LWH .260 Accuracy issues

My LWH won't group well at all. 2+ inches three shots 100 yds. and inconsistent. Started out with Burris mounts and Signature rings, Trijicon Accupoint. Broke the barrel in very carefully. Put a number of different kinds of factory ammo thru it 120gr 140 gr.. Thought maybe I was struggling with the Accupoint reticle, so I changed to DNZ one piece and Leupold VX3 2.5x8x36. Basically the same results. I've checked scope mount and rings for tightness and torque. I found one of the action screws backing out a little after removing the stock to adjust the trigger pull. I researched torquing the action screws and tried that with no real improvement. Cold barrel was better for sure. Probably 200+ rounds thru the gun. Using a Lead Sled. Part of the inconsistency could be me, but I can shoot my T/C muzzleloader under an inch and my Marlin .30-30 ( with the Trijicon) around an inch with the Sled. Is it ok to use blue thread locker on the action screws?:

Just about ready to give up... Any suggestions would be be appreciated.....

I would not use thread locker on anything gun related personaly, but I have never had something mounted that I was not going to remove at some point and time.

Sounds like you understand the importance of secure scope instalation so ... some things I would look into are; Ammo, trigger pull, floated barrel and tang and possibly issues with bedding.

Do you know the twist rate for that barrel? It should be an 8. I believe the better weight bullets are 129 to 142 gn's. So what are you shooting?

It is the original barrel which I believe is an 8. I've run a dollar from the fore end to the action and there is no contact. Don't know anything about the tang. I've not measured the trigger pull (don't have a gauge), but I have it set pretty light, at least compared to my other guns. For ammo I've tried most everything under $40/box. Federal Fusion 120's (relatively cheap), Federal Vital Shok 120 Ballistic tip and 140 Sierra Game King, Remington 140 PSP Core Lokt and 120 Accutip. The Fusions seem to do the best. The Game Kings were awful. I've stayed with Savage recommendation of 30-35 in/lbs on the action screws. I don't know much about the bedding other than it is how the gun came.

Sounds like the barrel may be the culprit. Get it borescoped somewhere local if possible to see if the rifling is rough or interrupted.What year was it actually made? At some point have you actually measured the twist using the cleaning rod method just to be sure. How long between shots are you waiting because the pencil thin barrels heat up at an alarming rate.Mine heats up really fast like 3 shots.I wait a minute between shots.The super light weight barrels have alot of whip to them.Is the crown nice and sharp.

The Savage LWH in .260 has a 1:8 twist. The barrel is throated to do best with 120 gr bullets. It has been my most challenging Savage to date in terms of getting it to shoot consistently. The light weight, FW barrel and a consistent hold (me) to control muzzle jump and torque are the culprits. The FW barrel must be allowed to cool completely between shots for best results. I also think bedding the action and replacing the plastic trigger guard with a metal one will help. Note that the rear action bolt does not snug up against anything solid but plastic parts and wood.

I've had a hard time with mine. Finally got it to shoot good enough for hunting, after all it is a mountain rifle. I floated the barrel and tang. I pillar bedded the action. I ended up using 43 grs. of h4350 with lr magnum primer and berger vld 140's to get 2700 fps and a 3 shot groups under a moa. After the third shot you can forget about a group. I used to shoot a contender a lot and learned that magnum primers were essential with the rifle calibers in short barrels and they seem to work here too. It took a lot of trial and error. Also I was cleaning it to good I think. It likes a lot of copper in the barrel.

JP speaks wisdom.

Thanks for all the great feedback. I've been keeping the barrel really clean between sessions. I'll back off a bit. I'll also slow down. I was mindful of the barrel heating up quickly and being patient, but I can wait longer. I don't reload (yet) and I'm not set up for bedding and bore scoping. Need to find a gunsmith in Northern VT....not an easy thing in my experience. If necessary can the gun be rebarreled? Any aftermarket/replacement stocks out there? Thanks again.

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Originally Posted by Schekrn

Thanks for all the great feedback. I've been keeping the barrel really clean between sessions. I'll back off a bit. I'll also slow down. I was mindful of the barrel heating up quickly and being patient, but I can wait longer. I don't reload (yet) and I'm not set up for bedding and bore scoping. Need to find a gunsmith in Northern VT....not an easy thing in my experience. If necessary can the gun be rebarreled? Any aftermarket/replacement stocks out there? Thanks again.

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I see Midway has Shilen 260 sporter barrels for about $300 in stock. Been considering one myself.

Ive used blue thread locktite for yrs. Dont use to much. As a matter a fact, it takes very little. I like to dab some on a tooth pick then place it on the machine screws being attached.
Ive also been able to take components off at later dates with no problem. Gun smith screw drivers (to me) are priceless.

Let it get very dirty. I've experienced a few factory barrels that needed at least 15 rounds before it would foul enough to be accurate. Groups would shrink from 1.5"-2" down to about 0.5"-0.75".

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Originally Posted by geargrinder

Let it get very dirty. I've experienced a few factory barrels that needed at least 15 rounds before it would foul enough to be accurate. Groups would shrink from 1.5"-2" down to about 0.5"-0.75".

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This. My 260 gets a bore snake with a little hoppes on it only once in a while. Like twice in the past 220 rounds. I leave the copper in it.
Also, good luck getting any factory hunting ammo to group. You need match grade ammo or handloads, period. Get a hold of some black hills 139 scenar match ammo and try again.

The clean barrel could also be the problem. I have two Savage rifles that I found shoot better dirty.

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Originally Posted by Schekrn

Thanks for all the great feedback. I've been keeping the barrel really clean between sessions. I'll back off a bit. I'll also slow down. I was mindful of the barrel heating up quickly and being patient, but I can wait longer. I don't reload (yet) and I'm not set up for bedding and bore scoping. Need to find a gunsmith in Northern VT....not an easy thing in my experience. If necessary can the gun be rebarreled? Any aftermarket/replacement stocks out there? Thanks again.

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Here-here........
I would clean my barrel for powder fowling once every 40 rds or so. I always kept the consistancy and accuracy. I got a wild hair and decided to specifically use copper removing solvents thru my barrel......bad idea......my consistancy and accuracy went south in a hurry.

My flcp-k .308 likes to be dirty, groups shrink down after about fifty rounds down. After shooting it just gets a wet powder solvent, two dry, one with a few drops of pro shot solvent/lube and I'm done.

From what I have learned watching my kid shoot is don't clean until accuracy goes away. She shot a 196 8x at 1000 yds with her CBI barreled savage rifle in New Mexico last month it was rounds 744 through 765 without a cleaning of any kind and at that time had over 2500rds down the tube. She pulled her 7mm saum out last week been shooting all week with it and shot a 5 shot group last night that measured .131 at 100yds, she says it has over 400rds without cleaning. quit cleaning all the time and 260's are a little more finicky in my experience to find a great load for.

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The light weight, FW barrel and a consistent hold (me) to control muzzle jump and torque are the culprits.

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The original 6.5 Creedmoor LWH I got had the 20" barrel. It was also difficult to shoot accurately with the rather stiff 140gr and 120gr factory loads. Muzzle jump was awful. I finally went with a 22" barrel and that helped a lot. Savage IMO should have never but a 20" FW barrel on an action already trimmed for light weight. There is such a thing as too light! The LWH is just that.

For better or worse, I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one with this issue. Thanks for the many suggestions. Right now the gun is super clean, I rechecked the DNZ mount and rings and the torque on the action screws. Some slow shooting and some build up to follow. Also begun searching for a good gunsmith to bed the action.

wbm-- what kind of barrel did you put on the gun? Where did you get it?

I have to say that my LWH 260 is just fine for what it is! Mine weighs just over 6 lbs. with scope and rings. I'll say it again it is a mountain rifle and an excellent one at that. Even at over moa it is plenty good to hunt with. If you go changing anything on its design then you are just wasting the product. If you can't shoot it then I would just cut my losses and sell it and buy something else. There are other mountain rifles but they are 2 to 3 times as much money and really I don't think they are any better than the little savage. By the way, I killed a good sized mountain lion with it last December at 180 yds.