Not sure where to post this question but here goes. I recently purchased a new model Seven, took my time breaking in the barrel. One shot, bushed and swabed it, one shot brushed and swabed it, three shots, brushed and swabed it, three shots brushed and swabed it, four shots same and another four did the same again. Anyways, it has a 20 inch barrel 1 in 10 twist. I can not get 180 grain bullets to group under 4 inches at 100 yards. Shot 150 grain and I can get 1.5 inch groups. Had a friend shoot it for me with 180 grains and it did the same 4 inch group roughly. Scope is a brand new Bushnell 3200 2x7 and I know it isn't moving. I thought with the faster twist I would be able to shot the heavier bullets better. I did try three different brands of 180. Federal Hi shock, Winchester power points and Federal nosler partitions (Premium ammo from about 15 years ago). The 150 was Winchester power point and Hornady SST. What should I expect for groups. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Rem Model Seven in 308 win
- Thread starter 243win
- Start date
Your rifle just doesn't like the 180's. Not a big deal. You don't need 180's for Bullwinkle.
Find some 165 grain ammo. The .308 loves 165 grain bullets and they'll kill any game you care to hunt. Bit less felt recoil too.
You will have to try a box of as many brands as you can to find the ammo your rifle shoots best.
Hornady's come with an SST and InterLock BTSP. Federal comes with a Sierra GameKing BTSP. No$ler's come as Accubands, BallisticTips and Partitions. Remington comes with Swift Sirocco bullet. Mind you, any factory ammo with premium bullets won't be cheap.
Find some 165 grain ammo. The .308 loves 165 grain bullets and they'll kill any game you care to hunt. Bit less felt recoil too.
You will have to try a box of as many brands as you can to find the ammo your rifle shoots best.
Hornady's come with an SST and InterLock BTSP. Federal comes with a Sierra GameKing BTSP. No$ler's come as Accubands, BallisticTips and Partitions. Remington comes with Swift Sirocco bullet. Mind you, any factory ammo with premium bullets won't be cheap.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
There is no reason for your M-7 not to shoot heavy bullets provided they are not too long for the rate of twist, which I would of assumed was a 1:12. With a 1:12 twist you should be good with lead core bullets up to 200 grs and mono-metal bullets up to 180 gr but with your 1:10 twist you could go up to 220 gr round nose, lead core bullets. IMHO, an accurate rifle should shoot any reasonable load well, and one of the joys of a .308 is that most aren't finicky. Some factory amnmo leaves a bit to be desired, and I am no fan of Federal factory rifle ammo, but you should expect no worse than 2 MOA.
The first thing is to go over all of the screws, the action screws and the scope base screws and ring screws to ensure everything is tight, even though the rifle shot the 150s well. If all looks good, determine if the scope is tracking properly, and if it will hold zero. If the scope checks out OK, take the barreled action out of the stock and sand out the bump in the barrel channel that puts pressure on the barrel. If this improves things, experiment with shims in the barrel channel until you hit the sweet spot. I agree with the suggestion about having the rifle properly bedded, and if it was me I would choose to have it both pillar and glass bedded. Once the bedding job is finished, you should once again experiment with shims in the barrel channel, as the sweet spot may have changed.
The first thing is to go over all of the screws, the action screws and the scope base screws and ring screws to ensure everything is tight, even though the rifle shot the 150s well. If all looks good, determine if the scope is tracking properly, and if it will hold zero. If the scope checks out OK, take the barreled action out of the stock and sand out the bump in the barrel channel that puts pressure on the barrel. If this improves things, experiment with shims in the barrel channel until you hit the sweet spot. I agree with the suggestion about having the rifle properly bedded, and if it was me I would choose to have it both pillar and glass bedded. Once the bedding job is finished, you should once again experiment with shims in the barrel channel, as the sweet spot may have changed.
now that's a tough one..my suggestion is to forget about shooting 180's and just shoot 150's....
why would you want to shoot a 180 out of a 308 anyway?
Now that's a brilliant piece of advice
My .308 too (1:10 twist)
I once played with an early model 7 SS 20" in .308. We really battled to get decent accuracy out of it BUT most model 7 owners report good accuracy, they are really nice little rifles.
That one in my experience did best with 165gr Partitions (about 1.5-2" 3 shot groups with the right load, which in all honesty for a short range carbine is adequate, I shot 2 kudu and 2 springbok with it).
However like any rifle, check the bedding and barrel in the forearm, Remington likes to use 2 forend tip pressure 'pads'. It may help to bed the action, relieve the pads and free float the barrel. if not, the 'pads' can always be added again.
I set-up a 18.5" model 7 308 this fall for my father-in-law. I only tried 165 and 168 bullets. Factory federal premium 165 BTSP were about a 3" group (1.5-6x44 scope). But with 168 TSX, win brass, 210M primers, and 48gr. BLC2, seated to 2.4" OAL (as long as the mag would allow), .9" 3 shots, with 2 of them touching, and 2616 fps. The federal 165's were 2570 fps range. It is over book max load, but case head expansion shows still safe, tested at 0 celcius.
It just might not like 180's?
It just might not like 180's?
