Dismal morning at the range......need help!

[338 win mag]

Did some shooting this morning and I feel like I'm chasing my tail. Tried last weekend with the same setup at 400 yards and between the heat and chasing dust signatures of hits I decided to go back to 200 yards at my home range to confirm a good hard zero and go from there. Well this morning I couldn't even accomplish that. Need some advice on where to begin sorting this out.

Rifle is a Browning Abolt in 338 win mag and scope is a Leupold vx 3, both of which were purchased new in about 1989. All shots fired prone with a bipod and rear bag allowing the barrel to cool 10 minutes between shots. Shots numbered in black are Barnes vortex 225gr and shots circled in blue are Hornady Precision Hunter 230gr. All shots broke cleanly and felt good. No wonder I was grrr setting frustrated last week at the 400 mark. I could easily pic 2 or 3 of the 5 shot groups and claim 1 moa but I'm a believer you must count "flyers" in your groups to be honest. My first thought is to swap scopes with another I have to rule that out. Rings and bases are all tight. Should I assume the barrel has been shot out (maybe 400 rounds been shot through it) I hope it's not the gun itself because it is very special to me belonging to my late father who used it to take moose caribou and bear. Thanks in advance

 

[338 win mag]

The target got rotated 90 degrees when I uploaded but it should be oriented so the numbers read correctly

 

[Laelkhunter]

Bore scope could be the only way to determine if the bore is shot out. Could need a good cleaning. Barnes bullets might need to have seating depth adjusted, not familiar with Eld-x. You are getting vertical stringing with the Barnes (looks like barrel heating up or velocity variations ES of load-Did you chronograph either load?) and horizontal stringing with the Eld-x different problem? What are your plans for the rifle? Just a range rifle and keepsake, or long range precision shooting?

 

[338 win mag]

Bore scope could be the only way to determine if the bore is shot out. Could need a good cleaning. Barnes bullets might need to have seating depth adjusted, not familiar with Eld-x. You are getting vertical stringing with the Barnes (looks like barrel heating up or velocity variations ES of load-Did you chronograph either load?) and horizontal stringing with the Eld-x different problem? What are your plans for the rifle? Just a range rifle and keepsake, or long range precision shooting?

Well I was hoping to shoot out to 500 yards or so for hunting but neither of those groups lend their self to that. The barnes seems a little more diagnosable and it's not a horrible group. Still not what I'd be happy with. Barrel has seen 100 plus rounds without cleaning. Maybe too much carbon fouling?

 

[Rancho Loco]

What I would do: Clean barrel squeaky clean, check action screws, check barrel contact (free floated?), then shoot some blue box federals. If still spraying, change scope out. If still spraying, have someone else shoot it. If still spraying, then I would check the throat.

 

[338 win mag]

What I would do: Clean barrel squeaky clean, check action screws, check barrel contact (free floated?), then shoot some blue box federals. If still spraying, change scope out. If still spraying, have someone else shoot it. If still spraying, then I would check the throat.

I will definitely clean. Barrel is floated but I did notice a minimal amount of flex in the forend at the bipod attachment but not enough to make the barrel touch. I originally wanted to work up some handloads but it's way more convenient for me to buy off the shelf

 

[p_ham]

I think a good cleaning will help you out. Get all the copper out you possibly can, it may take multiple cleanings. Your first few shots after cleaning may be a little wild but it should tighten back up when the fouling is "right"

 

[338 win mag]

I'll start with a good cleaning and go from there. I don't expect a half moa gun but I feel certain it should shoot better than it does

 

[Fire_9]

At 400 rounds it is far from shot out. Unless it has a lot of sentimental value, sell it and start over. Life is too short to have rifles that don’t shoot...

 

[338 win mag]

At 400 rounds it is far from shot out. Unless it has a lot of sentimental value, sell it and start over. Life is too short to have rifles that don’t shoot...

I didn't think it would be shot out. I know small calibers can go thousands before accuracy degrades. Wasn't sure about magnums

 

[BackofBeyond]

I agree with RanchoLoco. Clean, clean, clean it. Then clean it again just to be sure. It may be worth your while to throw a bore scope down it after you get it squeaky clean, it could be a random knick in your muzzle that you're not seeing from the outside. Stranger things have happened. Then I'd take the action off the stock and reassemble, being sure to torque the action screws equally.

I feel for you. My dad recently passed down his favorite hunting rifle, a Winchester Model 70 (early 80's vintage) thats a featherlite carbine. He hadn't really used it since I was in high school and had been stored in a basement closet. It didn't rust but the wood stock did some moving. I ended up having to fully bed the action, and have a new crown cut into the barrel to get it to shoot the way I remember it shooting when I was a kid. Lots of work, but worth it for a family heir loom.

 

[JLS]

Pretty easy job to pillar bed the action, and a new crown will run you about 75 bucks.

 

[338 win mag]

Pretty easy job to pillar bed the action, and a new crown will run you about 75 bucks.

Its bedded with compound from the factory. I cleaned it thoroughly, we'll see if that helps

 

[338 win mag]

I agree with RanchoLoco. Clean, clean, clean it. Then clean it again just to be sure. It may be worth your while to throw a bore scope down it after you get it squeaky clean, it could be a random knick in your muzzle that you're not seeing from the outside. Stranger things have happened. Then I'd take the action off the stock and reassemble, being sure to torque the action screws equally.

I feel for you. My dad recently passed down his favorite hunting rifle, a Winchester Model 70 (early 80's vintage) thats a featherlite carbine. He hadn't really used it since I was in high school and had been stored in a basement closet. It didn't rust but the wood stock did some moving. I ended up having to fully bed the action, and have a new crown cut into the barrel to get it to shoot the way I remember it shooting when I was a kid. Lots of work, but worth it for a family heir loom.

I removed the action and barrel a while back. I'll check the screws. Even if it ends up not shooting the way I like I doubt I'll get rid of it

 

[JLS]

Its bedded with compound from the factory. I cleaned it thoroughly, we'll see if that helps

But is it needed well? Factory bedding is fairly shitty IMO. I bought all the stuff from Brownells for around 75 bucks, pillars and Devcon.

 

[cahunter805]

Definitely needs a cleaning with a dedicated copper solvent. Be sure to use a coated or plastic jag so you don't get false readings.
Also is your scope parallax set and adjusted correctly for you?
The factory bedding is junk. You need bed the entire action and the tang area.
Have you tuned the trigger? A bolt triggers are very easy to respring. I think timney sells a kit for like $20.

 

[338 win mag]

Definitely needs a cleaning with a dedicated copper solvent. Be sure to use a coated or plastic jag so you don't get false readings.
Also is your scope parallax set and adjusted correctly for you?
The factory bedding is junk. You need bed the entire action and the tang area.
Have you tuned the trigger? A bolt triggers are very easy to respring. I think timney sells a kit for like $20.

I put the 2 pound timney spring in several years ago. I may try bedding the entire action.

 

[338 win mag]

So I cleaned very well with a copper solvent and went back to the range. Only had enough time to shoot a group with the barnes. Shot 2 foulers at steel at 200 and they were within an moa so I was feeling good. Shot a 4 shot group at 200 and mustered about a 3 inch group as the target will show. Heck if i throw out the 2 fliers I'd tell everyone I have sub .25 MOA rifle ������

 

[BackofBeyond]

Something I just thought of... does the rifle have one of those janky BOSS muzzlebrakes on it that Browning came out with back in the day? I remember them being over-hyped BS at the time, but that was many many moons ago. Looking at your targets again, I think you're do for a bed job on your action. The rifle may never get to be a sub MOA tack-driver, but should show you better groups than what you're seeing.

 

[338 win mag]

Something I just thought of... does the rifle have one of those janky BOSS muzzlebrakes on it that Browning came out with back in the day? I remember them being over-hyped BS at the time, but that was many many moons ago. Looking at your targets again, I think you're do for a bed job on your action. The rifle may never get to be a sub MOA tack-driver, but should show you better groups than what you're seeing.

Haha it doesn't have the boss. However I wouldn't mind a muzzle break. I'm going to try and find a bedding kit