Restoring Accuracy, Remington 700

[Smtn10pt]

I thought I would make this post after running in circles the last few months trying to find out what was up with my 300RUM. I had previously been shooting the 180 gr ttsx and while accurate, I was not liking the looks of the recovered bullets and I wanted to step up to a heavier bullet. I decided the 200 gr accubond would be my bullet of choice. After having gone through several different attempts and not being able to achieve acceptable accuracy I decided I would rebarrel it. Since I have a Tikka 300 WSM i decided I didnt need a second 300 mag, so I went to 338 RUM. This allowed me to jump up to 250 gr accubonds. Well, the problems persisted, just could not find a combination that was accurate enough for my liking. The gun would shoot two very close and a third about 1.5" away. The flyer was usually the second or third shot. I repeated this group multiple times and was getting very frustrated.

I had the action bedded and went to the range again yesterday. I was out of reloads so I grabbed a box of 250 gr LRX which was the only factory load locally available. I shot a 4 shot group at 100 yards and it was much worse than average. Previously, while going over the gun at the shop, my gunsmith took the bolt apart and noticed the firing pin spring was in horrible shape, he brought a spare and we swapped it out at the range. I fired another 4 shot group immediately after. I think the results speak for themselves.

I would have never believed the spring had that much to do with accuracy but I saw it happen. If anyone else is having these problems and you are using an older rifle it may be worth checking that spring.

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

Honestly hard to believe, but the results speak for themselves.

Glad you were able to figure it out. I had a gun I chased accuracy on for a year until I finally gave up hope and got rid of it. Most accurate rifle I ever had, but the groups would move 12" day to day. I never found a smoking gun like you did

 

[Benfromalbuquerque]

Thank you for sharing! That cheap part of the whole thing is very vital. I’d say if you’re into benchrest ELR competition then these shoulder-mounted cannons are the right flavor. On the other hand, something in 7mm, 6.8mm, 6.5mm, 6mm could get you to the same ends at far less recoil and expense.

 

[Smtn10pt]

Honestly hard to believe, but the results speak for themselves.

Glad you were able to figure it out. I had a gun I chased accuracy on for a year until I finally gave up hope and got rid of it. Most accurate rifle I ever had, but the groups would move 12" day to day. I never found a smoking gun like you did

Yea, that was 8 consecutive shots and the only thing that changed was the spring/pin!

 

[90Ranger]

I ran into a similar problem on a push feed Weatherby Vanguard. It normally shot tight groups.
Suddenly it wouldn't hit a coffee can at 100 and there had been no changes to the rifle.
We fought through cleaning, scope, bedding and other assorted checks without satisfaction.
I finally stripped it completely down and found a little half circle piece of brass has peeled from a cartridge and lodged in the ejector and held the ejector in the hole a bit. No way this could be the problem!
Put everything back together, took it to the range and Voila! Back shooting tight groups.
It never ceases to amaze me what tiny little imperfections can cause such huge problems.

 

[nhenry]

I actually had this exact problem in my 700. I changed the spring not too long ago and all inconsistencies day-to-day left the building. The old spring wasn't original, but it was a much more powerful spring someone had put in there before I got to it. I replaced it with a factory-weight spring. Glad you got the gun shooting how you want it

 

[noharleyyet]

Actually dealt with the same issue with a 700LSS 7 RUM...good reminder.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Good share. I know certain smiths give considerable attention to the ignition system to make it ideal and lots seem to ignore it unless there are problems. I'm pretty ignorant on all the details involved but seems its a good thing to keep on top of.

 

[Bambistew]

..good reminder.

No kidding. I usually tear down bolts and clean them at the end of the season. I've had a couple that were rusted badly, a new spring and firing pin fixed them up though. I don't recall them having accuracy issues though.

This is very interesting. Thanks for sharing. Now I'm going to be paranoid. haha

 

[std7mag]

You could always do the same as a radiator cap replacement.

Where you take off the radiator cap and pull a different vehicle in. Put radiator cap on.

In this case, remove the Remington emblem and put it on a Savage.
Lol

 

[cahunter805]

Glad you got it figured out. That is a very common problem with the J lock system Remington used. The spring runs the inside of the bolt body during ignition and creates problems.

Jlock are very easy to spot since they have a lock on the bolt shroud unless someone has changed it.

 

[mtmuley]

Glad you got it figured out. That is a very common problem with the J lock system Remington used. The spring runs the inside of the bolt body during ignition and creates problems.

Jlock are very easy to spot since they have a lock on the bolt shroud unless someone has changed it.
View attachment 323379

I've used a J-lock rifle for a long time with no issues. I unlocked it the day I bought it and never touched it again. But, I do have a new Gre-Tan shroud, pin and spring to have installed. mtmuley