What is it with some rifles?

[GMC403]

What is it about some hunting rifles that cause them to just shoot?, and shoot well.

I know, I know, every mfg seems to offer an MOA guarantee of some sort these days. But have you ever owned a factory rifle that just shoots whatever, whenever, by whoever........Consistently........

I've gone through a few hundred rifles now and I've only had about 4 that you could literally buy whatever box of ammo on the shelf and it would print 4 or 5 shots In a square along the vertical axis. 125gr, 150gr, 165gr, 180gr, 200gr, didn't matter. Wait a few minute, and boom it would do it again, no thinking no real effort involved. Just point and shoot

Plenty of the rifles I've owned shot lights out with the right load, on the right day, with the perfect grip/position. But I can't say they were always consistent.

Do the stars just align sometimes?

 

[sharp shooter]

I had an FN 30-06 M70 Supergrade that shot a few different types of ammo, always 5 under an inch. Hand loads were even better.

 

[Ltbull01]

Tikka T3... x3. All of them have shot well, consistently...

And a Husqvarna!

Just plain good quality manufacturing & assembly! From what I gather, Tikka tolerances are amongst the best on the 'out-of-box' market from bolt lug lock up, trued action, chamber cut and barrel quality. Meanwhile, I had a Rem 700 that was discovered to be 6 thou out on true when it was rebarrelled! If your cases have a noticeable bulge on one side after firing ... good indicator of action possibly being out of true. Not to say that it can't or won't shoot well, but it is one of a series of conditions that can make it all the harder to shoot well. This is what I've learned by osmosis from conversations with a GS. FWIW... hear endeth the lesson...

 

[Varmit]

I think it just a fluke combination of a really good barrel, a great factory bedding job, and a good stock that doesn't flex or warp. If you took a thousand factory barrels that were ready to go on new rifles, there would probably be a few of them that would be superb, and a few that would be junk. If the stars align and you get a good one as you described then hang on to it.

Of course the percentage of really good barrels would vary with different manufacturers. Quality control hopefully would weed out the bad ones and they go to scrap heap. Then you could get a really good one and the new owner can't shoot good enough to get a decent group anyway and just uses it for short range deer deer hunting, a shot or two at the beginning of the season to make sure it is still "on", so it doesn't matter much for a lot of people.

 

[Boomer]

A good rifle should be able to shoot a variety of ammunition well without having to jump through hoops to attain a good group. A rifle that refuses to shoot anything but a single load is an object of frustration, and wouldn't be around very long.

 

[Dogleg]

If you're building a rifle from scratch you pick a good barrel with a little weight, find someone who can put it on straight, bed it well into a decent handle then you start in on the bullets you want to use. Chances are the job is easy and results consistent. So; barrel, bedding, bullets in that order of importance. It probably shoots, shoots what you want and shoots just about everything else too.

Factory rifles are different. Guy brings it home and tries bullets, bullets, bullets, messes with bedding, bullets bullets bullets, change barrel, bed again then more bullets. Its so much easier if the "barrel/bedding guy" did his job in the first place.

 

[nomad 68]

My rem 700 bdl .270 never met a 130 gr load it didn't like.

 

[sgt.rock]

I had to FORCE a friend to sell me his Winchester model 70 (.308) pushfeed as I borrowed it once and got a wolf and 3 caribou within 2 hours of borrowing it. I thought it had some kind of "mojo" in it. Got it for a steal as it had a replacement stock on it (original wood stock ended up with a broken off buttstock). The first time I took it to the range, I had a "bucket of rounds" from about 9 different manufacturers. I tried to mix and match the ammo in the mag. I got a 1.5" five-shot group with a 125gr homeload, 150gr, 165gr, 180, and a 220gr load ALL IN THE SAME MAGAZINE.
Although I have "gone on to other guns" as I am fickle and flip/flop between guns A LOT, I still have the Winchester. When I tried it out again last fall, I used 4 more varieties of ammo, and the only one it had any trouble shooting was the Winchester 150gr P.P. ammo. Still shot it o.k. but at a little over 2", I thought I could leave the Winchester ammo out of the rotation next time.

 

[scott_r]

Of all the rifles I've owned Ive never had a more consistent honest 1/2 moa shooter like my current T3 Varmint. Shoots 50gr up to 82 gr bullets into tiny holes. Doesn't matter the weight of the bullet or make...its the only rifle Ive owned that can do this.

 

[Kevan]

Of all the rifles I've owned Ive never had a more consistent honest 1/2 moa shooter like my current T3 Varmint. Shoots 50gr up to 82 gr bullets into tiny holes. Doesn't matter the weight of the bullet or make...its the only rifle Ive owned that can do this.

My plain Jane T3 in 223 is one of the most consistent rifles in my safes, it will rival my F-Class gun with many loads.
And that's out of the box, nothing done to it.
It has an 8" twist and seems to like nearly any bullet weight tried so far..

 

[walleyed99]

My old Parker Hale 270 with Pencil barrel shoots the lights out. The nice thing is you don't need a follow up shot, the bad. If you do, the barrel is hot after 2 shots and the zero wanders a bit so the second shot better be on! As long as I take my time and cool the barrel in between shots its a sub MOA rifle off a rest. It always comes hunting with me!