Ever lost confidence in a rifle?

[noharleyyet]

I just learned there is a 358 RUM. I've lost confidence in my 358 Norma before it's even finished.

RUM juju is strong...

 

[Addicting]

Well I went back to basics late last night and loaded up a different bullet/powder combo that I had previously tested.

Took it to the range today and shot it at 200. Focused on the fundamentals and shot a 1.5” group with three different seating depths. Felt good to see some consistency.

 

[rtraverdavis]

But, I've seen this A LOT more with shotguns. i.e. - people who are really good shots who then go out and spend a fortune on a new shotgun; only to find that they've "lost their touch". They then go back to shooting their "low-end gun" and hit like clockwork. It's best to find what works FOR YOU (not an idiot like me on one of these forums) and stick with it.

Not a shotgun, but my Dad had this experience with a Nosler M48. Bought one in 26 Nosler, right after they came out, and was by far the most he’d ever spent on a rifle. I think he had the expectation that it would just shoot, no matter what he fed it, but it took a whole bunch of powder/bullet/seating depth messing to finally find a load that it liked. By the time he found a good load, he was just sort of done with the rifle, and had gone back to always grabbing his 700 that he bought 40 years ago.

 

[Cav1]

Not a hunting rifle, but a Springfield Armory M1A that cost me something like $1,400 new. It was a tack driver for accuracy but jammed all the time because the operating rod was so out of whack that it actually left scrapes and drag marks on the inside of the stock channel. I returned it to the company explaining the problem and asking for a different one. They sent it right back and told me I had to send in the whole rifle because the parts needed to be "hand-fitted". I was like, "So, you're telling me that Eli Whitney could make a rifle with interchangeable parts in 1781 but you can't do the same in 2001?"

I found a USGI surplus M14 op rod; it dropped right in and the rifle ran like a champ. A little further research, and some very knowledgeable guys whose opinion I respected advised me to basically gut the bolt and replace everything inside with USGI M14 parts because it was a matter of when rather than if the SA parts broke. Lastly, Sadlak Industries, who made scope mounts for military M14/M21s offered a "receiver inspection kit" so you could see if your M1A receiver was even close enough to USGI specs to fit their mount or not. By then I had zero confidence left in that rifle, sold it, and never looked back.

Replaced it with a $400 "junk" Century Franken-FAL made with Brazilian IMBEL parts that's never once failed me.

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

It's really strange that one of my buddies has a whole bunch of rifles that don't shoot worth a crap. . . until someone else shoots them.

 

[Pucky Freak]

I had a .22 that I never was able to shoot very accurately. Put it in the hands of a good marksman and he was driving tacks. Sight style, LOP, trigger weight, ? No matter, never shot it again and found it a new owner.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Shot a box of core-lokts one time does that count.

 

[Boarmaster]

I havent but my Dad had a marlin 3030 lever gun years ago he said shot around a corner.

 

[Two7D]

I recently had my L.A.W rifle rebarreled into a 260ai. I had lost confidence in the old barrel. As much as I try I cannot get comfortable shooting it again. Almost like I’m getting target panic.

I keep reinforcing doubt in the rifle. For whatever reason I seem to pick the most uncomfortable time and place to shoot it. Or I forget my rear bag and try and force it. As you can imagine load development is impossible. I’m ready to lock it into a leadsled to remove my panic/anxiety and get the development at least done.

Frustrating thing is it is only with this rifle. My Sherman I just got built is a tac driver that I’m in love with. Anyone else ever get this?

In my experience shooting for top accuracy (i.e. load development, long range competition, testing the accuracy limits of a new rifle/scope/barrel etc.) is largely a mental game. I've had days when I've gone to the gun range and I just don't shoot well because I'm distracted with something else other than shooting or I feel rushed because I have a thousand other things to do. I would recommend a few things:
1. Dry fire the rifle. Go to the range set up your target and rifle, rifle rest, etc. the same way you would as if you were shooting live rounds. Focus on the fundamentals of shooting (grip, sight picture, trigger control, breath control) while dry firing.
2. Shoot your favorite .22 rifle (stakes are low, ammo is cheap, no recoil, little noise) again focus on the fundamentals and just have fun challenging yourself to shoot as accurately as possible.
3. Put your 260 AI in a gun rest that will eliminate as much of the human error as possible and do your load development. Once you find the load that your gun likes go back to shooting without the shooting vice.

Hopefully you will find new confidence in the rifle.
Good luck!

 

[morgaj1]

Agree that most of the time it's in your head. However, I have my dad's old S&W 1500 (rebadged Howa 1500) .270. He gave it to me about 30 years ago and it has always shot less than 1MOA with 130gr Core-Lokts. I've killed many animals with that gun over the years, but put it up last year in favor of new Tikkas. Well, I broke it out of the safe recently and it was shooting 3" groups at best. I handloaded some rounds, with no improvement. I decided to break it down and give it a good cleaning. That's when I discovered that the stock bolts were loose. I cleaned it up, torqued the bolts and the old girl went back to shooting again. My 12yo son just killed a hog with it. Man it felt good to see that old rifle shooting straight again.

 

[lodgepoleJoe]

Don't tell anyone but that's my regular excuse for having to buy a new gun. This one don't work right.

 

[Crash87]

Being a mechanical engineer gunsmith type, I always check the torque on all the screws (scope and action), crown for soundness, bolt head and lugs, firing pin point, and brain cage (normally my problem). After all that proves well and still not shooting, will pull off the barrel and machine a new one. Planning, maintenance, machining, and practice brings my luck home.

 

[bullbugle307]

Never lost doubt in a rifle, only myself. Even if it was the rifles fault, the responsibility to have it operating correctly still falls squarely on my shoulders.

 

[Don Fischer]

When the Rem mod 7 first came out I got one in 223 Rem. Had great expectations for it but that was the absolutely worst shooting rifle I've ever seen Best group's were 3+". Tried bedding floated the barrel, solid bedded it everything I could think of. Wrote Remington about it and they said it fell withing their expectation's! Love Remington's but that was nearly my last!

 

[ImBillT]

When the Rem mod 7 first came out I got one in 223 Rem. Had great expectations for it but that was the absolutely worst shooting rifle I've ever seen Best group's were 3+". Tried bedding floated the barrel, solid bedded it everything I could think of. Wrote Remington about it and they said it fell withing their expectation's! Love Remington's but that was nearly my last!

I love Remington model 7s and 700s, but you’ll never hear me say that they have great factory barrels(except out of the custom shop) Some are great, some are okay, some are bad. My experience with them though is that if the bore looks pretty good, rechambering it will usually make it shoot pretty good. That said, if you don’t have access to cheap/free chamber jobs, that money is probably better spent chambering a custom barrel than a factory Remington barrel.

 

[Justabirdwatcher]

I think the Cabelas Gun Library and used racks everywhere are full of rifles that guys lost confidence in. That's what always makes me leery about buying used rifles. People don't usually sell great shooters.

 

[mtmuley]

People don't usually sell great shooters.

brockel does. mtmuley

 

[Don Fischer]

I think the Cabelas Gun Library and used racks everywhere are full of rifles that guys lost confidence in. That's what always makes me leery about buying used rifles. People don't usually sell great shooters.

I'm not so sure about that. I strongly suspect a great many people have absolutely no idea how good their rifle may shoot with no more than a bedding job. Most people don't have a closet full of rifles either. They tend to have one they like and just stick to it. Shooting good is a state of mind If you have a rifle that shoot 6" group's at 100 yds but has killed every deer you ever shot at with it and never more than 2 or 3 shot's, do you trash it? I think the average hunter won't! I suspect that most used gun's were owned by some guy that had far to many guns and needed the money to buy a pack of smokes! Then just dump the one you like east and get the smokes. Of course down the road that guy will bemoan the fact he sold that rifle to get a car but that's the way it goes in my opinion. No body takes a really fine shooting gun and sell's it, nobody unless is a guy that simply like's to fool with guns, get them shooting then pass them on to get a new one!

My 25-06 is an example of a great shooter someone got rid of. Got it off a used gun rack and it shot fairly well. bedded it and it became a super shooter, shot the single best group I've ever shot with that rifle! Something about buying used rifles for me is I don't buy expensive ones and I seldom buy an off brand. I'm big on used Remington's but have little time for used Winchester's, go figure!

 

[1_pointer]

Lots of "inaccurate" rifles are the result of folks who don't know how to shoot, understand how to mount a scope, mount crappy scopes, or a combination of all 3.

 

[Justabirdwatcher]

Lots of "inaccurate" rifles are the result of folks who don't know how to shoot, understand how to mount a scope, mount crappy scopes, or a combination of all 3.

Or 4 - have only ever tried one type of ammo through it.