My targets....your opinions please??

[wildweeds]

+ 1 on the copper fouling,I bought a rifle from guy,he said it shot "OK"  a winchester mod 70 spanky new in 1970,I bought it from the guy around 1991,was his wifes rifle that he had bought second hand.Sure enough it shot about like he said,good enough to hit a 3 inch circle at 100 yards.I coppered it out with some barnes juice and then cleaned the bejeezus out of it,and boy was it a project .Guess what, the thing will shoot lights out now, .243,75 grain accutip remmy factory ammo, 5 shot group at 100 at 3/8  of inch.I consider it to be my best gun buy yet whereas revenue spent goes,200 bucks.

Did the gun shoot better than this before? If it did and you have shot alot in the last 13years I would say copper fouling might be your issue.

[bassquatch]

+ 1 on the copper fouling,I bought a rifle from guy,he said it shot "OK"  a winchester mod 70 spanky new in 1970,I bought it from the guy around 1991,was his wifes rifle that he had bought second hand.Sure enough it shot about like he said,good enough to hit a 3 inch circle at 100 yards.I coppered it out with some barnes juice and then cleaned the bejeezus out of it,and boy was it a project .Guess what, the thing will shoot lights out now, .243,75 grain accutip remmy factory ammo, 5 shot group at 100 at 3/8  of inch.I consider it to be my best gun buy yet whereas revenue spent goes,200 bucks.

Did the gun shoot better than this before? If it did and you have shot alot in the last 13years I would say copper fouling might be your issue.

Well, I will give it a thorough scrubbing and do one more site-in and see if there's a change?

I'd try a new scope then if you got the time. If that don't work you have the new one already for the new rifle you pick up later.

This could end up being a good option! 

[JLS]

If the scope is a Leupold, why don't you send it in for warranty repair?

Also, put a different scope on and see if the results are repeatable.  That will help you narrow it down to the gun, the ammo, or the optics.

[bassquatch]

If the scope is a Leupold, why don't you send it in for warranty repair?

Also, put a different scope on and see if the results are repeatable.  That will help you narrow it down to the gun, the ammo, or the optics.

Wouldn't get it back in time for the season.... as I mentioned, got a late start unfortunately, add in a ton of overtime August and September and I am just trying to do what I can before season. Scope will go in November 3rd.

[wildweeds]

Make sure to use a copper remover solvent!

[hoyt2002]

 

[bassquatch]

UPDATE 10/1/13 and the nightmare continues....

Again THANK YOU ALL for the great tips!  This has definitely been one huge learning experience 

Well, I went and got the Hoppe's 9 copper solvent, the 1 piece carbon fiber Tipton rod (as suggested, mine was a 2 piece) and a new chamber guide. Spent 2 hours cleaning this gun! At first I was very optimistic just due to the sheer volume of gunk I was getting after each brushing, very interesting and eye opening! Hope remained until my trip back to the range to see if that was the issue? Hope still remained 10 rounds in....then the gremlins returned 

At this point, I am done screwing with it! Time to go hunt, be sneaky and keep anything I shoot at inside my 150 yard comfort zone. In November action #1 will be sending the scope in to Leupold. IF that checks out, this thing is going to a good competent gunsmith to get fully disassembled and inspected. After that I will decided its fate.

Today's "groups" are in the pics below: 

[762Armo]

I'm pretty certain the problem lies in your scope.
If you were thinking about picking one up at all, this would be the time to do it, and send yours in for warranty.

[threedwizard]

I agree with JLS, find a scope and put it on. Also, it looks like the gun may not like the ammo your feeding it. I've shot that cheap Winchester power point out of a Browning BAR in 300 WM for years and it shoots fine and have killed a few dozen elk. At least a scope change will give you the peace of mind to pull the trigger?? Heck, there's plenty of <$100 scopes out there. My 2 cents...

[bassquatch]

I'm pretty certain the problem lies in your scope.
If you were thinking about picking one up at all, this would be the time to do it, and send yours in for warranty.

My thinking exactly! I just gotta pick out the one I'm going to want mounted on my Sako NOW, take it to the range next week and sight it in, then get through the seasons and wait fot the Leupold to get back from the shop to swap them back out....decisions, decisions.....

[bassquatch]

I agree with JLS, find a scope and put it on. Also, it looks like the gun may not like the ammo your feeding it. I've shot that cheap Winchester power point out of a Browning BAR in 300 WM for years and it shoots fine and have killed a few dozen elk. At least a scope change will give you the peace of mind to pull the trigger?? Heck, there's plenty of <$100 scopes out there. My 2 cents...

I've tried 4 different kinds in 2 different calibers with the same consistently inconsistent results. 

[threedwizard]

I feel your pain, had a scope problem with a muzzleloader once and it almost drove me to drink again. Feel like I loaded in a 1000 times. I hope that solves your problem. BTW, I have a SAKO AV in .340 Weatherby, best gun I hunt with. VERY accurate for a large Magnum and a real hammer on deer and elk. I would recommend it to any hunter.

[lokidog]

I had a .308 that looked similar on the range, sold it for not very much to, fortunately, a friend.  He discovered the scope had a bouncy crosshair in it.  Looks like time for a new scope. 

I love my -06's though now.  Every one shoots 165s (168s) much better than 180s for accuracy.  My suggestions would have matched many of the ones given such as the copper solvent.  However, I didn't see this one, though I may have missed it....  When I got my A-bolt in the 80's I took it to the range in SoCal.  It was 90 degrees out and I would wait almost twenty minutes between shots sometimes for the barrel to cool.  Maybe, even in our cooler temperatures, you are still not giving it as much time to cool between shots as it needs?

[wildweeds]

Easiest thing to do would be sell me the 700 for 300 bucks cash, and chunk the money down on a tikka 300 short mag(my buddy has 2 of em that shot a 1/2 inch group with a leupold 3x10 first time at range)  :chuckle:You'll get er dialed but it's evident copper is not your shooters freind

[KFhunter]

ditch the gun or mod it



it's done