so I sent an email to Shilen asking what they had available and they suggested I call Jim at NSS. Gave Jim a call and he was out of Shilen but still had a McGowen. That McGowen is now on its way . . . if it shoots as well as the 26" stainless fluted barrel (that originally came with the rifle) when it was new I'll be a happy camper. I expect a lot more than <800 rounds of accuracy though. This will be my first barrel replacement . . . have a gun safe full of savage rifles so I'm sure it won't be the last time I replace a barrel.
-Scott
Re: McGowen on it's way from NSS
Welcome to the forum.. I'm sure you'll like the McGowen barrel.
Did you ever inspect the factory barrel to see if something is wrong with it(bad crown, copper build-up, etc)? Seems weird it would fall off with only 800 thru it. Just curious..
Re: McGowen on it's way from NSS
pdog06, I cleaned it for copper fouling and that was it (it wasn't really that bad for copper). I do not own a bore scope, but took as good a look as I could without it - everything looked fine. I'm very disappointed with the fall off in accuracy - I sure hope the McGowen lasts longer, would it be asking too much for 1600 rounds? Probably going to a 6BR after this . . .
Re: McGowen on it's way from NSS
I would bet on a carbon ring or crown problem - 800 is real short life for a 243.
Re: McGowen on it's way from NSS
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric in NC
I would bet on a carbon ring or crown problem - 800 is real short life for a 243.
I'm thinkin the same thing.
Re: McGowen on it's way from NSS
OK, how do I check for a carbon ring or crown problem?
I should point out . . . when I first got my Savage Model 12 BVSS I did nothing spectacular to make it shoot well. Bought some cheap, CHEAP brass (Graf - - - and it was crap), neck sized it, chamfer / deburred, put WLR poppers in the bottom, poured H380 into it and topped it off with a 75 gr VMAX. Mounted a Horus Vision Predator on top and took it out to a friend's pasture, proned out and shot <1/4 MOA at 115 yards. Called my younger brother (who has over $3,400 into a custom rifle chambered in .243) and told him about the great accuracy out of my factory rifle and he about crapped himself. The rifle has made some outstanding shots - fox at just over 600 yards = one shot. Coon on the dead run straight away at 486 yards = one shot. Smashed several deer with it from 140 all the way out to 320 yards = all one shot and DRT. Now the rifle has opened up to almost 1 MOA and I've lost all confidence. I've put 96 rounds through it just trying to find the right combination again - pure agony.
Then I started reading the forums - this one, 6mmbr.com, predator masters, etc, etc. Now I use a flash hole deburring tool, primer pocket uniformer, just bought a wilson sinclair trimmer, case neck turner, Hornady COL gauge with matching cartridge, 30 mm lapping tool, chronograph, swarovski LRF, leupold spotting scopoe . . . after getting all of my toys and finally being completely prepared to shoot varmints at 650+ yards my rifle quits shooting!!! What a bunch of CRAP, eh? By the way, that Graf brass I bought was pure crap - almost 30% scrap right out of the bag (flash holes not centered). After I shot 10 rounds out of that brass, I found 3 of them with cracked / volcano necks. Called hornady and the tech tells me to anneal the brass and it will be fine . . . instead I went out and bought 300 pieces of Winchester brass. I don't even let my Winchester brass sit in the same ROOM as that Graf crap.
Sorry this got so long . . . misery loves company!
-Scott
Re: McGowen on it's way from NSS
songdogslayer,
Let us know how that McGowen barrel works out!
Re: McGowen on it's way from NSS
hello, did you try to set the bullet out a little more? i had a similar thing happen to custom .243 i have. changed the seating depth and what do ya know all is well. velocity is is a little slower. hope this helps. 8) dd oh, by the way this happened at about 1200 rounds
Re: McGowen on it's way from NSS
destertdog, I've tried absolutely everything where reloading is concerned. seated bullets .020 into lands all the way to .020 out of lands. I even tried my first load ever - H380 pushing 75 gr VMAX with COL of 2.715 . . . which is waaaay out of the lands. I would be pleasantly surprised to find out there is something reasonably 'fixable' with this barrel, but the long range coyotes can't wait any longer!
Re: McGowen on it's way from NSS
For a carbon ring get some iosso bore cream and on a patch or a nylon brush short stroke the first 2-3" of the barrel. For the neck area use a mop that fits tight in the neck with the iosso and a short rod with a handle that doesnt rotate, I use the sinclair tool for the lugs and chamber, and twist it for a minute. The iosso is great on carbon and copper. To check your crown use a qtip and run it over the crown if any fibers are snagged I would have it recrowned or use a magnifying glass and inspect the crown that way looking for an even mark around the bore.