CA accuracy problem

[Fartrell Cluggins]

I'd snug the action screws to spec. Remove scope and hardware. Reinstall known scope and try again. You simply MUST rule out the scope being an issue. Bummer that PRC ammo is so damn hard to come by. My Mesa PRC is easily sub moa.

 

[HandgunHTR]

Also, check that the front-most scope base screw is not bottoming out on the barrel threads.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

What is your time worth and how much have you spent on ammo?

For some, they find that they’re pissing good money away trying to polish a perceived turd so they cut their losses. Others are stubborn enough to turn a turd (perceived or real) into a diamond through sheer will and determination with actual costs not a factor.

Will assume you make $25 per hour and that is the value you place on your time.

Assuming one box of ammo ($50), an hour to set everything up the first time ($25), a range fee ($20), two hours at the range including travel ($50), and that’s $145. This is just to get zeroed and some level of confidence. This excludes gas.

Add another hour ($25) for preliminary troubleshooting since it is now not shooting as expected. You’re up to $170.

Now you have the next batch of troubleshooting. Figure two new boxes of different types of ammo will put you back $100, range fee of $20, an hour of dismantling and reassembling @ $25 (may not include looking up torque specs and other stuff which can cost more time), and two hours range time (including travel) at $50 ($25 per hour for two hours). That’s $190 on the low end. This excludes gas.

So you’re potentially up to $360, on the low end, to try to get a $1250-$1600 rifle just to shoot decently and consistently.

I personally would get rid of it. The setup costs are way too high as a percentage of the original cost. It is cheaper, easier, and less frustrating to sell for a minor loss and start over.

But if I were to be stubborn, I’d outsource the work to a skilled hand-loader and let him/her fight it as part of his/her process.

 

[Wileyone]

Before I went to the effort of sending a gun back I would
1. Take the scope off and remount it or switch it with a known, proven scope and try that.
2. Let someone else shoot it
3. Try a couple different brands/loads for the ammo.

All three of those things will be less time, energy and for some money than sending it back.

Christensen’s either shoot or they don’t. There is little in between. There’s a good possibility it is the gun, but I would start with two of the weakest points of any gun. The scope and the ammo.

If I could find ammo other than Hornady that was 5 or 6 bucks a round, of anything, maybe the mounts, I used Talley

Before I went to the effort of sending a gun back I would
1. Take the scope off and remount it or switch it with a known, proven scope and try that.
2. Let someone else shoot it
3. Try a couple different brands/loads for the ammo.

All three of those things will be less time, energy and for some money than sending it back.

Christensen’s either shoot or they don’t. There is little in between. There’s a good possibility it is the gun, but I would start with two of the weakest points of any gun. The scope and the ammo.

Trouble is that there isn't much out there in the way of different ammo

What is your time worth and how much have you spent on ammo?

For some, they find that they’re pissing good money away trying to polish a perceived turd so they cut their losses. Others are stubborn enough to turn a turd (perceived or real) into a diamond through sheer will and determination with actual costs not a factor.

Will assume you make $25 per hour and that is the value you place on your time.

Assuming one box of ammo ($50), an hour to set everything up the first time ($25), a range fee ($20), two hours at the range including travel ($50), and that’s $145. This is just to get zeroed and some level of confidence. This excludes gas.

Add another hour ($25) for preliminary troubleshooting since it is now not shooting as expected. You’re up to $170.

Now you have the next batch of troubleshooting. Figure two new boxes of different types of ammo will put you back $100, range fee of $20, an hour of dismantling and reassembling @ $25 (may not include looking up torque specs and other stuff which can cost more time), and two hours range time (including travel) at $50 ($25 per hour for two hours). That’s $190 on the low end. This excludes gas.

So you’re potentially up to $360, on the low end, to try to get a $1250-$1600 rifle just to shoot decently and consistently.

I personally would get rid of it. The setup costs are way too high as a percentage of the original cost. It is cheaper, easier, and less frustrating to sell for a minor loss and start over.

But if I were to be stubborn, I’d outsource the work to a skilled hand-loader and let him/her fight it as part of his/her process.

I don't have a range fee and my range starts about 75yrds from my basement door, I can shoot 750 yrds so travel cost and range fee is zero , as for my time, shooting is pure love and it has never occurred to me to ever look at it in terms of anything else, it would be the same as my time with a fly rod in hand ..... Priceless. I have been reloading for many years, but if the gun won't do better than a two inch group at 100 yards I'm not gonna waste primers and powder until I figure out why Not trying to polish any turds here, just wanted a few opinions on why this gun won't shoot, I highly suspect the rifle,but I wanted some other points of view., If I were really concerned about cost effectiveness, I would skip the entire hunting process and just buy beef, back in November I bought half a beef @ $2.50/lb, butchered, cut, vacuum sealed and frozen that's a lot more cost effective than filling your freezer with wild game...but what the hell fun is that ? I'll get it, I'm a single man who retired at age 55, so I have nothing but time, just the same I appreciate your input.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

If I could find ammo other than Hornady that was 5 or 6 bucks a round, of anything, maybe the mounts, I used Talley

Trouble is that there isn't much out there in the way of different ammo

I don't have a range fee and my range starts about 75yrds from my basement door, I can shoot 750 yrds so travel cost and range fee is zero , as for my time, shooting is pure love and it has never occurred to me to ever look at it in terms of anything else, it would be the same as my time with a fly rod in hand ..... Priceless. I have been reloading for many years, but if the gun won't do better than a two inch group at 100 yards I'm not gonna waste primers and powder until I figure out why Not trying to polish any turds here, just wanted a few opinions on why this gun won't shoot, I highly suspect the rifle,but I wanted some other points of view., If I were really concerned about cost effectiveness, I would skip the entire hunting process and just buy beef, back in November I bought half a beef @ $2.50/lb, butchered, cut, vacuum sealed and frozen that's a lot more cost effective than filling your freezer with wild game...but what the hell fun is that ? I'll get it, I'm a single man who retired at age 55, so I have nothing but time, just the same I appreciate your input.

No worries.

We all have different access to resources and costs. It’s awesome that you can shoot at your house.

 

[CorbLand]

If I could find ammo other than Hornady that was 5 or 6 bucks a round, of anything, maybe the mounts, I used Talley

Trouble is that there isn't much out there in the way of different ammo

I don't have a range fee and my range starts about 75yrds from my basement door, I can shoot 750 yrds so travel cost and range fee is zero , as for my time, shooting is pure love and it has never occurred to me to ever look at it in terms of anything else, it would be the same as my time with a fly rod in hand ..... Priceless. I have been reloading for many years, but if the gun won't do better than a two inch group at 100 yards I'm not gonna waste primers and powder until I figure out why Not trying to polish any turds here, just wanted a few opinions on why this gun won't shoot, I highly suspect the rifle,but I wanted some other points of view., If I were really concerned about cost effectiveness, I would skip the entire hunting process and just buy beef, back in November I bought half a beef @ $2.50/lb, butchered, cut, vacuum sealed and frozen that's a lot more cost effective than filling your freezer with wild game...but what the hell fun is that ? I'll get it, I'm a single man who retired at age 55, so I have nothing but time, just the same I appreciate your input.

I get that ammo is hard to find but shipping the gun back isn’t going to be cheap either. If you have the stuff to reload, I would try a couple hand loads before I went to the effort of sending it back.

 

[Wileyone]

No worries.

We all have different access to resources and costs. It’s awesome that you can shoot at your house.

Yeah we do,

I get that ammo is hard to find but shipping the gun back isn’t going to be cheap either. If you have the stuff to reload, I would try a couple hand loads before I went to the effort of sending it back.

I plan on it

I get that ammo is hard to find but shipping the gun back isn’t going to be cheap either. If you have the stuff to reload, I would try a couple hand loads before I went to the effort of sending it back.

I am nowhere near sending it back yet. I am curious, if you would sell this to a person and tell him that it doesn't hold a group, or would you just sell it for as much as you could get and not mention the accuracy problems ? You have any leads where I could sell a rifle that won't shoot a 2 inch group at a hundred yards ?

Sounds like you lost at CA roulette. I did too.

I hope not

 

[CorbLand]

Yeah we do,
I plan on it
I am nowhere near sending it back yet. I am curious, if you would sell this to a person and tell him that it doesn't hold a group, or would you just sell it for as much as you could get and not mention the accuracy problems ? You have any leads where I could sell a rifle that won't shoot a 2 inch group at a hundred yards ?
I hope not

There is a lot I would try before I would sell the gun but that is up to you.

There is only one of two reasons someone sells a gun. They want the money or it doesn’t shoot. The trick is figuring out which one it is.

 

[CBECK61]

I would eliminate as many variables as I could before I sent it back. I would start with the scope. Slap on one that you know is G2G. I'd pull the action/barrel and make sure everything is clean and then I would retorque. Check free float hot and cold. I've seen far more shooters than lemons from CA since they started building their own actions. I saw you mention that they wouldn't tell you what ammo they tested your gun with. They do not test accuracy on every rifle going out the door. Very few manufactures actually do. They would send a target if they did.

I used to work at a sporting goods store and we moved hundreds of CAs a year. Most were great including the few i have owned. The problems I have seen with their current guns have all involved the threads on the barrels not being square to the action, Burrs in the barrel/chamber, and base holes not being square to the rifle. The 5-6 of these that I saw created far more problems than a 2 inch group. CA was slow but solved each correctly.

Side bar, I'm very jealous of the triple duece vixon. My first center fire was a .222 mohak and have since fell in love the with sako's I own. I'd love to pick one up but the few I have come across I felt like they wanted to much for.

All the best!

 

[Fartrell Cluggins]

I am nowhere near sending it back yet. I am curious, if you would sell this to a person and tell him that it doesn't hold a group, or would you just sell it for as much as you could get and not mention the accuracy problems ? You have any leads where I could sell a rifle that won't shoot a 2 inch group at a hundred yards ?

I love that you brought that up. The morality of selling a dud. All across gun forums people proudly speak of sending a bad gun "down the road." I have sold guns that weren't as accurate as I would have liked. I have fully disclosed that in selling them. One guy later showed me the pics of his groups. He obviously knew something that I didn't.

Try a different scope.

 

[MeatMissile]

I have a CA Mesa in 300 Win Mag that opened up on me. I put it in the rack and shot my Tikka to see if I was having a bad day. It shot great. Went to go pick up the Mesa and noticed the muzzle break was loose. Tightened it up, shot a 1/2 inch group. Took it home and glued it on with rockset. No problems since.

 

[Wileyone]

Also, the hard reality is some people aren’t moa shooters. I would let somebody else who you know is an excellent marksman shoot the rifle and see what the results are. If the gun printed a small group before hunting season, it likey isnt the rifle. I would bet shooter or scope/rings.

I would eliminate as many variables as I could before I sent it back. I would start with the scope. Slap on one that you know is G2G. I'd pull the action/barrel and make sure everything is clean and then I would retorque. Check free float hot and cold. I've seen far more shooters than lemons from CA since they started building their own actions. I saw you mention that they wouldn't tell you what ammo they tested your gun with. They do not test accuracy on every rifle going out the door. Very few manufactures actually do. They would send a target if they did.

I used to work at a sporting goods store and we moved hundreds of CAs a year. Most were great including the few i have owned. The problems I have seen with their current guns have all involved the threads on the barrels not being square to the action, Burrs in the barrel/chamber, and base holes not being square to the rifle. The 5-6 of these that I saw created far more problems than a 2 inch group. CA was slow but solved each correctly.

Side bar, I'm very jealous of the triple duece vixon. My first center fire was a .222 mohak and have since fell in love the with sako's I own. I'd love to pick one up but the few I have come across I felt like they wanted to much for.

All the best!

Yeah the Vixen is a beauty, I just finished loading 500 rounds for it, I've killed everything from red tail hawks to chipmunks with that thing

Yeah, but my rifle was shooting the precision hunter around 1.5-1.75 moa when I first got it. I have the BATactical and it wasn’t cheap, so I was pretty pissed. Started scrubbing copper out of it and going through the recommended break in process and it cut the precision hunter groups in half. I’ll have to see if I can find some pics of targets of the 1.5” groups. There would always be two touching and a flier.

I also have one of their MPP’s in 308. This is a 300 yard group with cheap factory ammo from freedom munitions. I have about 30 rounds down the pipe, it may tighten up a little more with a few more rounds, but it only has a 12.5” barrel, so I am happy with the results so far.

View attachment 385190

Saw yo

Yeah, but my rifle was shooting the precision hunter around 1.5-1.75 moa when I first got it. I have the BATactical and it wasn’t cheap, so I was pretty pissed. Started scrubbing copper out of it and going through the recommended break in process and it cut the precision hunter groups in half. I’ll have to see if I can find some pics of targets of the 1.5” groups. There would always be two touching and a flier.

I also have one of their MPP’s in 308. This is a 300 yard group with cheap factory ammo from freedom munitions. I have about 30 rounds down the pipe, it may tighten up a little more with a few more rounds, but it only has a 12.5” barrel, so I am happy with the results so far.

View attachment 385190

Saw you were looking for a Tikka T3x, EuoroOptic has lefties in . 308 and 6.5cm...$ 899 in hunter and lite models.

 

[Wileyone]

CA’s have been known to have issues. Had a very accomplished gunsmith/reloader friend try to develop loads for one. It looked about like that if not worse and these were hand loads. Had the client send it back and he himself called on the clients behalf to explain what was happening. They ”claim“ to have shot it and it was fine and sent it back to the client. Client sold it as soon as it got to him. Might be a correlation as to why there are always several in the classifieds, no matter the forum. My money is on a “gun” problem not a “scope” or “shooter” problem. You clearly are a capable shooter.

If you can find a different factory box of ammo start there. One would think that no matter how bad your rifle likes or doesn’t like the ammo it could still do better than a 1.5-2” group. That’s fairly poor.

Maybe check stock, barrel is free floated, everything tightened etc.

Then switch out the scope to rule it out If possible.

But I say it’s the rifle personally.

So in my search for my accuracy problem I started from square one, along the way I discovered this crack, not sure yet if this has anything to do with my accuracy problem, but I am damn sure it shouldn't be there. When I first brought this rifle home and cleaned it before shooting it, I found rust, in fact they sent me a new mag spring to replace the rusty one interviewed... I should have known right then that there were going to be problems. I am going to try and make this a shooter but I will never buy another, I'll stick to. My Sakos and Mausers. What's your opinion on this crack ?

 

[Lawnboi]

So in my search for my accuracy problem I started from square one, along the way I discovered this crack, not sure yet if this has anything to do with my accuracy problem, but I am damn sure it shouldn't be there. When I first brought this rifle home and cleaned it before shooting it, I found rust, in fact they sent me a new mag spring to replace the rusty one interviewed... I should have known right then that there were going to be problems. I am going to try and make this a shooter but I will never buy another, I'll stick to. My Sakos and Mausers. What's your opinion on this crack ?

My Mesa was cracked in a similar area much more severe, and into the side of the crack. I sent it in and they epoxied it together. Not worth sending it in imo

 

[PsRpOiGrRiAtM]

I don't believe that crack is anywhere in the inlet that would have an effect on accuracy. If you had to replace the mag spring, did you make sure that when you reassembled the rifle, the mag box was floating in the inlet, and that the screws were torqued to 50-60 in/lbs? The mag box can be a sleeper issue for any guns.

 

[RGARNER]

I feel like there is alot of variation in the ammo right now...these companies are trying to pump it out as fast as possible to meet demand...that has to have some affect on quality. I bought new browning citori and 2 brands of shells were sticking in the tube, the brass was expanding way more than it should. Tried a different brand of ammo and had no issues. Just a thought

 

[Cahunter805]

So in my search for my accuracy problem I started from square one, along the way I discovered this crack, not sure yet if this has anything to do with my accuracy problem, but I am damn sure it shouldn't be there. When I first brought this rifle home and cleaned it before shooting it, I found rust, in fact they sent me a new mag spring to replace the rusty one interviewed... I should have known right then that there were going to be problems. I am going to try and make this a shooter but I will never buy another, I'll stick to. My Sakos and Mausers. What's your opinion on this crack ?

Not to bad of a crack. Drill it to stop it from migration any further though. You could fill it with epoxy also but I doubt it’s affecting accuracy.
I’d free float the barrel and bed the rifle and see how it shoots then.

 

[Wileyone]

My Mesa was cracked in a similar area much more severe, and into the side of the crack. I sent it in and they epoxied it together. Not worth sending it in imo

Thank you, yeah I can do that myself, I have some high end guns, and I didn't expect this to be on that level but but to quote the geriatric puppet on Pennsylvania Avenue.. " C'mon man"

 

[Wileyone]

I don't believe that crack is anywhere in the inlet that would have an effect on accuracy. If you had to replace the mag spring, did you make sure that when you reassembled the rifle, the mag box was floating in the inlet, and that the screws were torqued to 50-60 in/lbs? The mag box can be a sleeper issue for any guns.

Yes sir I did, when I replaced the mag spring there wasn't a crack there

Not to bad of a crack. Drill it to stop it from migration any further though. You could fill it with epoxy also but I doubt it’s affecting accuracy.
I’d free float the barrel and bed the rifle and see how it shoots then.

Yeah I didn't think it would affect accuracy , the barrel is floated, so maybe I'll bed it, I guess you don't get much for $1500 these days

I feel like there is alot of variation in the ammo right now...these companies are trying to pump it out as fast as possible to meet demand...that has to have some affect on quality. I bought new browning citori and 2 brands of shells were sticking in the tube, the brass was expanding way more than it should. Tried a different brand of ammo and had no issues. Just a thought

Yeah, if only I could find some ammo, all I can get my hands on is Hornady, I did load some in Lapua brass with 143 ELD-X... No difference

 

[jpmulk]

Hello everyone, new guy here. I purchased a CA Mesa in 6.5 PRC in November, used Talked rings and a Steiner Predator 4 6-24x50,I have my own range so I took it out, couldn't shoot anything near the sub moa.
Took it to my gun smith(38 years as a master gunsmith ) he removed the scope and found that the dealer who mounted the scope failed to clean the grease from the screw holes, he cleaned everything up, remounted and lock tighter the base to proper torque, then mounted the scope, again torqued to spec. I took the rifle back out and shot a tight 5bshot group group, being 5 days before deer season I stopped there. Unfortunately due to things beyond my control I only got to hunt 3 days...no luck.
So I take the gun back out because I want to find a good load, so I start by shooting a 5 shot group with factory Hornady 143gr ELD-X, first shot cuts the bullseye at 100 yrds, next shot is inch high, inch and a half to the right, I shoot 5 more shots that look more like I'm patterning a shotgun than shooting what is supposed to be a sub moa rifle, what are some opinions of where to look for my problem ? I don't Chrono the factory loads and this was a 38 degree, sunny day with 7 MPH winds, I shot from a steel bench mounted in concrete, used a Bald Eagle rest for the front and Protektor bag for the rear. I then took my .222 Vixen and shot three consecutive 5 round groups that could be covered with a dime, then tried my .270 win in a Tikka T3x and shot two 5 round groups under an inch. I am satisfied it isn't me. Action screws are a torqued to spec. What's next ? I am very disappointed to say the least. Below are two " groups" I shot that day, I also took shots at the little targets ..pretty horrible if you ask me.

Im struggling through this right now. Almost to a T what you have described. Mines 7-08. I did send mine back in. Got it back. And i still cant group with ELDx bullets. And they sent me a photo of an eldx group supposedly. Im going to see if they will honor their 60 day return policy. Most expensive gun i have personally owned and ive been nothing but frustrated after three trips to the range and three types of ammo.