Remington Model 700 question

[higdon21xrd]

I have a Remington Model 700 chambered in .243 that has been giving me issues. I can't seem to get the gun to shoot in a consistent group. I had it on the range about a week ago with a couple other guns shooting at about 100 yards. The other two I was shooting tight groups with but the 700 was all over the place, so I don't think it was me. I have shot Remington Corlokt, Federal Fusion, and Winchester Super X ammo out of it and had the same results. One thing I have noticed is that when I go to chamber a round, I have to pretty well slam the bolt shut to get it to close. I've never shot any other bolt action that acted that way. What do you guys think the issue may be? emoBang

Thanks for any input!

 

[calveryc]

Have you taken it apart and really cleaned it? You shouldn't have to slam the bolt down like that but a dirty chamber and barrel can hurt your accuracy. If you haven't cleaned it thoroughly I would buy some bore foam and let it sit I'm the chamber for a few hours re-applying every so often. It's made for black powder guns but it will really break up the carbon deposits in your breach and barrel. Are you shooting out of a vice to eliminate outside influences? Are you getting "flyers" meaning you have two rounds close together and then one round 4" off. I can tell you in my experience with some Winchester ammo you can get inconsistent groups due to the tips of the rounds being marred. I switched to hornady with a ballistic tip and my groups are about 1" @ 100 yards.

 

[calveryc]

Oh I forgot to ask. Does it close hard without a round? Or only with a round?

 

[BRamsey]

I had a scope on a muzzleloader a few years ago that one of the crosshairs was broken. Thing shot all over the place. You might try a different scope on it.

 

[calveryc]

Good point and make sure the mount is tight.

 

[mlc0341]

You should also look at the twist on the barrel and use the right weight bullet. mine is a 1-8 twist and I use 115g sierra match kings. if it has a twist of 1-10 I would probably go with a lighter bullet 95g.

 

[higdon21xrd]

CalveryC,

The only cleaning I've ever done on it was using a regular ram rod with patches and recently bought a bore snake. I'll run patches until they come out clean and am generally pretty good about cleaning it the same day I shoot it. When you say take it apart, how far am I supposed to go with that? I always pull the bolt to make running the bore snake easier and have taken the bolt apart a couple of times, but that's it.

With the flyers, it is sort of random. I will have a couple hit relatively close then a couple jump around. It isn't consistent at all. I don't have a locking vice, just an adjustable gun rest.

The bolt closes just fine without a round. Its only when I'm chambering a round that it wont close. The scope is tight. Is there any way to tell if the scope is busted?

I will give the bore foam and the Hornady ammo a shot and see what they do. If that doesn't work, I'll look at a getting a different scope.

Thanks for the help!

 

[calveryc]

It sounds like you're cleaning it well. I just can't figure out why it would be difficult to load factory loads unless the breech was machined too small or it's caked with carbon.

 

[catjuggin]

You may need to clean bolt face and extractor lip to get the it really clean. If all scope mounts aren't tight, take it off and re-mount the scope.

If it's still acting up send the scope back to factory.

I had a Nikon mounted on a Ruger I hunted with for ten years. One year it did just what you're describing.

I sent it back to Nikon, they sent me the scope reconditioned, with new springs and re-sealed.

No charge. They sent me the $12 back for my shipping cost.

 

[graybullet]

would you like to sale it?

 

[BRamsey]

What kind of scope do you have on it. I screwed the back end piece off of mine and found the broken cross hair. Being mine was on a muzzle loader I thought I just wasn't cleaning well enough between shots. Or shooting it too many times before brushing the barrel out. I would shoot it a couple of times and it would hit good. Then start going all over the place. Funny thing was I got lucky and killed 2 deer with it like that. I aimed for the shoulder and hit both of them in the neck. If you can't tell if it's broken trade scopes out with another gun and see how they both group.

 

[humdinger]

I agree with checking the scope. You should also check the crown (end of the rifle where the bullet comes out). Any dents or dings can cause bullets to scatter. Always clean from the bolt end to help prevent crown damage.

 

[SpurHunter]

If you have determined its not the scope, a visit to a good gunsmith is in order to determine if the gun is defective or not.

Ill ask a REALLY dumb question, just to be safe. Your 100% sure its not chambered for .243WSSM correct?
I hope you dont take any offense to the question, I have seen this happen several times before.

 

[higdon21xrd]

graybullet, I havent't decided on sellin the 243 yet. If you're interested, I do have 2 of the model 700 muzzle loaders I am about to sell. (1 uses 209 primers and the other uses no. 11 caps.) What would you be willing to offer me on the .243? I believe a previous owner used it as a truck gun. One side of the stock looks like it is sun faded. There are a few dents and dings, but over all the gun looks really good.

BRamsey, It has a Bushnell scope on it. I'll pull the end piece off and see if I can see any issues. It won't mess anything up just by taking the end piece off will it?

humdinger, I'll check out the crown. I don't recall seeing any problems with it, but I can't say I stand and stare down the barrel of a gun very much either. haha

SpurHunter, No such thing as a dumb question. I'm 99.7% sure its a .243WIN. I will double check.

I'm living in Knoxville while I'm going to vet school so I won't be able to check this out until I go home this weekend.

 

[BRamsey]

I don't think it will hurt to pull the end piece off. Mine was a Bushnell also.