Problem With a Savage Axis In 270 Round Keyhole At 25 Yards

albayo

albayo

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My nephew asked me to check out his rifle and sight it in for him.
He said he had it bore sighed but it shot all over the place.
I took it to the range today and got a shock when it fired it didn't even print at 50 yards?
I moved the target to 25 yards and fired two more rounds one passed through the target sideways,
the second round went though but was starting to tumble.
I have never seen this happen with a near new firearm, old maybe but not a new gun

Any thoughts on this.

Thanks
Al
 
Is this a factory new gun or a used gun ?
Stock barrel or not ? Check barrel twist. Factory ammo or reloads ?
My guess is the bullet weight is way too light or too heavy for that barrel.
Get new factory ammo in the 130 grains range and test again.
 
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Thanks for your input, this is what I did so far.

I cleaned the gun before shooting, and checked the caliber even tried a bullet in the muzzle.
Yes it was Winchester ammo 150 grain bullets.
Does that information help?

What would cause a round to tumble at 25 yards?
In the 40 plus years I have been shooting I have had one other gun shoot like that and it was a
HK 93 at 50 yards with heavier military ball and the gun was new.
I am going to look in my ammo for lighter bullets like 130 grain or less and try it again.
I have had Axes rifles in 223 and they were quite accurate out of the box.

I will have to ask my nephew if they cleaned it before shooting it.
Even a small amount of oil would screw up the barrel am I correct?
Let me know if I am on the right track?

Thanks for your help, and keep your thoughts coming.
Al
 
Always shoot a clean dry barrel. No oil in it. It raise pressure and what burn create carbon like residue.
Safer to just shoot a clean barrel. But this not causing your keyholes unless barrel is full carbon and copper, and even then, it should not keyhole that bad.

Do you know the barrel twist ? Keyholes are bullet not stabilizing and associated mostly with wrong bullets weight. Wrong powder or powder charge under or over velocities can also do that on some bullets style and brand.

But in you case - try better ammo in lower bullet weight than 150. Winchester white box is far from the best.

130 grains is almost standard for the .270 even if todays, many prefer heavies in small caliber, barrel twist is providing an indication on bullet weight that barrel most likely will shoot.

This is not absolute - I shot light weight in fast twist with good accuracy, but this not the norm.
A bad barrel is a possibility but rare, worn out..depend. What can you tell about the gun ?
 
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Usually tumbling bullets means there is something wrong with the barrel or your bullet is really out of whack with the twist rate. The rifle has a 1:10 twist which should work fine for 150gr bullets but I suppose anything is possible.

A dirty gun or one with a little oil in the barrel isn't going to cause tumbling bullets.
 
I doubt the barrel has an incorrect twist.

Usually a bulge in the barrel close to the muzzle (often caused by an obstruction and the gun being fired) will cause bullet tumbling.

You can #### around on the forums searching for a quick fix but I suggest taking it to an experienced gunsmith for an inspection and diagnosis.
 
Does the barrel have visible rifling? Maybe Savage installed an unrifled barrel by mistake.
Could be a 30-06 barrel, as Gate mentioned above.
 
albayo said:
Thanks for your input, this is what I did so far.

I cleaned the gun before shooting, and checked the caliber even tried a bullet in the muzzle.
Yes it was Winchester ammo 150 grain bullets.
Does that information help?
Click to expand...

Would it happen to be Winchester Supreme Expedition Long Range 150gr Accubond LR?
 
I bought a box of Win 270 a few years ago, for a rifle I had just got (Brno). I typically reload, but wasnt set up for 270. Set a target up at 50 y, shot a 8 inch group with a few keyholing. Wasnt sure if it was the rifle or the ammo. I mooched a few reload rounds from a buddy, they shot fine. Measured the Win ammo, it was undersize by several thou.
Recently got some new production 22 mag Win ammo. Rifle shoots CCI with the same bullet weight into 1.5 inch groups at 100 y, the Win ammo printed over 12 inches. Lesson learned.
 
Gatehouse said:
Maybe it's a 30-06 barrel.

Sounds like it's seriously diseased.
Click to expand...

I seem to remember this exact situation a few years back. Guy was furious because the .270 he bought ended up being a .30-06, despite what was stamped on the barrel. He wanted the seller to compensate him for his hunting trip. He didn't sight in or shoot the gun at all before he went .
It was key holing just like that.
 
A friend of mine had a big issue with a Rem VTR 5R rifled gun in .308win. Bullets spread all over a 2'x4' target at 100. Everything that hit was keyholed. I reinstalled his scope, rings, bases. Boresighted. Free floated the barrel. Tried 3 different types of ammo. We were unsure what the hell was wrong. Being a new gun, we didnt think fouling would be the issue. I looked with my borelight.... and low and behold........... NO RIFLING. Smooth bore. I was shocked but anything is possible these days with the gun companies and their fiery race to the bottom.
 
Suther said:
I assume you are suggesting the twist isn't fast enough for those long, sleek bullets?

I am interested to see what the end result is on this thread.
Click to expand...

It's likely marginal at best. I've shot the 150ABLR in a 10 twist 270WSM and the groups were decent though
 
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