My 700 LTR wouldn't shoot but now its "deadly"

beradon

Private
Minuteman
Apr 10, 2010
7
0
76
SW FL
I recently bought a new 700 LTR in .223 and it wouldn’t shoot worth a damn. With a 3 pound crisp Rifle Basix trigger, an EGW base, rings and a 6 x 18 Sightron Big Sky scope I expected it to be a shooter right out of the box but after 3 trips to the range using a variety of match grade ammo and shooting off sandbags the best it would do was 4 MOA at 100 yds. Frustrated as hell I sent it off to Hooper Ordnance and he skim bedded it, R&R the scope, cut a new crown and now it shoots sub MOA and I couldn‘t be happier! When I called him about the problem he spent about ½ hour on the phone giving me advice and suggestions and I thought that was damn nice of him since time is money. Thanks Hoop for turning a lemon into lemonade!
 
Re: My 700 LTR wouldn't shoot but now its "deadly"

Wow, 4moa? Not acceptable...especially for a "precision rifle". My experience with the one LTR I've shot was that it was an extremely accurate rifle, routinely turning in 1/2moa. Glad you got it dialed in, but too bad you had to go the extra mile to get there.
 
Re: My 700 LTR wouldn't shoot but now its "deadly"

Thanks for the feedback.
I found overspray in and around the bedding block on this one. Not just paint, but actual stock material that they use kinda like a gel coat on a glass stock. The bottom of the pillars had it caked in there as well.

The factory crown was not cut concentric to the bore and was not cut at a consistent angle.

I think the bedding issue was the major player on this one.
 
Re: My 700 LTR wouldn't shoot but now its "deadly"

I have a .223 LTR as well, it's a lot better than 4 MOA, but seems to be around 1 MOA, I think it should shoot better. I'm in the process of working up a load for it, I've only been shooting factory fodder, and hopefully I can shrink those groups.