[twpbaseball10]

Hey everyone. I had a few questions about what you could do to make a rifle more accurate. the things i really know of are pillar bedding and glass bedding the stock ( im not sure what one is better). and there were a few other things. I really want to be able to do a lot of work at home because it would be enjoyable to me and i wont have to find a gunsmith because i live in NJ and you cant find any haha. So i was hopeing you could tell me what projects could be done to enhance my rifle preformace that i would be able to do myself and if some requires a little training i would like to know anyway bc i would like to be tought stuff. again i would like to do a lot on my own because it would be fun and feel good knowing i did the work on my rifle.... Thanks for your time!!

 

[ogree]

What kind/brand of rifle is it ?

 

[Rangr44]

There's things that can be done with ANY rifle to improve it's accuracy.

First, treat the barrel to a DEEP cleaning - not with just bore cleaner/patches. Use something like an Outer's Foul Out II to remove every trace of copper & lead fouling - that may be less than visible to the naked eye.

Check.recrown the muxxle to an even/smooth surface.

Polish the entire firing pin to ensure a smooth/good ignition.

Learn to disassemble & clean the trigger mechanism, and lightly polish the opposing sear surfaces for a smoother let-off.

Ensure the there's no uneven pressure on one side of the barrel, without an opposing pressure - usually from a stock, but also from metallic connections on some rifle types.

Practice shooting it properly for accuracy - as opposed to plinking/etc.

.

 

[unclenick]

Bolt lug lapping is another common step. Beyond that, you start to get into things like blueprinting the action or truing the bolt, which require machine tools (lathe, milling machine). If the rifle has trouble with building fouling rapidly, you can try firelapping the barrel to smooth it out and remove constrictions. You can download a PDF file on one method of hand crowning from my file repository, here.

 

[twpbaseball10]

What kind/brand of rifle is it ?

few remington 700's couple savages. i was kinda thinking in general what things are usually done you know what mean?

 

[Jim H]

loading you own ammo can sometimes be the biggest improvment to a rifle a guy can do. just a thought.

 

[spitfire_er]

I would say bed your action, lug area and rear tang, 1st inch of so of the barrel, and float the rest of the barrel. Besideds that like said before make sure your barrel is clean! We just cleaned up a rifle for a guy that shot 3" groups when it came in, and after a good cleaning, it was shooting under 3/4"!

 

[ogree]

few remington 700's couple savages. i was kinda thinking in general what things are usually done you know what mean?

Can't help you any with the Savages, just did a trigger job on one a couple months ago and that required stoning the sear. I have very little contact with that brand by choice.

The Remington’s, a few things you can do right off the bat to improve accuracy is bed the action and free float the barrel, check the muzzle and if it requires it....re-crown, adjust the trigger to a more acceptable level.

I tend to disagree with “spitfire_er”, I do not bed any contact points on the barrel, I float it entirely (from the recoil lug forward)

When lapping the lugs on the bolt after the rifle has had a barrel already installed can result in excessive headspace if great care is not taken, the process is usually done to stripped receivers before the barrels are chambered.

I agree with “Jim H” in that to truly ring out the accuracy of any firearm, you have to find the right load for it and that usually entails handloading.

 

[Davers]

Having the proper trigger pull weight for the weight of the rifle will add to the accuracy.

 

[MZ5]

Personally, I've fire-lapped a couple of guns, and lapped the lugs on a few as well. I've not had fire-lapping improve accuracy, but I have had it reduce fouling. However, Ultra Bore Coat (called UBC on many sites) did as much or more to reduce fouling as anything else I've tried.

The CZ whose lugs I lapped saw significant improvement in group size afterwards. The smaller lug was essentially not even touching the receiver!

As for lug lapping your Savages, there are a couple of things to be aware of. First, the second set of 'lugs' (which don't actually bear any firing force, they just re-direct gas away from the shooter in the event of a cartridge failure) can easily smudge or wipe off your markings when you're trying to determine whether your lugs are bearing equally on the receiver. This can fool you into thinking you have a different level of lug-receiver contact that you really have. Second, Savage/Stevens rifles use a floating bolt head, so it can rock/tilt slightly off-axis from the bolt body. Thus, if something's not quite entirely square between the bolt body and the receiver/barrel, the bolt head will tilt and still give you even lock-up. Theoretically, then, it wouldn't ever be necessary to lap Savage or Stevens bolt lugs.

 

[buckstix]

get a copy of "Sorting Out Accuracy" - 1988 Hanloaders Digest

You might try to find a a copy of the 1988 Handloaders Digest. Read "Sorting Out Accuracy". It details several accuracy steps and their results.

 

[tnekkc]

Clean all the Copper out of the bore.
Get the stock to stop touching the barrel.
Load some ammo; a) concentric, b) expensive bullets, c) chamfer inside of neck, d) seat long so bullet jams into lands
Get a $200 high power scope.
Go to the range when there is no wind.
Practice dry firing until the cross hairs stay on the bullseye.

Shoot a bunch of groups and average the size.
You have established a baseline... should be ~ 1.5"

Now pay $4K and get:
Get a $2k high power scope
2 ounce trigger to replace 5 pound trigger
Chase the threads of the action
Lapp the lugs into the lug abutments
Get a Titanium firing pin
Weigh the brass
De burr the flash holes
Re crown the muzzle
glass bed the barreled action to the stock with pillars
weigh each charge
Turn the case necks
True the face of the action

Go to the range again.
Shoot a second base line.
I should be ~ 1.5"

Now spend $300 for a factory lapped bull barrel

Go to the range.
Shoot a 3rd base line.
It should be ~ 0.5"