111 long range hunter .300 win mag problem
First post.
I usually just lurk and search for the answer that I need, but i have a real problem. New 111 LRH in .300 win mag. Shoots 16 - 18 inches right of the point of aim at 25 feet. This is a new rifle, DNZ tactical 20 moa scope mount, with a Vortex Viper PST 6-24X50 FFP scope. This is a fairly common configuration, the muzzle brake was removed by the dealers gunsmith to verify that the threads are indeed 9/16X28 as i also ordered a suppressor. The red locktite or what ever the substance that Savage used when the barrel was removed, and the brake re-installed with anti-seize compound. Took the rifle out today to begin the barrel break in process and could not hit a 16X16 target at 50 yards. The scope was set at 100 yards with a Sight Mark in chamber bore sight before the first shot. The second shot was taken at 25 feet with the point of aim dead center of target, complete miss. My son saw where the bullet hit the ground, we set a laser torpedo level at this point of impact and followed the laser back to the shooting position and found that this was severely right of the target. I then adjusted my point of aim to the left edge of the target and over the next four shots adjusted the scope windage to the left maximum adjustment. The last three shots were on the card board backer that we were using, the last shot was 16 inches to the right of point of aim. All of the shots were parallel in elevation. We removed the scope and re zeroed the turrets to center of adjustment and installed it on my sons ar, and we were shooting 1/4 MOA at 100 yards with a run of 8 shots through the same hole. I have no doubt that the scope is not to blame for this problem. I disassembled the rifle and with the rifle in a vise ( plastic jaw protectors ) cleaned the barrel and chamber. I used Hoppes No. 9 with a loose patch, followed by several tight patches, and then the same procedure with Sweets, allowing 10 minutes to sit between the mop and clean-up. I installed the bore sight into the chamber and used a mirror to check if the laser was centered in the muzzle of the barrel. I found that the laser was traveling up the barrel, contacting the rifling at the three o'clock position, NOT CENTERED in the bore. To verify that this was not a faulty bore sight, I repeated this procedure many times with the bore sight being rotated about 1/8th turn each time. The laser exited the muzzle contacting the rifling in exactly the same place each time. The three shots that hit the cardboard left a hole big enough to put my index finger through. The ammo is Hornady Custom 180gr Interlock SP, nothing special, and i have had excellent results with this bullet loaded in 30-06. i truly think that the chamber is not square to the bore. Looking at the muzzle end there appears to be no crown. The barrel is as if the end were turned square then finished, is this common on these rifles, or was the crowning process missed?
This rifle was purchased mostly to one-up my son at the range, living in Indiana we are restricted to slugs or a muzzle loader for deer. I originally intended on building a Remmy 700, but stumbled across this rifle and many positive reviews in the various blogs and forums. One of the articles was describing shooting accurately at a mile with this rifle, and $895 looked better than $3k to build a custom 700. Really with the scope and the mount, not counting the can i have about $2k invested so far. I expected to upgrade the barrel at some point, but not after 6 shots! The can that i ordered is a Thunderbeast that uses an adapter so that i can move it between my other rifles, also they were the only one that makes a 9/16X28 thread adapter, and was my only real choice with the stock barrel. If i replace this barrel it will be threaded with the standard 5/8 thread.
I am sorely disappointed that a new firearm that is touted to be super accurate by Savage is useless. Had i wanted to go down the custom path, I would have purchased the least expensive long action rifle that i could, had the action "blueprinted", and ordered a custom barrel and Boyd's stock, or just built the Remmy.
Have i missed something obvious, or is this an indicator of Savage's quality? This rifle is truly dangerous to shoot as only the Lord knows where the bullet is going. What is Savage's track record with problems? Can i expect this to be resolved quickly, or do i have a battle in my future? Does anyone have the name of someone at Savage that will help see that my issues are resolved?
Sorry for the Rant as my first post, but i do practice what i preach on other boards I follow, RTFFF! Read The Flippin' Forum First!
Thanks in advance for your responses!
Eric
