In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
How long between shots?
richbug
Member Posts: 3,650
How long do you usually wait between shots when shooting at paper with a light sporter? My 300 WBy will put the first 3 shots of the day into 3/4", but the next group always opens to about 2.5", and moves up 4". If I wait 2 hours, It will shoot another 3/4" group. Is this normal?
I have never been into precision rifle work, I go more for volume.
.
I have never been into precision rifle work, I go more for volume.
.
Comments
Ben
President: Loyal Order of Teletubbies
Distinguished Kuwaiti Observer
.
Gun control is hitting what your aiming at.
If it requires more time (like 2hrs[:0]) that barrel was considerably bent and straightened at the factory. As it heats up, it tries to return to it's original shape. A cryogenic treatment may reduce a lot of that.
why chase the game when the bullet can get em from here?....
Got Balistics?
.
Have you run the dollar bill test after it heats up to see if there is contact? if there is, then that barrel is returning to a previous shape. The stresses induced during straightening will show up as the steel heats up. If it doesn't have a contact point when cold, but it does when it is hot, it has metal stresses that affect accuracy once hot. This is why match tubes cost 3x as much as factory tubes. They are cut straight from bar stock, and then bored, and stress relieved (cryo) before they are sent to the gunsmith.
If it were erratic from the start, I would look elsewhere, but since it prints the first 3 tight, that tells me it is the barrel. Now, you can remove the point at which it contacts the stock when hot, and pick up a bit of consistency, but I would bet the #'s 4 and 5 still jump out of the group but to a lesser degree.
Have you tried a business card folded and shoved under the barrel at the forend?
why chase the game when the bullet can get em from here?....
Got Balistics?
.
You can also cut a wedge of business card to fit at the front and rear of the action with the screws running through the card (holes in them of course for the screws) and retorque and try again. If it gets better, then floating or removing that contact point is the key. If it gets worse, then you may need MORE pressure at the forend.
These are FREE tests instead of spending money. I have a rem700 with a top off a pack of marlboros from the ground jammed under the barrel. I got it to go together and just havn't felt like carrying it to the gunsmith yet. I get a lot of looks,..but after the target comes back, they seem to go away[:D] Whatever it takes to figure it out and paper is cheap. I HATE to spend money only to find out my hypothesis was wrong after paying for the work. My marlboro top is my joke when we talk about custom work on rifles.[:o)] Hey,..it worked[;)]
why chase the game when the bullet can get em from here?....
Got Balistics?
First and foremost, John Krieger DOES NOT straighten any barrels at all whether it is his cut rifled barrels or the Criterion buttoned barrels made for Weatherby. Sorry if this appears to be strong but I happen to know this for a fact and if there is any doubt, please call him and ask. It is stated on his website also.
Secondly, virtually no barrel makers straighten barrels any more, it's passe. With today's manufacturing techniques and more importantly, the concern with the "bottom line" it is just not done. As John Krieger says, "...straightening just adds stresses back into the barrel." The last company that I know that straightened barrels was Douglas when they were still in their old quarters. Now that they have new equipment and are using the new technology of CNC manufacturing, they no longer straighten their barrels.
The bent bicycle rim wobble that Justin mentions is from the high speed turning that the commercial makers do when they are turning the O.D. to a contour. Time is money so the less time on a machine, the better. Large cuts at high speed create a non-concentric O.D. It is not from straightening. The finish high speed sanding, grinding and polishing also contribute to the wobble.
I'm not sure that your Criterion barrel should perform better than it is but I do know that there is no definitive answer as to whether or not to bed full length or free float or to use a pressure point with a particular barrel. Each rifle and each barrel need to be tested and treated individually. The new stock seems to have made a difference which is good and which indicates to me that the the receiver should be pillar bedded to avoid compression of the laminated stock. I would definitely try to free float the barrel but don't hold your breath on your 5-shot groups improving. These lighter weight barrels are prone to heat disturbances and I would be glad to have a 3-shot group like yours for a standard hunting rifle. DO make sure that you remove any tight places in the barrel channel that touch the barrel when it heats up. Don't count out having to put the pressure point back in or the possibility of full length bedding.
Best.
I routinely see match grade blanks spun in the lathe that are down into the .0001"s runout[:0] You get what you pay for. The bottom line is that rejects and waste control the manufacturing process in any factory unless it is a specific company such as the top barrel manufacturers that make just one item. Your standard remchester will be enough to satisfy factory standards of accuracy. Now you would think that a Kreiger tube would be flawless, but I hear these issues with wthby light rigs often. I wonder if it is more of a stock or action issue? I would NOT look at a Kreiger tube as a first issue, but when 3 go tight and #4 and 5 go out of the group, I have to wonder.[?]
why chase the game when the bullet can get em from here?....
Got Balistics?
I'm only wearing Black untill they make something darker