Is this the best my gun can do?

M

Morgan321

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Apr 27, 2013
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#1
Gun: Dick's special Remington 700 adl with pencil thin 30-06 barrel. It's in a nice hs precision stock.

I started reloading primarily to save money so I could shoot lots more. I've done ocw with two powders and two bullets. Tried 6 kinds of factory ammo. I reliably get 1-1.25 moa with factory match ammo and my own ammo. The gun shoots best with relatively weak loads and is very consistent.

I'm relatively new to long range shooting. From what I gather this is reasonable performance from a cheap 700? I have a work trip this summer for a few months and am considering having the action trued and a good barrel put on while I'm gone. I know this is a loaded question, but how much of an improvement could I expect?

I'm far from an expert, but I don't believe that my reloading or shooting technique is a huge limitation. Does anybody shoot at quantico? I'd like to see someone with much more skill and experience try my gun. I'd also like to try a high-end gun with demonstrated excellent performance to see how much my skill(lack of!) is costing me.
 
#2
Pretty much. I mean, expecting more out of a mostly factory rifle is asking a lot. You are able to shoot one inch at a football field away consistently, I'd say that's impressive in itself. However, there is a reason people invest so much money into custom rifles that shoot 1/2 MOA or better. I would suggest two things to you.

1. Check how far in your lands are cut. There are a lot of guides for this on the internet. My favorite is lightly placing a bullet (not a loaded round) into the barrel then measuring how far from the crown it is then measuring to the bolt face. This would give you the OAL with that specific bullet. Then you could measure with a comparator etc. Chances are that your freebore area is cut way too big making it almost impossible to load a round to touch the lands.

2. Don't think about trying to get your gun to shoot super accurately right now since you already have these limitations. Instead, focus on your shooting. Work on getting consistent trigger pulls and cheek welds. Have fun. Shoot steel. etc. It is regularly mentioned that a 1MOA gun can win tactical competitions regularly if the shooter does his part. Focus on aspects of shooting that don't necessarily need sub-moa accuracy. When the barrel wears out, have the action trued and replace the barrel.

I'm pretty much in the same boat right now.
 
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#3
With the action trued and a custom barrel installed, you are sure to see results. I dare to say you will see a 1/2 moa improvement(at least) if the smith knows what he is doing and you get a good barrel. I agree with the above post. You are getting good results already with all things considered.
 
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#4
My buddies 700 in 30-06 is a pencil barrel also, adjusting the stock trigger helped but the best I could get it to do was 1.5" with FGMM, that was after trying several factory loads.

If you want to keep trying reloads, get the Hornady LNL comparator and headspace gauge kits. Those will allow you to get the best of the factory barrel.

After not being happy with a few 700s myself, I switched to Savage and haven't looked back. For a factory off the shelf rifle, a Savage along with Tikka can't be beat.

Most of the customs from places like GAP will shoot lights out, all day everyday. Just depends how much $$$ you want to invest.
 
#5
My custom built '06 will shoot in the .3s & .4s but I drink alot of coffee and I am mostly a .5 shooter, so I would say a custom '06 built by a goid smith would be at least 1/2 moa on a regular...
 
#7
Whats you current load and what is your goal? I have a Rem700 30-06 that will clover leaf the cheap-o 180 interlock over 56 of H4350(3.300), but I burned through a whole box of 180 partitions trying to find a decent load. On the fun side a 155 Lapua scenar over 50 of Varget (3.298)makes for a light recoil and flat shooter.
 
#8
Moboost: there is a old post in reloading with lots if details and pics of when I started reloading.

Roggom: I ended up at 47gr of imr4895 and smk 175. I tried Amax and rl-19 and it wasn't quite as good.

Anyhoo, it's adequate for now. I guess this summer I'll have to decide if I want better. My offer still stands if anybody wants to go to quantico.
 
#9
Morgan321 said:
Moboost: there is a old post in reloading with lots if details and pics of when I started reloading.
.
Click to expand...

Can you be more specific? Sorry I don't stock your personal life and follow every post. I did find 15 threads you have started in the reloading section and didn't find any useful data.

You want some real advise?

Stop shooting 3-round groups.
 
#11
My Model 70 shoots 180Interlokts 5/8moa out to 300yds with 57grs 4000MR or h4350.(3 shots since it's a hunting rifle). 53.5grs RE17 under 180Game Kings is right in there, too.
XNctWqO.jpg
 
#14
1-1.25 MOA with a pencil barreled 700 is pretty darn good. I usually shoot 3 round groups with such rifles...or else I ensure there is PLENTY of cool down between shots. As in 3 minutes or more if its warm out. I would be really happy with this level of accuracy, find a bullet that works well for whatever I'm doing (steel, groups, or game...if you want all 3 I suggest Hornadys 165 gr SST) and go with it. I bang steel at 300 with my hunting rifles, many of which only shoot 1.5-2MOA and have a great time doing it.

What kind of glass you have on that rig? It's going to be pretty difficult to ring the absolute best out of any rifle with a blurry 3-9x Tasco or Simmons. Don't have to spend a million dollars getting the best of the best either...a 24 or 36x Weaver (T-series) will only set you back a couple hundred bucks and help you see the crosshairs jump when your form is bad. Hell, I've got torn up in BR with guys running these scopes on antique Hart BR actions in .222.

If you want something more accurate, then by all means send it off to a smith. It will be night and day different with a trued action and heavy barrel. Most 700's that have been worked over by a quality smith with premium tube will shoot inside of .75MOA regularly. Some will do much better.

I wouldn't get rid of a good shooting sporter if you are ever planning to hunt. You could pick up a heavy barreled Savage for less than the smith bill. Good luck Morgan, and keep us posted with whatever you decide.
 
#15
like others are saying, I would stick with the 06 as is at least until you get the barrel close to used up

buy or build a 223 bolty for practice/ skill building - you should be able to get good once fired non MG brass to load and the other components are less $$ than loading a lot of 30-06
 
#18
My Model 70 (.30-06) has never shot well with bullet weights lighter than 180 grain.

You may need to try a few more loads/weights to see what it prefers.
 
#20
EXTREMEPREJUDICE said:
That's very well thought out......................at this juncture you don't know if it's the Indian or the arrow?
Click to expand...

No one can ever truly answer this question. You can never really say if it was the shooter, the conditions, the ammo, etc. or just the gun. The universe is comprised of chaos. Our little mathematical formulas to try and predict ballistics is just that...a prediction. In his case (and mine) the shooter isn't the most experienced, but the results coincide with what is generally the outcome in similar situations with a factory action and barrel.

With a gun that isn't necessarily equipped to handle things that require consistent sub-moa accuracy like F-Class matches, you can still improve yourself as a shooter by focusing on other aspects like trigger control, cheek weld, ranging and hitting steel placed at various locations, high stress shots, etc. The barrel doesn't need to go to waste just because it isn't optimal. A 1 MOA gun is still useful.
 
#22
May try some different loads.My semi custom Browning A-Bolt shoots 1/2 or better all day long with IMR 4895 and a 168 berger 20 thou off the lands.
 
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