So I’m preparing for an elk hunt in late October and am shooting my dad’s old ruger m77 mk2 7mm rem mag. The thing has been giving me fits. I am trying 2 different ammos. Barnes vor-tx 160 gr and federal nosler partitions 160 gr. Today I went and shot and couldn’t get any good shots besides 2 shots from the Barnes that were kissing. I was also using a lead sled so I know it’s not human error. Group 1 and 3 were the partitions and groups 2,4 and shot 5 were the Barnes vor-tx. So a couple things:
1. After 6 shots the barrel was to hot to hold for a long time
2. This rifle barrel has never been cleaned, but when I looked at it (unloaded of course) I couldn’t see any dirt or crap in there. I did run the snake through it and it was kinda dirty but not yearly significant dirt.
What is going on with this rifle? Am I just not letting it cool long enough? I waited about 20 minutes between groups 2 and 3. I’m starting to get frustrated. I think the partitions are definitely not liked by my gun as the first shot was so off. My other option is my dad’s sako A7 300 wsm but I won’t be able to get that gun till exactly a month before the hunt due to it being in Louisiana and me in Colorado. Any advice? Should cleaning the bore really help that much?![IMG_5721.jpeg IMG_5721.jpeg](https://forumdata.rokslide.com/file/forumdata/data/attachments/725/725194-2fcbe734057cf8a3055ec788ad6753d6.jpg)
1. After 6 shots the barrel was to hot to hold for a long time
2. This rifle barrel has never been cleaned, but when I looked at it (unloaded of course) I couldn’t see any dirt or crap in there. I did run the snake through it and it was kinda dirty but not yearly significant dirt.
What is going on with this rifle? Am I just not letting it cool long enough? I waited about 20 minutes between groups 2 and 3. I’m starting to get frustrated. I think the partitions are definitely not liked by my gun as the first shot was so off. My other option is my dad’s sako A7 300 wsm but I won’t be able to get that gun till exactly a month before the hunt due to it being in Louisiana and me in Colorado. Any advice? Should cleaning the bore really help that much?
![IMG_5721.jpeg IMG_5721.jpeg](https://forumdata.rokslide.com/file/forumdata/data/attachments/725/725194-2fcbe734057cf8a3055ec788ad6753d6.jpg)