LostInIdaho
FNG
I recently purchased the XLR Element 4.0 Magnesium Stock in 700 Rem LA.
I’m shooting a .300 win mag with a 28 inch carbon barrel and a browning hawg muzzle brake.
i’m shooting the discontinued Federal premium berger 215 grain ammo at 2902 fps.
In short, I spent two days chasing my POI all over hells half acre. I remounted my scope and muzzle break three times each. I purchased brand new scope mounts. I mounted the scope on another rifle to make sure the scope is functioning properly. I spent a half day re-torquing the action screws every five shots. I purchased another torque screwdriver, thinking mine might be out of spec. I used enough supporting sandbags to make artillery bunker. I used a sled with 40lbs, and I shot at 100, 200, and 300yds. The very best groups I could get at 300 yards would barely fit in a 9 inch pie plate. After day two, I scoured the Internet for answers and came across a few threads on this forum and a few other forums where the manufacturer indicated in-frequent issues with action screw tolerances and recommend lithium grease on the action screws to take care of the problem.
This morning, I put a light coat of lithium grease on my action screws and torque them both at 65 ft-lbs. Here are my first 3 shots (image 1).
I immediately jump to the 200 yard range and adjust my yardage. First shot looks good. Second shot goes high and left and my stomach sinks. So I re-torque the screws and shoot a third round (image 2).
Feeling a bit more confident I have things figured out I immediately jump to the 300 yard range. My first three shots are 1, 2, and 3 (image 3) using the dead center bullseye. I’m supposed to be a little over 3 inches of drop at 300 yards so I adjust for the drop. I then take a 20 min break and shoot my next three shots 4, 5, and 6 (image 3) at the top right bullseye. I take another 20 min break and aiming at the top left bullseye shoot until the action screws start to move on me again.
So it seems that the lithium grease did its job but now I’m having to tighten loose action screws somewhere between every four to six rounds.
I suppose I’ll try some Loctite at some point. Not what I expected from the purchase. When everything’s dialed in it’s a tack driver. I just don’t feel confident taking this rifle hunting.
Any ideas on a permanent fix?
I’m shooting a .300 win mag with a 28 inch carbon barrel and a browning hawg muzzle brake.
i’m shooting the discontinued Federal premium berger 215 grain ammo at 2902 fps.
In short, I spent two days chasing my POI all over hells half acre. I remounted my scope and muzzle break three times each. I purchased brand new scope mounts. I mounted the scope on another rifle to make sure the scope is functioning properly. I spent a half day re-torquing the action screws every five shots. I purchased another torque screwdriver, thinking mine might be out of spec. I used enough supporting sandbags to make artillery bunker. I used a sled with 40lbs, and I shot at 100, 200, and 300yds. The very best groups I could get at 300 yards would barely fit in a 9 inch pie plate. After day two, I scoured the Internet for answers and came across a few threads on this forum and a few other forums where the manufacturer indicated in-frequent issues with action screw tolerances and recommend lithium grease on the action screws to take care of the problem.
This morning, I put a light coat of lithium grease on my action screws and torque them both at 65 ft-lbs. Here are my first 3 shots (image 1).
I immediately jump to the 200 yard range and adjust my yardage. First shot looks good. Second shot goes high and left and my stomach sinks. So I re-torque the screws and shoot a third round (image 2).
Feeling a bit more confident I have things figured out I immediately jump to the 300 yard range. My first three shots are 1, 2, and 3 (image 3) using the dead center bullseye. I’m supposed to be a little over 3 inches of drop at 300 yards so I adjust for the drop. I then take a 20 min break and shoot my next three shots 4, 5, and 6 (image 3) at the top right bullseye. I take another 20 min break and aiming at the top left bullseye shoot until the action screws start to move on me again.
So it seems that the lithium grease did its job but now I’m having to tighten loose action screws somewhere between every four to six rounds.
I suppose I’ll try some Loctite at some point. Not what I expected from the purchase. When everything’s dialed in it’s a tack driver. I just don’t feel confident taking this rifle hunting.
Any ideas on a permanent fix?
