I got my latest build back from the so called "Savage Guru". He did a full accuracy job and installed a Brux Savage varmit contour 308 22", 1:10. I cannot get it to shoot 5 shot groups less than about .75 MOA. Many run over 1 MOA. I have three other high power rifles that I can get to shoot .26-.5 MOA. When I sent the gun back for his inspection he said there was nothing wrong with the gun. His explaination was that the 308 is somhow unique in its recoil compared to my 243 in the same model gun and I do not know how to manage the 308 as evidenced by some of my groups having vertical stringing. The stringing is not excessive and not consistent. Evidently two other good high power shooters at my gun club have the same handicap that I do as they cannot get my gun to shoot well either. I could say more about his poor service but on to the main point. After trying several powders with the 175 SMK without much luck I decided to try a ladder test. My load uses CFE 223 starting at 44 gr. and stepping up in .5 gr. increments to 46 gr. The velocities ran 2589, 2652,2678, 2732, and 2754. Here is where the interesting part comes in. I shot off of a good bench rest at 300 yds. The vertical spread of the shots starting at the top with the fastest shot ran like this; 2.13", 4.31", 2.01",3.80" for a total of 12.25". What a spread! If you run the ballistics on the difference between 2589 fps and 2754 fps with a 100 yd. zero you get 2.2" at 300 yds.The horizontal spread was about 3". I know that barrels vibrate when fired and have nodes but this spread over these velocities seems absurd. This test confirms my findings with 5 shot groups on 100 yard targets where I tried different powders that might have have as much as 150 fps difference in average velocity. I found that the fast loads woud print three to four inches higher than the slower loads. That also is a lot of difference at 100 yds. Evidently the gun is very sensitive to velocity changes. Anyone care to shed light on this situation?
