Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting 300 WSM problem

I have a 300 WSM in model 70. I have been in the army for the past 6 years, so until no I havent been able to focus on anything at home 100 %. Over the years, my brother and I have shot over 150 rounds through it, using 3 different types of loads. the majority of the 150 were custom loads by a friend, and 2 different boxes of factory loads. the problem I have stumbled across is accuracy. At 100 yards it is impossible to get the gun to shoot consistantly, one shot will be close to perfect, then the next will be off the page, adjustments are made, and again its close, second shot after adjustments is off the page again. the scope on the gun is a burris 4x16x44mm, so its not a cheap scope were talking about.
Trying to sight this thing in has become frustrating and im wondering if im missing something, any help would be appreciated...

Is it bedded?
Try different ammo?
Trigger?
You?
Could be a multitude of things.

Also if its not the scope, it may be the scope mounts..give em a check too.

Not bedded, different ammo, Ive been shooting since i was old enough to walk, im not bragging but i know its not me. i havent modified the trigger so i will check that out...

bases are secure, leupold so they arent cheap or crappy

Hows the crown on the rifle?
You try different bullet weights?
My fil has the same rifle and could only get the 180's to be consistant for him.

im not sure what youre talking about with the crown, can you dumb that one down for me?
bullet wights have not changed, its been 180 the whole time...

Sure, the end of the barrel where the bullet exits.....sometimes they can get accidently banged around and might develope a burr in the edge of the rifling.
Messes with accuracy and consistancy big time.

Start with the simplest solutions first and work up.

All scope bases and rings properly secured?

Allow enough time for barrel cool down in-between the 1st and 2nd shot? Like 2 to 3 minutes?

Bore condition good? Meaning no major fouling or caked on residue anywhere inside the bore?

Probable issues with the custom reloads?


Before doing anything, try other brands of factory ammo to see if it does the same bad things consistently as before. Hopefully, if you "do not" have the same problems, then your problem is likely with the batch of reloads, in that your particular rifle doesn`t like the bullet type, the powder, or both which were custom loaded by your friend.

Did you originally buy this rifle new or was someone else the original owner? If you bought it used, these accuracy issues may explain why the original owner dumped it???

Other than from the factory offering, were any modifications done such as barrel bedding etc?

As I mentioned before, start over first with some new factory ammo and see what happens! Hopefully the problem will then go away. If it does, the problem was with the old stuff.

I have a Winchester M70 Coyote in 300WSM. It shoots great, but I have noticed that it doesn't seem to like the heavier bullets for some reason. They shoot OK, but not nearly as good as the 180/165 grain bullets.
When you say the shot jumps off the page, is this at 100 yards? If so, it must be either the shooter, the rest, the scope/scope rings or damaged lands at the end of the barrel. Even a bad load wouldn't shoot worse than 6in group at 100 yds ... unless you tried to make it as bad as possible ... point is IMHO a group worse than 5-6in at 100 yds says there is a fundamental problem ... not ammo problem.

+1

Gun was new out of box... as far as i can tell, i just set the gun down, scope rings and bases are secure, bore is spotless with no pitts or flaws in rifling... i will try to go and shoot tomorrow, i will post results afterwords

I'd swap the scope with another from a rifle you KNOW shoots.

Base screws, action screws ,swap scopes .
Make sure your front rest is on the stock forend not the barrel.
Sorry, had to say it.
If you have the plastic stock, move your sandbags back towards the magazine well. The stock could be slapping the barrel when fired. Good luck!

Don't be "sorry" you had to say it...........I can't count how many I've had to help shooters at the range in that regard.

It easily could be something as simple as how they rest their rifles (or barrels.....).

had a model 70 classic in 300wsm NIB ....couldn't get it to shoot no matter what i did..not to say all are dogs but you can get a dog from any manufacturer..