Savage 16FCSS Range Report, Part 2. More Torque Different Ammo

(This follows up an earlier thread on the same subject.)

A nice day at the range. I started of by thoroughly cleaning the .223 bore of the Savage 16FCSS, then retorquing the action to 40 in/lb, up from 30 in/lb where I had left it last week. I then shot some Privi Partisan 69 Gr HPBT to start off with, the scope was set for that. The rifle didn't do well with that ammo last week. Ten more inch pounds of torque changed all that. I then switched to Black Hills 69 grain Sierra Match King Hollow Point (New ammo) and did pretty well with that, too, once I cleaned the bore again.

I see others have posted about copper build up. I'm going to have to look into that. Right now I'm only using MPro7. I'll be interested to see if I can tell the difference.

What I think I've learned about this rifle is it likes a clean bore after eight or ten rounds. It also gets hot quickly, so cool down time helps with the groups. On the other hand, the first shot with a cold bore was within an inch of point of aim. For an all weather "sporter" type rifle, that seems acceptable to me.

Here's the shooting results, all four-shot strings at 100 yards. Privi on the left (cold shot is outside the 1" paster), Black Hills on the right. The bull and bands on the targets are exactly .22 inches, the rondels, therefore, are 1.1 inches in diameter.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y28...PP110801-3.jpg

How heavy is the copper indication on your patch? I'm assuming your rifle has the sporter barrel, your groups look pretty good for a light barrel. How many rounds down the pipe? The bore may need a bit more break in and you may need to use a carbon remover along with copper remover. Bore Tech Eliminator copper remover and carbon remover works extremely well in my 204 Ruger. Interesting, your grouping changes for the better with 10 in/lbs difference from the last test. Cleaning every 10 rounds will help to cool your barrel down.

Thanks for your response, GaCop.

Maybe 400 rounds all told. I'm not seeing much green on patches but I'm not sure exactly what else I should be looking for. Two moppings with MPro7 with a patch between, then three passes with a bronze brush, thru and back. then a two or three patches. By the second or third patch, almost no residue on the patch. MPro7 really gets in there. I've been using it on all my guns for years and it does seem to make each subsequent cleaning easier.

I was fascinated by the way the groups jumped into sub MOA at 40 lb/in after having been barely MOA at 30 lb/in