New Boyd's stock and new accuracy issues...

So, it was with great excitement that I tore open the cardboard box that arrived from Boyd's this week, and before long the Savage Model 11 .243 Winchester was sitting in its new At-One Pepper Laminate stock. It's a really nice stock and I'm overall very pleased with it, especially considering the price point.

My best grouping last week was just over .3 MOA with the plastic factory stock, so I was anxious to see if I still had something close. Then I get to the club this morning, set up at 100yds, and suddenly my groups have opened up significantly (1-2"). I'm more than slightly puzzled.

Some details:

- The barrel is free-floated all the way back to the recoil lug (I was able to run a folded piece of printer paper all the way back)
- The receiver screws are torqued to 30 in-lbs, per Boyd's recommendation
- I'm not making any bone contact (cheekbone or chin) with the stock - this was actually one of the reasons I really liked the At-One - the ability to adjust the cheek riser and LOP for a comfortable cheek weld
- I adjusted the accu-trigger for a slightly lighter pull since last week, but I would expect that to work WITH me, not AGAINST me.
- The stock is NOT pillar-bedded or glass-bedded (I'm assuming I'll probably want to glass bed the action, but I didn't expect that it would have this significant of an impact).

Help me, Obi-Wan(s) - you're my only hope. :)

I would add pillars at the minimum. The rear pillar must be notched for the trigger/sear components. Bedding at the same time is a good way to go. It is so easy to do a decent job. Even with cheap JB weld.

I agree Brian. Aluminum pillars man. Also, this is reloads..right? Well, remember you just changed something. Different stock is gonna have different harmonics. Maybe doesn’t like the charge or the powder you were running.

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Originally Posted by Dave Hoback

I agree Brian. Aluminum pillars man. Also, this is reloads..right? Well, remember you just changed something. Different stock is gonna have different harmonics. Maybe doesn’t like the charge or the powder you were running.

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:thumb::thumb: New stock, load development all over again.

I'll be doing bedding this weekend on it, and I suppose I'll start load development again :)

Thanks!

I called Boyd's to get their input on this as well and they suggested the following (in case anyone is interested):

1. Make sure the barrel is free-floated (it is)
2. Installing pillars isn't necessary (with a .243 Win)
3. Bedding the recoil lug should be the next step
4. Ensure that I'm torqueing to 25-35 in-lbs, with the front action screw being 3-4 in-lbs tighter than the rear (and torque the front receiver screw first)

I have a couple things to look at this weekend (including starting over with load development).

Do they mean to torque the front one COMPLETELY and then the back one? I don't know if it is right or not but I always torque them in about three steps, ending up with the final torque on the front one before the back one. I torque the back one about 5 "# less than the back but I doubt if 1 or 2 "# would matter.

I torque the front action screw down completely first. Then torque the rear down last. Then I double check the front screw's torque one last time.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mr.Snerdly

Do they mean to torque the front one COMPLETELY and then the back one? I don't know if it is right or not but I always torque them in about three steps, ending up with the final torque on the front one before the back one. I torque the back one about 5 "# less than the back but I doubt if 1 or 2 "# would matter.

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I think he meant to snug them both down and then torque the front to final spec before torqueing the rear.

This is something I love about Aluminum Chassis. I snug ‘em both, torque front to 65inlbs & torque the rear to 65inlbs. No need to play with less torque on rear screw, etc. And never have to worry about “Stock Creep”. Wonderful thing.

Duplicate

I also make sure the tang is floated with a Savage action.