110 Savage 7mm mag Inaccurate

My Savage 110 7 mm mag will not shoot less than a 2.5 inch group at 100 yards. What can I do to fix it? I bought the gun used and the seller said it has only had a few boxes run through it. I cleaned the copper out and broke it in with a couple of boxes of factory rounds. I killed a deer with it at 296 yards with a Hornady 139 g BTSP. Since then I started shooting Berger 168 VLD's through it, but it will only group them at two inches. Now it will not group less than three inches, six at 200, seven at 300 and not on paper at 400. I have tried three factory brands, Hornady 139's and 162's and Berger 168 VLD's in many different lengths.

I have cleaned every way possible. I think it is the crown or a bad spot where the brush catches midway down the barrel. If I bought a 6.5 x .284 barrel, what would I need to make it work on this gun?

My Savage Axis .243 will shoot six inch groups at 500 yards, so I don't think it is me.

Jim

A lot of 7mm questions coming up lately . . . supposed to be one of the most accurate rounds out there!

You might be cleaning too much. Let it get good and dirty, then shoot some groups.

My old 300win took at least 20 rounds before the groups would settle in.

Have you checked everything else? Scope mounting? Action screws? Scope itself?

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Originally Posted by geargrinder

You might be cleaning too much. Let it get good and dirty, then shoot some groups.

My old 300win took at least 20 rounds before the groups would settle in.

Have you checked everything else? Scope mounting? Action screws? Scope itself?

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Thanks. I tried letting it get dirty with over 30 rounds. I tried to move scope but did not notice it being loose, but don't know how to check it further. I put a new Nikon prostaff 3 x 9 x 50 on it to see if it was accurate before putting a good scope on it.

Barrel floating? tang? scope rings tight? rings to base tight? base to receiver tight, all have torque values. rings 18-20 in/lbs ring to base 40 in/lbs. base to receiver I don't remember.
action screws depend on the stock and wether or not it has pillars.
Sporter barrel could be heating up if shooting fast-let it cool.
try different loads and/or bullets if reloading.
Lots and lots of variables to try.

It seems to have deteriorated quite fast. You also said it didn't like the Berger bullets from the start. If your old bullet gets the same accuracy as it used to get then bullet seating depth seems to be the problem.

The guy that owns Krieger, I think it was, thinks you should "touch-up" your crown ever couple hundred rounds. That seems excessive to me but I don't have a world class name in Barrel Manufacturing either. Lapping the crown is a really easy thing to do properly and the tool is useful for many calibres. Midway! You tube for the how to vid that Midway puts out.

You need to clean your barrel really well and "slug the barrel". Note the bore diameter and measure all bullets for proper fit.

Get a Smith to look into you "clean" barrel and make sure your throat isn't eroded. Have him look at the slug as well.

That comment about the cleaning rod "catching" in the middle of the stroke is a seriously BAD sign. If that is true you need a new barrel and the one you have can't be recovered. If it is bad please don't "send it on down the road" as one of us, the guys that helped you, might get lucky and find it. Hammer it to death and trash it.

Good luck,

John

Is it a steel or stainless steel barrel??

Can a prostaff handle that recoil?

[quote=1jonzmith ]
It seems to have deteriorated quite fast. You also said it didn't like the Berger bullets from the start. If your old bullet gets the same accuracy as it used to get then bullet seating depth seems to be the problem.

The guy that owns Krieger, I think it was, thinks you should "touch-up" your crown ever couple hundred rounds. That seems excessive to me but I don't have a world class name in Barrel Manufacturing either. Lapping the crown is a really easy thing to do properly and the tool is useful for many calibres. Midway! You tube for the how to vid that Midway puts out.

You need to clean your barrel really well and "slug the barrel". Note the bore diameter and measure all bullets for proper fit.

Get a Smith to look into you "clean" barrel and make sure your throat isn't eroded. Have him look at the slug as well.

That comment about the cleaning rod "catching" in the middle of the stroke is a seriously BAD sign. If that is true you need a new barrel and the one you have can't be recovered. If it is bad please don't "send it on down the road" as one of us, the guys that helped you, might get lucky and find it. Hammer it to death and trash it.

Good luck,

John


Thanks. I have been reading a bit tonight and think the gun was never broken in or cleaned, which may have caused a buildup that catches tight patches midway. It probably needs lapping by someone smarter than me.

I am contemplating buying a 6.5 x 284 Norma barrel for this gun, but don't know if I could use the same action and trigger. I have been looking at an E. R. Shaw barrel.

Jim

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Originally Posted by Grit #1

Is it a steel or stainless steel barrel??

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Steel.

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Originally Posted by stangfish

Can a prostaff handle that recoil?

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It may have been rattled by about 100 rounds. I have a Vortex Viper PST ordered for it, but will not put it on it unless I can get it fixed.

Jim

If everything went to hell quickly, I would strongly suggest it is a scope problem in which case anything else you do will be meaningless. And ditto on that rough spot in the barrel. Have a gunsmith check it with a borescope. Run your fingers over the rough spot area and see if you can detect any sort of bulge. Hard to see with the naked eye sometimes. If you fired a round with something living in the barrel you may have a bulge and a burned spot in the bore. Dont laugh, I have found insect nests in my rifle barrels.

El Lobo

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stangfish

Can a prostaff handle that recoil?

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Have used Pro-Staffs on everything from 300WSM's to 7MM STW's without a hitch. One of the hardest rifles on scopes is the M14 and I used the Nikon Pro-Staff with BDC on my M1A1 without any problems. That being said I would switch out the scope to another and see what you get. Have used the 168-180 Berger Hunting/VLD's in several 7mm Mags and they can be difficult to get "tuned". Go with the 168 Sierra Match King and run 61-63g of Reloader 19 with them. That powder/bullet combination has shot well in every 7 mag I ever had.

[quote=ellobo ]
If everything went to **** quickly, I would strongly suggest it is a scope problem in which case anything else you do will be meaningless. And ditto on that rough spot in the barrel. Have a gunsmith check it with a borescope. Run your fingers over the rough spot area and see if you can detect any sort of bulge. Hard to see with the naked eye sometimes. If you fired a round with something living in the barrel you may have a bulge and a burned spot in the bore. Dont laugh, I have found insect nests in my rifle barrels.

El Lobo
[/qu
Plus one on the scope I had nothing but problems with the Nikon Prostaff I had. I had to send it back three times and the forth time I got rid of it.

I had the same problem with mine also 3" group @ 100 yards . I have the wood stock 111 7mag . heres what I did .. First adjust the trigger, then glass bed the action , clean the barrel with a type of copper remover = All of a sudden I'm shooting 1 Inch @ 200 yards! The bedding was the real trick that turned this thing around.

This is what I do before I even start reloading.

1/ Bed the action
2/ Bed the base
3/ Epoxy the rings or use burris Z rings

Just these steps alone will give you right at or sub moa with just about any loads. EVERY shooter/varmint hunter should do this as priority #1.

I am going to try the bedding route, have the scope checked and try the Match Kings. However, after comparing the ballistics of the 7 mm mag and the 6.5 x 284 Norma, I have decided to buy an E. R. Shaw barrel in the 6.5 Norma. Will the Savage 110 7 mm mag action work on this caliber barrel?

Thanks,

Jim

Yes. You will have to change the bolt head but that is no problem. Is your action a stagger feed or a center feed?

I started off with a 7mm Rem mag and turned it into a 6.5x.284.
New bolt head and barrel is all you need. I purchased a barrel from savagebarrels.com. They use McGowen barrels and it is amazingly accurate. I don't know much about the Shaw barrels but McGowen is making a name for themselves.

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Originally Posted by wbm

Yes. You will have to change the bolt head but that is no problem. Is your action a stagger feed or a center feed?

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I don't know the difference between stagger or center feed. How do I tell?

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Originally Posted by squirrelduster

I started off with a 7mm Rem mag and turned it into a 6.5x.284.
New bolt head and barrel is all you need. I purchased a barrel from savagebarrels.com. They use McGowen barrels and it is amazingly accurate. I don't know much about the Shaw barrels but McGowen is making a name for themselves.

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Do you like the 6.5 better? Where can I buy Savage barrel and bolt? I could not find on their website. How much did it cost?

http://www.midwayusa.com has the bolt head you will need.

Savage Arms Bolt Head Long Action Savage 110 to 116 Push Feed Small Firing Pin Hole Right Hand 25-06 Remington, 270 Winchester, 30-06 Springfield
Product #: 461219

Jim Briggs at Northland (he is an advertiser here) is the place to go for a barrel. Personally I would go with the Criterion he sells.

What WMB said. I am buying another Criterion barrel from Jim. Nobody yet has had anything but rave about his barrels and service. Do yourself a favor!!!!!

John