grouping?

[b0nes]

Thinking of a new trigger, timney maybe? Any thoughts?

 

[16Bore]

You don't want my opinion....

 

[GKPrice]

You'd need two fingers to pull my triggers. Longer story and only makes sense to me, but the harder I hold the rifle, the heavier I want the trigger.


Don't even ask and don't bother trying to explain the benefits of a 1# trigger.


Anyway, back to your rifle. I might be tempted to pull it apart and take a look for rubbing, binding, oddities, etc.

I agree ! I'd have already had it torn apart and inspected - In all the conversation I've not noticed any mention of checking the scope for failure unless it just slipped by me

 

[LaHunter]

I'm wandering why you don't just go back to the ammo that shot the 1 1/8" groups and go hunt. This is a factory rifle with factory ammo. Your rifle may not do any better than that with factory ammo, unless you make some modifications (stock, bedding, trigger, etc.)
Also, are you not using a sand bag under the front of the rifle? Using something like wood or hard plastic as a rest can cause erratic groups. Use a sand bag in the front and the rear.
Also, just because one brand of ammo uses the same bullet as another brand of ammo, that does not at all mean they will perform the same in your rifle. There are lots of other factors that come into play.

Good Luck

 

[b0nes]

16bore I do want your opinion! I've already pulled the action from the stock and looked at it, it looks normal and I have no idea what I'm looking for. How do I verify the scope is screwed up without putting my only other rifles scope on my wsm? Hunting season is almost here and I may need my other rifle if I don't get my wsm figured out.

 

[GKPrice]

On triggers I'm somewhere in the middle - 3# is plenty light for anything I shoot - as long as you're only working with one rifle here the creep should be easy enough to get used to for this sort of troubleshooting, at least in MY experiences - As far as recoil goes, on the bench I'll use anything handy between "me" and the pad if it's hurting me but I've cycled 4 Tikka 270 WSM's in the same session plenty of times while working up loads and I'm no "lover" of recoil, believe me ! (concentrate ! it only hurts for a split second ;-) they ALL get Limbsaver Gen 2 pads nowadays

 

[GKPrice]

I'm wandering why you don't just go back to the ammo that shot the 1 1/8" groups and go hunt. This is a factory rifle with factory ammo. Your rifle may not do any better than that with factory ammo, unless you make some modifications (stock, bedding, trigger, etc.)
Also, are you not using a sand bag under the front of the rifle? Using something like wood or hard plastic as a rest can cause erratic groups. Use a sand bag in the front and the rear.
Also, just because one brand of ammo uses the same bullet as another brand of ammo, that does not at all mean they will perform the same in your rifle. There are lots of other factors that come into play.

Good Luck

all valid points and I'd agree that 1 1/8" @ 100 is plenty good for a problem child rifle that I really wanted to hunt with

 

[b0nes]

Lahunter, yes I do use a sandbag in the front on a very wide mouth v type rest, it's about 8 inches wide and more like a U. I also use bags in the back to prop the butt up, I shoot with right hand on trigger area and left hand back near the butt for minor changes in aim.

 

[16Bore]

Try holding the forearm like you'd normally shoot. But like the other fella said, same bullet, different ammo might not be the same. You could cut your losses and shoot the pricier stuff and forget about it. Obviously less expense ammo is desirable. This boys days at the reloading bench are done, one epic skullphuck after another. My next feat is an outta the box Kimber Montana with non-premium ammo (as in $20/box stuff) and make it shoot MOA. Probably asking a lot, but should be fun.

My mantra is 80% results with 20% effort. Learn it, live it, love it....

 

[b0nes]

I think I'm going to buy a couple boxes of the spendy stuff and call it a done deal. Maybe next spring I will try as many new varieties in ammo as possible. I'm serious about the trigger though, I would like some opinions on a timney or any other options that are in the realm of affordable. I hate my trigger, I'm not looking for .5# by any means, but on a steady squeeze I don't think it should take 8 seconds for the rifle to go off.

 

[GKPrice]

I think I'm going to buy a couple boxes of the spendy stuff and call it a done deal. Maybe next spring I will try as many new varieties in ammo as possible. I'm serious about the trigger though, I would like some opinions on a timney or any other options that are in the realm of affordable. I hate my trigger, I'm not looking for .5# by any means, but on a steady squeeze I don't think it should take 8 seconds for the rifle to go off.

not clear on what you are trying to say here ?? 8 seconds for the rifle to go off ??

 

[b0nes]

That's probably an exaggeration to a degree, the trigger is so heavy if you are steadily squeezing it feels like an eternity before it fires. If I try to speed it up to match my breathing I pull the shot every time which results in a flier.

 

[GKPrice]

That's probably an exaggeration to a degree, the trigger is so heavy if you are steadily squeezing it feels like an eternity before it fires. If I try to speed it up to match my breathing I pull the shot every time which results in a flier.

It sounds like maybe THAT'S your problem then ......

 

[16Bore]

Look THROUGH the cross hairs, Breathe normal, THINK pressure on the trigger, let the trigger brake somewhere at the bottom of your breath. Shoot in the present tense. I had to be a dick and prove it to my buddy. A milk jug at 330 isn't a hard shot, unless you line up, then look over and say "watch this" without putting your face back on the stock. But it was only a 243, his of course.


That rifle is monkeying with your head, possibly in addition to a coupla little tweaks.

 

[Ndbowhunter]

It's your trigger or at least that's where I'd start. A big boom gun with a shit trigger is a recipe for erratic groups. There's those that can shoot bad trigger guns well, but for the most of us we want the interface between us and the gun as thoughtless as possible.

One thing that I'd suggest that no one else has is shoot close in at 25 yards and also at 200. Parallax is a real issue when a rifle is off the shelf and not fitted your YOUR body. Your fighting to stay in the eyebox putting muscle tension all over the gun. The 25 yards will help calm you on what I call trigger creap where you expect a hard recoil and you jerk the trigger as you bounce through your aimpoint. At 25 yards you'll always be close to your aim point. Load a dummy round in and see if you are flinching. Copious amounts of cheek slap is really hard to ignore.

The other thing I'd do is maybe brake your range sessions into 5 rounds for an hour. 3 shot group at whatever pace you are comfortable with. 3 nice trigger pulls.. See how she groups. Tons of dry fire... Then correct scope and shoot a round. See if scope is responding to inputs. Then shoot another.

I find myself to be an instinctual shooter not a methodical one. When i find a load my guns like even a little bit I'll stick with it just to build confidence with my setup. After 60-80 rounds will I deviate and find what shoots "best" without fear of mechanical issues.

But that trigger, get her fixed eh!

 

[b0nes]

Just ordered a timney, going to buy 2 boxes of nosler trophy grade and get it back on track. I adjusted the moa trigger and I felt like it lightened up substantially until I got to the range. It felt as stiff as ever. Will report back when I get to the range next week. Thanks for all your advice on the subject folks.

 

[b0nes]

Installed a new timney, it is soooo much better and I switched back to the better ammo. The problem I am having is a little bit of horizontal stringing. The funny thing is, my dad's rifle is a kimber something or other with the wood stock, and he had vertical stringing. What is the typical cause of these issues?

 

[16Bore]

Bedding

 

[b0nes]

Seriously just that simple?

 

[N2TRKYS]

Seriously just that simple?

Maybe, maybe not.

The ammo you're shooting isn't in the accuracy node for your rifle, more than likely.

Has different brands of ammo produced the same result?