Question for Cooper owners?

deertroy

deertroy

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I went up to the range for the first time with my new Cooper. I followed the break in procedure recommended by Cooper. The only ammo I had was a box of 140gr Remington factory rounds and some handloads that were left over from another rifle (the load has shot very well in several other 7mm-08's).
The first 6 shots were used to get the rifle sighted in. This is the first bolt action I have not been able to get on the paper by bore sighting and I've done a lot of them. Strange. Not sure if there's something weird going on with the bedding or what?
The first group fired with a clean barrel for each shot (shots 7-9) grouped 2.4" for three shots with the Remington factory load.
The next group fired with the barrel fouled grouped four rounds in 1.54".
The next group fired with the same handload grouped four rounds in 1.46". However, the first shot from a clean bore was out of the group. The next three went into .51".
The final group was again with the Remington factory load and it was 2.4" for five rounds.
The barrel seemed to foul pretty bad at first but improved some as more shots were fired. It still fouls noticeably more than my Hart barreled 300 Win Mag.
My question to other Cooper owners is this typical for how your rifles shot during the break in period. I have a total of 22 shots through the rifle with no attempt at load development.
I was moving my scope between some of the groups so ignore the point of impact.

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I can honestly say, that I have never had groups that large at 100 yarda with any of my Cooper rifles, with any load. However, I should add, that I have never fired a factory load from any of my centerfire Coopers. I am disappointed with a 3/4 moa group.
 
Check your mounts to make sure that they are all snug down tightly. Check that your action screws are all snug as well. Left over reloaded ammo that has been fire formed in another 7mm-08 chamber generally will not shoot accurate in another firearm of the same cartridge......... COL will also not be the same. Remington factory ammo, is it a premium box? If the noted said are OK then fire form loads and start reloading for that firearm. Get lapua brass and stay away from Remington brass because it isn't consistent.
 
stubblejumper said:
I can honestly say, that I have never had groups that large at 100 yarda with any of my Cooper rifles, with any load. However, I should add, that I have never fired a factory load from any of my centerfire Coopers. I am disappointed with a 3/4 moa group.
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I've seen you mention you've had a least ten Coopers. So yours shot good even with some of the first loads you fired through them? Did you follow the break in procedure or just start shooting groups? Did any of yours foul heavily at first?
 
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track said:
Check your mounts to make sure that they are all snug down tightly. Check that your action screws are all snug as well. Left over reloaded ammo that has been fire formed in another 7mm-08 chamber generally will not shoot accurate in another firearm of the same cartridge......... COL will also not be the same. Remington factory ammo, is it a premium box? If the noted said are OK then fire form loads and start reloading for that firearm. Get lapua brass and stay away from Remington brass because it isn't consistent.
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The mounts were installed and torqued to Talley recommendations. The action screws were torqued to Cooper recommendations. The Remington ammo was not premium but regular green box. Yes the handloads were fire-formed in another rifle but I did check to make sure the bullets were not into the lands. Like I said, I made no attempt to work up loads but was merely breaking in the barrel as per Coopers recommendations. I di expect slightly better groups than I received, however.
 
Try some different brands of factory ammo. If you look on the test target supplied you'll see the recipe that was used - you could try and copy the loads...

My Cooper 30-06 shoots Federal blue box into roughly an inch even with my crappy form. The handloads I made seem to shoot as well.... I would focus on the ammo, and double check your scope and mount before thinking about the rifle - they're proven accurate. From what I've read, the bores are diamond lapped and shouldn't require any great 'break in' process.
 
MY cooper shot .25 moa within in five rounds............must be your rounds! what scope are you running there? i like the look....have have the same green stock SS looking for a silver scope.
 
I started out my two 7mmstw rifles with the Barnes TTSX, and the Hornady GMX, and fouling was more than usual, but it tapered off fairly quickly, as the rounds accumulated. As for a break in, I generally clean after every round for two three shot groups, then after every group for a few groups, and then after every few groups for a few cleanings. With the rifles that I started out with standard cup and core bullets, fouling was pretty normal.
 
Im Fairly Green in the Gills & Im guessing its the ammo....however.....

Ive seen/looked @ alot of cooper Test Targets over the past few years and yours is one of the worst ive seen,because I can clearly see 2 holes in the paper,instead of one big hole....does shooting a 53yard 3 shot group with a 36x scope make things any more relevant??? I honestly dont know?

I really like your cooper and suggest you try it out at least A few more times,and if in fact there is an issue with the rifle im certain cooper & PRF will make it good!

Good luck man!
 
First, nice looking rig. Second, were your handloads full length resized? If so, it don't freakin' matter.
Remington brass isn't my first choice because it happens to be softer than Winchester (and Lapua or Norma) but is equally consistant to both Winchester and often Norma(its good brass, but it aint Lapua) so don't worry about it.
Remington Premium and green box is made on the same line with the same equipment, its the bullets that are different. These groups are insufficient to jump to conclusions, so get some H4350, H414 and RL17, CCI BR2 primers. 120gr BTips, TTSXs and 140gr TTSXs and Accubonds. Make some new loads up and try again. I have a .350 that shoots 3" grounds with partitions and Accubonds but .5" groups with TSXs. It's sister 6.5 RM shoots 120TTXs in 2" and 120 BTips into the .3s.
Some times you just have to work a little.
Good luck and post the new targets!
 
Whitetail Junkie said:
Im Fairly Green in the Gills & Im guessing its the ammo....however.....

Ive seen/looked @ alot of cooper Test Targets over the past few years and yours is one of the worst ive seen,because I can clearly see 2 holes in the paper,instead of one big hole....does shooting a 53yard 3 shot group with a 36x scope make things any more relevant??? I honestly dont know?

I really like your cooper and suggest you try it out at least A few more times,and if in fact there is an issue with the rifle im certain cooper & PRF will make it good!

Good luck man!
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It's funny you said that about the test target because I thought it wasn't that great compared to others I've seen. However, Cooper uses the same bullet for all of it's 7mm's so I just figured this gun wasn't particularly fond of that bullet. Maybe if they had of used a different bullet this rifle would have a one hole target and another wouldn't. Maybe not.
 
rem338win said:
First, nice looking rig. Second, were your handloads full length resized? If so, it don't freakin' matter.
Remington brass isn't my first choice because it happens to be softer than Winchester (and Lapua or Norma) but is equally consistant to both Winchester and often Norma(its good brass, but it aint Lapua) so don't worry about it.
Remington Premium and green box is made on the same line with the same equipment, its the bullets that are different. These groups are insufficient to jump to conclusions, so get some H4350, H414 and RL17, CCI BR2 primers. 120gr BTips, TTSXs and 140gr TTSXs and Accubonds. Make some new loads up and try again. I have a .350 that shoots 3" grounds with partitions and Accubonds but .5" groups with TSXs. It's sister 6.5 RM shoots 120TTXs in 2" and 120 BTips into the .3s.
Some times you just have to work a little.
Good luck and post the new targets!
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I have some H4350, IMR 4007SSC, IMR 4064, RX17, W760(H414) and H335. I have Hornady 139gr BTSP, Hornady 139gr SST, Hornady 139gr Interbond, Speer 130gr BT, Nosler 120 BTip and Berger 140gr VLD Hunting. I figure there should be something in there. That being said, a rifle of this quality (and price) shouldn't require the barrel to be half shot out before a decent load can be found. I hope to find a good shooting load rather quickly.
 
deertroy said:
I have some H4350, IMR 4007SSC, IMR 4064, RX17, W760(H414) and H335. I have Hornady 139gr BTSP, Hornady 139gr SST, Hornady 139gr Interbond, Speer 130gr BT, Nosler 120 BTip and Berger 140gr VLD Hunting. I figure there should be something in there. That being said, a rifle of this quality (and price) shouldn't require the barrel to be half shot out before a decent load can be found. I hope to find a good shooting load rather quickly.
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You will never shoot-out the barrel. Remain focused on the KISS theory. Use one bullet, primer, case, seating depth and work up your load with the powder. Remain with the same components and work up a load with a different powder. Eventually your firearm will just LOVE one particular powder and powder charge. After the right powder charge is found then you can tweek it for a finer accuracy with seating depth. Don't rush it, the journey is the fun part. If you cannot achieve great results, then change bullet lengths/weight. Regardless the make of firearm, load development is required.

I've been to the range on three different occations conducting load development for my Cooper and achieved many many many sub 1/2 inch groups until I found the right one. Exactly two weeks ago my son shot the smallest group and I shot the other group with my final load development. This kind of accuracy is definitely not required for hunting, I was tinkering as I love to do. The Cooper is chambered for the 6.5x284 Norma.


 
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I am seeing that some people seem to think that you can't be accurate with Remington brass. I use Lapua brass whenever I can, but I have always used Remington brass for my 7mmstw rifles, and I have always found a sub 1/2 moa load.
 
Did you check the bore sight agai after you zeroed? It should look good i would think something is wrong if it doesnt when i boresight by looking through the bore its pretty close. I think that gun should shoot straight with a normal bullet and loads you shouldnt have to find a sweet spot to throw your bullets consistently better than that
 
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stubblejumper said:
I am seeing that some people seem to think that you can't be accurate with Remington brass. I use Lapua brass whenever I can, but I have always used Remington brass for my 7mmstw rifles, and I have always found a sub 1/2 moa load.
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Some people seem to think that a Zeiss, Leupold or Swarovski is needed................a Tasco will do the job as well.:p With Lapua brass you get 1/4 sub moa.ha:
 
Some people seem to think that a Zeiss, Leupold or Swarovski is needed................a Tasco will do the job as well. With Lapua brass you get 1/4 sub moa.
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This is a Cooper thread, so keep Trashco out of this. As for Lapua brass, if Lapua ever decides to produce 7mmstw brass, I will certainly buy it.
 
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