Range Report Remington 700P accuraccy

[Jnikoley]

Perhaps my expectations are too high, but I was hoping for better accuracy from my 700P. Do these groups represent typical accuracy for a factory gun, or did I get a lemon (or maybe screw it up, somehow)?
FYI: 5 groups fired clock wise from top left and center last. 3 shots fired beforehand to "warm up" the barrel. 1 minute pause between shots, and 5 minutes between groups. Ammo was .308 Win FGMM 168gr SMK. Scope is Leupold mk4 3.5-10x40 M5 front focul TMR. Leupold MK4 20MOA single picatinny base bedded at rear, 8x40 screws. MK 4 rings. Rifle is Remington 700 Police. Mods to rifle: barrel cut to 24", re-crowned, and threaded 5/8x24 with Surefire Sfmb 762 brake. PTG M5 DBM. Harris BR bi-pod. Recoil lug only epoxy bedded. Trigger polished and set to 2 1/2 lbs, no overtavel. Aluminum firing pin. PTG cocking piece with polished cam. Bolt cocking camway polished. Badger mini tactical bolt knob. All scope and mount screws are torqued to spec, and action screws are torqued to 65 in lbs. Bedding wear marks on action appear to be even.
So far, I have seen no change in accuracy good or bad from any mods. I'll be adding a Shilen trigger set at 1 3/4 lbs. I'm thinking about doing an action bedding keeping the barrel free floated, possibly with "accu risers". Im not planning to replace the barrel or bluprint the action until I've shot the barrel out.

 

[scissorhands]

MY REmington 700 LTR .308 would hold sub MOA all day long, with most groupings in the .600 range with a best of .5XX @ 100 yards and 5 shot groupings

 

[Temp9]

You're sitting solidly at 1MOA there. How good of a shot are you? It doesn't take much error on the shooter to cause the groups to open up from .5-.75MOA up to 1MOA. Try different ammo, as well. Maybe that gun doesn't like FGMM 168gr.

 

[Mattrmvpd]

Might want to give som 175's a try as well... some are ammo picky/sensitive. I have a PSS that is cut down to 18" and threaded. It LOVES Black Hills 175 Match.

 

[hrfunk]

I have a 700P I've been shooting for years. Day in, day out it averages about .65 MOA with 168 gr. FGMM. Mine is bone stock with a 4.5-14X40 Leupy LR/T. I would expect yours to shoot better than those groups would indicate it does. You might want to shoot it a little more and see if they shrink. It could just be that you need a little longer to get acquainted with each other.

HRF

 

[damoncali]

That is reasonable for a factory gun. I've seen better, but I've also seen worse.

 

[bodywerks]

Over fouling or over/improper cleaning of the barrel comes to mind. I'd be saving my money for a match barrel install before i spent a dime elsewhere

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[KYpatriot]

I have a 700 5R that for every five shot 100 yard group it has ever shot, including load workups, has averaged 0.6 inches. It is real easy to open up a group...or maybe thats as good as it will do. Has anybody else shot it?

 

[MitchAlsup]

How many shots down the barrel? Mine did not come fully in until well over 100 rounds down the tube. This was partially me to be sure.

 

[NGCSUGrad09]

My 700P is about a .65 MOA rifle averaged out across all kinds of loads (both factory and optimized reloads).

Is this your first bolt gun? It could be you might have a little consistency issues with the HS precision stock (which isn't that uncommon).

 

[seanh]

that's just one load...you'll want to find several more to find what it likes.

Join date March 2013...are you a new shooter? Your question indicates that you are...what is your shooting history? Don't take that as an attack, just need to know so we can effectively assist you.

Before you go off thinking that's a bad group, have a buddy that has years of experience shooting give it a try and see how his groups stack up.... Very well could be shooter error. You'd hate to invest time, money and energy into something that can be fixed with practice.

to answer your question, yes, that gun should shoot better but you're not done testing. First, get a buddy who you know always will out shoot you to see how it groups. If it's similar to yours, get some other ammo- weight, manufacturer etc. If you still can't get it to print well, time to reload--you need to do this anyway. Do some ladder testing and see what it likes.

One issue I had with my 700P was that it would shoot a couple shots almost in the same hole but once warm it opened up. It may just take a while for you to get to know your gun...try cold bore shooting...fire one shot, wait 15-30 minutes for cooling, fire another shot...and so on.

how have you been cleaning? Mine took a few rounds to settle in then was good for about 60-100 rounds then would open up.

 

[Jnikoley]

I'll be trying some more loads, some HSM 168gr match, and LC M118LR. I have a Tac Ops cheek pad on the way, perhaps it will help with my cheek weld. The M4 Med rings are a bit high for me. I can shoot my AR under 1MOA all day with a 4 power optic, so I was hoping for better accuracy from a bolt gun. Still, 1MOA isnt too bad...

 

[bodywerks]

Is your AR a 223? If so that's quite a bit less recoil than a 308 bolt gun. Could very well be a trigger jerk problem.

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[roggom]

Your groups are not awful, but if you were working up a load vs factory ammo, I would say you were not at your accuracy node (very close though). A minor bump up or down in velocity would prob bring it right in (noticed by the inconsistant POI)

Of all the mods, IMHO the most important are the barrel chop, muzzle brake and proper torque of the action / scope base screws. If you will stick with factory ammo, then close attention to barrel harmonics is all you can do. If you have a thread protector, try taking the brake off, also vary the tension on your action screws.

Just as an example, I have an SPS tac with a 20" bbl 1:12 threaded with a Ross three port brake. I found a 175 SMK load that will shoot approx .6 with an occasional cloverleaf, but POI is always on the money. I changed the brake to a 4 port slimmer profile (about 3/4 longer) and my groups opened up to >1.25" @100Y. I tried to vary the load with no luck, the best I could do was .75 with an occasional flyer.

Put the Ross back on, and right back to .6 moa. I had Ross make a thread protector and it will still shoot .75 moa consistently. My point is there are many variables outside of marksmanship, the triggers, bipods, cheekrests are great but you have to make a .5 minute rifle first. (if that is your goal)

 

[Jnikoley]

I found on another site some tests 168gr "match" ammo fired out of a 700P. They got an avereage group of .87 with FGMM, and they werent counting "flyers". This doesnt seem too out of line with what I got. Untill I can try out some more loads, I'll have to reserve judgement. The only other loads I've shot have been misc 150, and 168 gr bullets, but not "match" ammo. Firing this other ammo, I was getting about 1 - 1.5 MOA both when the rifle was bone stock, and after all the mods. Unfortunately, I didnt keep records of my earlier tests, as I was not too impressed, the targets went into the trash at the range. I'll re-post when I get some more data with other ammo. Thanks.