Where to start?

B

BrianT

Guest
First of all I'm new to the forums, and I'm having a good time reading through all the information here. There are some amazingly knowledgeable posters, and it's nice to see a civilized firearms discussion.

Now that I've finished buttering you up ( :p ), I was wondering if some of you could lend advice to a novice of precision marksmanship. The weapon in question is a Remington model 700 SPS Varmint chambered in .22-250. What I'm seeking is a base for accurizing the rifle. It is yet unmodified, and as it sits, shoots excellent groups. The average hovers around .850" using 55-grain Winchester Supreme Ballistic Silvertips. My shooting set up is from a bench, sand bags under the fore end, and the rifle on my shoulder. Since I intend to hunt as well as target shooting, I prefer not to use a vice or even rear bags.

What would you recommend doing to begin shrinking my groups? Keep in mind, for the time being I'll not be shooting competitively, so I'm being budget conscious. The factory stock is not bedded, and the barrel is not floated, either. Would an aftermarket stock make a difference, or would I be throwing away money. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks!
-B
 
First of all, I think that you should consider abandoning the idea that because you may not use one in the field, that you should not use a rear bag at the range. If you are going to evaluate changes that you make to learn if they make your rifle more accurate, you need to eliminate as many variables as is practical. Using the best rest setup that you can afford would be a good step in that direction. Another couple of things that are pretty basic, that I see missed all the time, have you checked the tightness of your action screws, and if your scope has an adjustable objective (front lens group) how do you determine that you have zero parallax? Putting some sticks ,with surveyors ribbon attached to their tops, at even intervals between you and the target will help to judge the wind. Beyond these measures, a better trigger, and having someone who knows what he is doing bed the action and float the barrel are pretty standard. Pillar bedding is the preferable method. Learning to reload would also be a logical step toward more accuracy. Loads that are tailored to your rifle should shoot better than factory. It is also important, no matter what else that you do, to have the right barrel cleaning equipment, and to use a good procedure.
 
Good stuff, thanks. I have been researching reloading, and it's likely the direction I'll go as I establish a base line with factory loads. Use a rear bag huh? That might be the most difficult thing for me to accomplish out of all the suggestions. :D Thanks again for the tips.

-B
 
have a 700 sps in 243...restocked w/ H-S stock....new jewell trigger w/ safety & bolt release...touched up the crown....shot good before...i've never measured the groups..w/ reloads..5 shots from the bench go under a quarter..i'm pleased with it..all of the bottom metal fit in the stock...the Jewell would go in ..but the bolt release would not work..took it to a gun smith to install...it fowled badly during breakin..lapped 200 strokes w/ JB..much better now
 
So far I like the X-Mark trigger. I'd have to be super-duper uber impressed with the Jewell to cause me to drop two bills on the thing. I'm actually eyeballing the Bell and Carlson Tactical Medalist A2 (A3? The one without the thumb hook.), but it's hard to find any reviews on the thing.
 
Bedding and floating the barrel would likely improve accuracy on your rifle. I have yet to see any factory rifle that couldn't be improved with those two modifications. If you're handy with basic tools you can do those jobs yourself.

Factory ammunition, aside from being expensive isn't likely to give the best accuracy in any rifle either. Getting started in handloading can cost some money, but the tools last seemingly forever if given even minimal care and attention (assuming they're stored in a dry place where they can't rust). It's also an excellent way to learn more about shooting and ammunition than you ever thought possible shooting factory ammunition.

A rear bag will also be helpful in reducing group sizes even if it's not used in the field. From the bench you're trying to determine the best the rifle can do with whatever you're testing, ammunition, bedding, or whatever else.

If you can have a qualified gunsmith work on your rifle's trigger he can likely reduce the trigger pull to the 1-1.5 lb range, which is perfectly acceptable for live varmint shooting and load development. It won't cut it for competitive BR, but I've seen some pretty good groups shot with lightened and cleaned up factory triggers. That won't make the rifle any more accurate, but it's likely to make the rifle easier for you to shoot accurately.
 
I'm trying to find out if the factory stock is strong enough to support a floating barrel. I'm leaning toward no, as there are even a couple nubbies at the fore end to support the barrel. I did look in to Steel-Bed from Brownells. Fifty bones seems like an alright deal. Any opinion on the stuff?

I'll need to get a pull gauge, but the factory trigger can be adjusted, externally, down to 1lb. I'll be playing with that more as well.

Thanks for the info. :)

-B
 
Steel bed should be good stuff, but if the stock is molded plastic it'll likely need to either have some shallow holes drilled in the action bedding area for the bedding compound to bite into. The stock is strong enough to support a floated barrel, the forend isn't going to snap off or anything. The only problem with some of the molded stocks is that the forends are flexible as cooked spaghetti. If the forend seems to be flexible, you can bend it any amount upward with your hand or by squeezing the forend and barrel together, a LOT of clearance will be needed between the barrel and its channel.

I can't keep track of Remington's or Savage's models anymore but most of the molded stocks are overly flexible which is not a good thing. The stock should be as stiff as possible so a good aftermarket stock might help accuracy too. The reinforced composite stocks are lighter and can be painted any way you'd like, but laminated wood is good too, just heavier usually.
 
Any opinion on the Hart LRT stocks? They are good looking laminated wood, and apparently the SPS-V action and barrel are a drop-in fit. It's also got a free float barrel channel. The price is right, at $200.
 
Brian:

If you wanted to stay shooting from front sandbag (with interest to reduce group size without a big investment of money) buy an Uncle Bud's bull bag and fill with media put in Beenie Babies versus sand. Media is available at Walmart.

In my experience a Uncle Bud's Bull Bag filled with this media is user friendly (not only on the bench but in the varmint field) and is much lighter than same filled with sand.

Suppliment Uncle Bud with a rear bag filled with same media and at least one wind flag.

When shooting with this combination be careful to closely align rifle with target without putting alot of "english" on rifle to get to place on target you want the bullet to impact.

As others have mentioned changes you make to shooting technique or changes to rifle can not be accurately evaluated without a good rest and wind flag.

Old Cob
 
If you bed, you will have to float first, to have a proper stress free bedding job. After that, if you want you can restore the contact point near the tip of the forend. The trick with slim forends and floated barrels, is not to put your bag too far forward on the stock. 2-3" in front of the action should work well.
 
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