700 Tactical inconsistent

[cote_b]

I took my new-to-me 700 tactical out to the range yesterday to sight it in for the first time. Its a .223 with a Bushnell 10x Elite tactical. I was shooting at 100 yards with Winchester white box 55 grain FMJ.

This thing was throwing them all over the place.! It was a nighmare trying to sight it in, because this thing was shooting 3 shots into a 6" spacing at best. After 20 rounds I gave up and packed it away. Any idea whats up with this thing? Is it the ammo? Maybe my scope wasnt mounted right?

Any ideas?

 

[ultimate_monkey]

check all the mounting bolts, - action, scope base, rings, and ring caps, if they are loose tourque them down to spec and try again! if those are all good and didnt need to be tightened, the next thing would be try a different ammo,. if your groups stilll suck, put on a knowen to be good scope. if they are still all over the place your rifle is a dud

 

[Jamie]

yes as above ! something is out mine shoots 55gr WB 1 moa

 

[cote_b]

Thanks guys. I hope this fixes it! I know this rifle is capable of much better than that.

 

[wapitiwhacker]

I would check the bore for copper fouling as well. If the previous owner didn't have a good cleaning regime a heavy load of copper will not help your accuracy either.

 

[Jamie]

well i find most guns shoot better dirty and all coppered up...

also have some one else shoot too...maybe you had a bad day on the trigger it happens

 

[maynard]

If the rifle is "new to you" the first thing you should do is take it out of the stock. Oil and cleaning solvent will creep down the bedding screw holes and will cause the rifle to shoot like lightning (never hit the same place twice). Make sure the action and bedding are dry when you put it back together.

 

[The Kurgan]

Have a look at the muzzle and crown for any damage, however small.

 

[Tomochan]

I strongly suspect the ammo is the culprit here. I have the same rifle in the same calibre and with all factory 55g ammo it is at best mediocre but with handloads (69g SMK over 25.4 Varget) it is a genuine half MOA rifle.

 

[terez]

groups

My bet is on loose base or rings or maybe the action loose in the stock.

The gun should shoot that ammo into decent groups...maybe not moa but far better than what you're desribing

6in groupos at 100yrds.....something is loose/wrong

 

[2bad4u2]

My bet is on loose base or rings or maybe the action loose in the stock.

The gun should shoot that ammo into decent groups...maybe not moa but far better than what you're desribing

6in groupos at 100yrds.....something is loose/wrong

Something could be loose, however, I wouldn't be so sure about the ammo. Wincester white box 55gr. FMJ is hands down a poor choice to gague a rifle's potential accuracy.

I watched a new Savage FP owner almost break down & cry when his new rifle couldn't cover (5) rounds with a paper plate at 100 yds. using the above mentioned ammo.

Hw asked me for advice and I told him to stop shooting junk ammo and he should be fine.

 

[cote_b]

Thank guys for all the info! I found a small lot of IVI match .223 nearby. Would this be a good choice to perhaps unlock my rifles potential? Or is handloading truly the best way to go here? I think I'll get into reloading and try some difference recipes. I also have some Remington UMC .223, Federal .223, American Eagle .223 and some Lake City .223. I'll bring a bit of each to the range next time and see if any of it shoots better than the Winchester.

 

[redshooter]

Thank guys for all the info! I found a small lot of IVI match .223 nearby. Would this be a good choice to perhaps unlock my rifles potential? Or is handloading truly the best way to go here? I think I'll get into reloading and try some difference recipes. I also have some Remington UMC .223, Federal .223, American Eagle .223 and some Lake City .223. I'll bring a bit of each to the range next time and see if any of it shoots better than the Winchester.

If it's 62 gr bullets then no. A 1 in 9 barrel won't do a good job of stabilizing 62 gr millitary ball. My experiance with a 700 SPS Tac is good groups with 69 gr Sierra MK's, Hornady 60 gr V-Max, and Sierra 60 gr HP. I used Varget and had best groups around max charge.

 

[redshooter]

Bring it all! Rifles can be picky about what they are eating.

 

[Tikka6xc]

Factory ammo can be crap but 6" at 100.... If some match ammo does not work you should call Remington and go from there. Something is wrong.

IVI stamp is usually military ammo. A far cry from match grade.

 

[Easy 9mm]

I tried the same 55gr 223 ammo as well as the 45gr JHP in my single shot H&R before I sold it. It was grouping the same 6" as you are saying and I had already tried a few other brands that showed ~1moa consistently. It drove me nuts because I thought something had happened to my scope. But when I switched back to the other brands, it came back to 1 moa.

After closer inspection of the ammo, I found the overall length from 40 rounds of the same lot had a range in OAL up to 0.040". And when checking the fired brass, I found 1 of the cases split up past the neck. After seeing this and reading about the QC problems with the wb in other calibers, I will avoid it from now on.

 

[clatartar]

It is a factory rifle with a soft rubber stock that isn't bedded, you're shooting junk ammo and wondering why it won't group... that's like taking a bone stock honda crx with winter tires, fueling it with 87 octane, taking it to the 1/4 mile and wondering why it only runs 25 seconds.

 

[jjohnwm]

It is a factory rifle with a soft rubber stock that isn't bedded, you're shooting junk ammo and wondering why it won't group... that's like taking a bone stock honda crx with winter tires, fueling it with 87 octane, taking it to the 1/4 mile 700 and wondering why it only runs 25 seconds.

He didn't say SPS Tactical. I assumed he meant the 700 Tactical with the green HS stock. Even if its the SPS Hogue stock, and even with cheap ammo, 6 inch groups sound way too big to attribute to just these factors. I think he has loose stock or mount screws, or some other problem.

 

[rnbra-shooter]

3 shots into 6" is pretty terrible (but you knew that already ;-). With such bad results, you ought to be able to isolate the culprit pretty quickly.

It is possible that that ammo is simply that bad in your rifle. Try some other ammo, preferably "better" ammo. BTW IVI military ammo is pretty good (I haven't heard of IVI 223 match but I would assume it would be as good or better than the regular service grade ammo). IVI will shoot 2.5" groups (5-10 shots), or better; some even say it can shoot 1". FWIW I think 62 military ball ammo will shoot quite well out of a 1-9" twist barrel.

Another possible reason is a serious flaw in your sighting system - check to make sure your rings and bases are tight (see if you can wiggle them). Also possible is that your scope is moving internally. If you have not previously shot good groups with this scope (on this rifle or on any other), it is potentially guilty until proven innocent. Doesn't matter if it is a $200 scope or a $1500 scope, no scope can be fully trusted, ever; be sure to always include the scope in your list of possible culprits. If you have another scope available that you can swap into this rifle, or if you have another rifle available to swap this scope on to, you can test that.

Make sure your two action bedding screws (stock screws) are good and snug. They don't need to be (and should not be) crazy-tight, but they do need to be firmly tightened. If you have never taken your rifle's action out of the stock, now might be a good time to - remove both screws and take out the action. If it is covered in oil/cleaning solvent, this needs to be wiped off as well as possible (also clean the inside of the stock).