I purchased a used henry mini-bolt a while ago and really didn't do much with it till recently. When I went to sight it in and see what it could do...well the best it could do was 6" at 25yrds. Some groups were as big as 16". What would cause this problem...all screws (including sights) are tight. Could the barrel be "bent" or somehow damaged to cause this? There is no visible damage, btw. And short of replacing the barrel, is there any way to remedy this problem?
mini-bolt accuracy problem
- Thread starter sawatzky
- Start date
The bore is clean and bright. I don't see any lead fouling or buildup. There is no visible damage to the barrel anywhere. As far as bedding goes, the action and barrel contact the stock at three different points: right behind the trigger, the bedding screw located on the barrel right in front of the action, and the tip of the forestock. I have tried five different kinds of ammo, American Eagle, Federal Gold, Remington T'bolts, Remington target, and CCI standard velocity. Short of replacing the barrel, I don't know what else to try.
Tried a few more things today. I recrowned the barrel just to be sure and headed back to the range. Guy at the local gunstore recommended trying cb longs so packed them up as well. The ammo I tried before did no better than before. The cb longs performed quite well. I got one 1 1/2" 5 shot group and put 15 shots into a roughly 4" circle. Not a target gun but good enough for a plinker. But why in the world would cb longs work THAT much better than anything else???
It obviously has a very bad barrel. If it shoots that bad, you are not going to improve it by messing with it. If it is a new one, try taking it back for an exchange. If it is used, check for a bulge or ring just back of the crown, half inch or so. This will throw bullets everywhere. Cut barrel behind this ring and crown. If this is not the problem, then a replacement is needed, barrel or whole gun.
Thanks to all who offered advice. The problem ended up being a "bent" barrel. How it got that way I dont' know. Henry Arms shipped me a new barrel, sites, and all the necessary guides and what nots to change the barrel for a song basically. I tried shooting it offhand tonight (indoor range, no benches) and it did quite well. Gonna try it off a bench soon just to see how good it actually can shoot.
