Hi everyone, I can’t seem to get Dad’s 243 to shoot decent groups. I bought the gun cheap for him off a mate who barely used it due to the light barrel, but I’m starting to wonder if he was having accuracy trouble before the barrel warmed up. It’s shooting roughly 4” 5 shot groups at 100 yards. The scope mount which came with the rifle is a single piece mount with only 1 screw either side of each ring. Is this my problem? I’m using factory federal ammo but surely I should be able to expect better accuracy than that.
I’m about to swap to some old weaver scope bases and rings to see if that makes a difference. But any advice would be great.
The first and cheapest thing to check would be the action screws. Make sure they are tight and torqued to spec.
Then typically comes the scope and scope mounting system. I can’t tell from your description what kind of Mount you actually have but it does sound a little weird. Typically for something like this I would use a Talley mount. They are nice because the ring and mount is a one-piece system. Less connections to have to worry about. I’ve got them on some Howa 6ARC and they work well. Some people say they’re not that strong but I’m not that rough on my rifles. Otherwise you’re looking at having to purchase a picatinny rail and then a good solid rail mount.
Then comes the scope itself. Is it new? Has it been vetted on other rifles? If you’ve got a spare scope lying around or a buddy who has one it can be helpful to put a new scope on and see what happens.
Federal generally makes great ammo. However every gun is different. You might try a different Federal round with a different style of bullet. Hornady is fairly hit or miss, Norma generally makes good stuff as does Barnes, but now you’re getting into copper.
Regarding #8 and #9; did you do the work yourself, or send to gunsmith? How much time and $ did it take? I’ve debated that if I wanted that done, should I bother with it vs buying a chassis or a stock with a mini chassis
I have done both. Maybe not the prettiest and a gunsmith might be done with more precision but you can do it yourself if careful. Watch Youtube to get idea of how to do it. I use Brownell bedding products. I have gotten my actions stuck and if you do put it in the freezer for 24 hours. Metal and wood contract at different rates and will let go. For some reason thought HOWA already pillared their stocks but that’s the quickest improvement to me personally. Sure others have different opinion. Which stock do you have; synthetic or wood?
That’s a good list. Unfortunately, I’ve done most of these things already which is quite concerning. I’ll put a photo of the mount in a second. I’ve ruled out scope issues and torqued the stock properly. I’m shooting federal 80 grain SP power shock, this is about the only factory ammo I can reliably get. Unfortunately the barrel isn’t threaded and we aren’t allowed suppressors. I could thread lock the base screws in but normally I’d like to see the combination shoot some decent groups first especially since I’m thinking the base is the problem. I guess I keep playing around with the mount hopefully I don’t have to play with the stock too much. Thanks for the help
Sorry for the wait I couldn’t get the photo to upload from my phone. Yes I know the scope looks like its been abused (it has) but this is the second scope I’ve tried and I know this one works well .
This is going to sound crazy but I recently had it happen to me, check the barrel and see if it’s loose. I had to send a rifle back to the factory because I couldn’t get it to shoot…did ALL of the things suggested and I’m sure you tried and come to find out the barrel had worked itself loose.
Sorry yes, I swapped scope base and rings out. 3 and 5 shot groups around 2 inches with the ammo but it was a hot day and I don’t think I had any chance of getting the little stainless pencil barrel to cool down between groups. I’m thinking of removing more from the front of the stock with a die grinder to make sure it isn’t contacting the barrel while shooting. I’m also going to start adding more torque to the action screws. Should I be looking for heavier or lighter ammo than 80 grains?
The craziest thing that has ever happened to me is going to shoot one of my Dad’s rifles. It was a 25-06 on a Czech Vz. 24 that my dad had my cousin do for him back in the 70’s. I go out and the gun is shooting off the paper to the left at a 100 yd. I start dialing right, more right and bottom out. Dad had shot the rifle but i didn’t have much experience with it. I start looking and it appeared that barrel channel is thinner on the left. Short story, the barrel is in crooked. Don’t know if it had been cross threaded, it’s no worth the money fix. Lesson, you never know what you will find.
Yes that would be a good option. Unfortunately you Americans get all the good deals when it comes to guns.
I noticed today that the barrel and action have markers on them to check if the barrel has come loose. These lines don’t line up perfectly, as in one edge of the line matches with the opposite edge of the other line, should they? I’ll get photos in the morning
Curious to see if those line line up. Also could check the crown of the barrel for damage. Damage to the crown can have significant effects on accuracy. Maybe try a 100gr bullet since the 80s aren’t shooting well.
Righto, I’ll grab some 100 grainers sometime this week and give them a shot. I’ll send a photo of the crown and you can tell me what you think because I have no idea what to look for.
