Remington 700 BDL 243. Patterns all over the place

[pontiac428]

Replace the firing pin spring and see what happens. That 50 year old spring is surely tired and weak, so you might have ignition problems.

Load your cartridge for your chamber throat. 6mm (243) likes to be anywhere from .015 to -.005 at the lands. Factory ammo is short! Use a puller and re-sent factory loads to your gun. You will need a COL gauge and an ogive comparator ($40 per tool) to determine this, or you can candle smoke a dummy round with your bullet of choice, chamber it, and creep the length down until the rifling marks disappear. Measure overall length at tha point, and test from there.

Match the bullet weight to the rifle twist. Don't use 130 gr hunting bullets in a 11-twist barrel, that never works.

Chrono your shots. Otherwise you are guessing.

Crown condition matters, under certain conditions. Most folks take it seriously for good reason.

 

[Nutfarmer]

Have swapped out the scope with a known good one. No change even going back to iron sights. Crown looks good. I guess the next thing to check is stock and barrel clearance and fit. I would like to thank everyone for their response. It shows me some more things to check. Would like to use the gun for Deere hunting around the farm. I think with the direction every has given I can move forward to finding out what the problem is. Thanks again.

 

[pontiac428]

The 243 is one of the most accurate long range-capable classic cartridges that you can buy in a box. Something is definitely not right. Even a pencil barreled Elmer Fudd deer rifle should get five in below an inch at 100 with that cartridge when the loads are right. The 700 is a good platform to do it with. I have mildly worked and barreled 700s putting five in the teens, and mildly worked 700s with factory barrels shooting quarters (the .250” kind) with hand loads. Five shot .5-.75 groups are attainable with bedding, trigger work, and load development. My point is, sumpthin ain't right, and it can be fixed, I'm sure of it. Else I know of a guy you can send it to...

 

[GeneT45]

Most likely it is going to be a combination of several small things: barrel to stock fit a little off, crown not perfect, too long a throat, and so on. As said above, I would check for rubbing on the barrel and free float it as needed, check the crown for nicks, also check the chamber length and so on.

Basically, take it down to blueprint level specs.

I disagree with this. If the rifle was shooting perhaps 2.5moa, I might agree, but with 8-10 moa, there's bound to be some singular, major, problem.

GsT

 

[verbotenwhisky]

I have an older 700 BDL that I have never been able to keep in a diner plate pattern at a hundred yards. Things that I have checked:
1 barrel and chamber are clean and look good.
2 scope and mounts look solid and aren’t moving.
3 trigger is a jewel and seams crisp.
4 have tried several brand and hand loads to no avail.
What do I check next? I purchased the gun used in 1972 and have never been able to keep a pattern under 10 inches at a hundred yards. It should be under two inches at a hundred yards. Any suggestions on what to check next. I have a couple of other 700 s and they shoot fine. I am missing something hear. Not a gunsmith, just a shooter. Any suggestions would be appreciated before I give up and sell it.

I had to have my barrel bedded in the stock to solve pretty much the same issue. Mine was acquired new from Oshman's sporting goods in the mid 70's and the bedding work was done by a gun smith in the late 70's. After having it bedded the issue went away, shoots a 2" group at 100 yards offhand.

 

[GeneT45]

Match the bullet weight to the rifle twist. Don't use 130 gr hunting bullets in a 11-twist barrel, that never works.

That's something I neglected to mention! If you're shooting 'heavy' or 'light' or your barrel has an atypical twist for your caliber, bullet weight is another good place to look. In fact, it might not be a bad idea to test with several bullet weights, as available to you.

GsT

 

[pontiac428]

That's something I neglected to mention! If you're shooting 'heavy' or 'light' or your barrel has an atypical twist for your caliber, bullet weight is another good place to look. In fact, it might not be a bad idea to test with several bullet weights, as available to you.

GsT

That's something to be aware of with 243. First, 243 needs a lot more twist than you think to stabilize heavies. 7T for 115gr, 8T for 105gr, etc. the caliber is great for predators and varmints with light bullets, south of 80gr. And it's good for deer and even larger with heavy pills. That means that a wide range of bullets and barrels have been available for the cartridge since it's introduction in the 1950s. It's not mix and match with versatile rounds like this, you have to feed the gun the right ammo. Too heavy will not fly stable. Too light isn't so bad, but in 243 it can shorten barrel life as 3800 fps is attainable with 58gr varmint pellets. If you have a typical Remington 9.25 twist, stick with 75gr boolits or less... It will never launch 105, 115, or even 95 grainers into a paper plate at 100.

 

[Aaron David]

I disagree with this. If the rifle was shooting perhaps 2.5moa, I might agree, but with 8-10 moa, there's bound to be some singular, major, problem.

GsT

Whenever I have an issue with anything mechanical that I cannot immediately identify, I find going through the system and checking everything against specs from top to bottom, while correcting any and all discrepancies, will most likely take care of the problem and/or find the fault.

 

[lordbeezer]

Probably the reason it was for sale when you bought it. Figure it out then you will have a fine rifle.

 

[David2011]

I disagree with this. If the rifle was shooting perhaps 2.5moa, I might agree, but with 8-10 moa, there's bound to be some singular, major, problem.

GsT

There’s a lot to be said for this line of thinking. More likely one or two big issues are responsible for most of the inaccuracy. There’s no guarantee that the crown is centered on a factory barrel. Can you slip a dollar bill between the barrel and fore end? If not, the barrel will move to a different position after every shot as it gets hotter. Using correct weight bullets is paramount. IMO getting the ogive to lands distance perfect is for chasing hundredths/thousandths; not inches. Are the action screws bottoming out? That would be a huge problem. Once you’re sure they’re no bottoming out, torque to 60 inch pounds. Try that much and report the results, please.