Dialing in accuracy on old A-Bolt II

[timber_ghost]

I have my grandfather's old 300 win-mag, A-bolt II from 1995. It has always shot inconsistently and I am trying to get it to be a shooter. It will go from shooting a ¾ MOA group to a 3 MOA group. I just went to torque the action screws and found that they were super loose. I am hoping that was the issue with the inconsistency. I torqued them at 40 in/lb for the front and 35 in/lb for the rear. Now the barrel is no longer perfectly free floated and has a bit of contact on one side. Should I sand the stock down? Or just keep trying to reseat the action at different torques? Is it possible that the stock warped over time and that's why I am getting contact?

 

[WeiserBucks]

Floating the barrel and bedding it are the most cost effective ways to ensure consistency. Double check scope and mounts to prevent chasing your tail.

 

[Halligan]

What you’re pointing too is definitely indicative of loose screws in the systems.

I would definitely open up that barrel channel and to @WeiserBucks point, this process is about controlling the controllables. I would also add a deep clean /inspection, which helps “reset” the barrel in a manner is speaking, and helps you catch any gremlins early.

 

[B Harrison]

I have my grandfather's old 300 win-mag, A-bolt II from 1995. It has always shot inconsistently and I am trying to get it to be a shooter. It will go from shooting a ¾ MOA group to a 3 MOA group. I just went to torque the action screws and found that they were super loose. I am hoping that was the issue with the inconsistency. I torqued them at 40 in/lb for the front and 35 in/lb for the rear. Now the barrel is no longer perfectly free floated and has a bit of contact on one side. Should I sand the stock down? Or just keep trying to reseat the action at different torques? Is it possible that the stock warped over time and that's why I am getting contact?

Sand the stock and bed it centered and free on all sides.

Make sure while you shoot you monitor barrel heat. Most older small contour barrels heat up quickly when shooting groups.
Shoot 2, wait, shoot 1, wait….
I have a few light weight rifles that will send the third one wide if I don’t pause for cooling.

300 WM are burning a lot of powder, that makes even modern SS fluted barrels get hot.


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