Refinished my stock, now rifle won't shoot right

[NZer]

So, numbers indicate in/lbs on rear screw, front screw at 45 in/lbs, middle screw is only just touching the trigger guard.
At 20in/lbs I thought I might be getting somewhere. I adjusted my scope and fired three more shots on the bottom right target.
Another 5 in/lbs and it opened up again. I am out of ammo, will have to load another batch to pursue that ideal setting.
I was kinda hoping I would show up, shoot a five shot clover leaf and live happily ever after, but at least it looks like it is making progress.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

20 looks promising, I would try to avoid scope adjustments until you have the action screw torque issue straightened out. No sense adding another variable. Also, was the shot between the 3 and the 4 the first shot after you made the scope adjustment? Your target reminds me of my Leupold scopes, where only half the adjustment shows up on the first shot and the rest arrives for the second shot.

 

[NZer]

20 looks promising, I would try to avoid scope adjustments until you have the action screw torque issue straightened out. No sense adding another variable. Also, was the shot between the 3 and the 4 the first shot after you made the scope adjustment? Your target reminds me of my Leupold scopes, where only half the adjustment shows up on the first shot and the rest arrives for the second shot.

Yes, if I were to disregard that shot, and bring the 2 20lb groups together, taking adjustments into account, it would have been a 4 shot group just over MOA. Funny you say that about leupold scopes, this rifle is wearing a VX3!

 

[Frog4aday]

For your next go, you may try the front screw at 50 in/lbs and repeat with the rear (15, then 20, then 25, and so on.) The 20 in/lb in back did show some promise. Maybe a bit more on the front will get it happy? I agree with Tierradelmundo - don't touch the scope (or anything else) so you only have one variable going (tightness of screws.) It looks like you are on the right track. Just gotta find the sweet spot. It's tedious. Thanks for coming back and giving us some follow-up. I hope you can get your gun shooting well again.

 

[NZer]

If I'm reading the post and follow-up posts correctly, your barrel is FREE-FLOATING?
If that's the case, then I vote for #2 (action screw torque) as most likely culprit.

Guns are touchy about this. Get a torque wrench (most use a FAT WRENCH from Wheeler Engineering) and take it with you to the range. Start with the front screw at 45 in/lbs (forget Ruger's 90 or 95 in/lb recommendation!) Set the rear screw at 15 in/lbs. The middle screw? Put just a small amount of 'medium' loctite on it and screw it in very gently until it is 'in', then stop. No 'torque' on it.

Now shoot the gun. Does it shoot good? Yea! You are all done.

Still not good? Tighten the rear screw five more inch/lbs. Try again. Don't go over 40 in/lbs in the back. If you get to that point and it is still not 'good', back off to 20 in/lbs again in back, and try 50 in/lbs up front, and repeat the process. At some point, you are going to find what YOUR GUN likes. Write it down. Now you know for the future.

I'd love to see a picture of the stock. I have a couple of Ruger 77s (tang safety models) and would like to see an oil finish on the OEM stock. Thanks!

 

[NZer]

I left a few nicks and scratches, this rifle gets knocked around quite a bit, I use it for thar and chamois (well, i TRY to use it for chamois but they are wily little buggers) so it gets taken to some rough country. Obviously not the original barrel, and I would like to get a decent grind to fit butt pad to finish it off.

I was thinking the same thing with 50lbs on the front screw. Will let you know once I get to the range again. I must say, I am astounded how finicky it is!

 

[Frog4aday]

Thanks for the pics. I love that you have the 'original' red pad on there. Such a distinct look. Does nothing for recoil absorption, but you can tell it's a "tang safety" Ruger 77 from a distance. I like the color of the wood. It is dark and I think I'm favoring that more and more. I have a 'tang safety' model 77 that I decided should go back into it's original stock but I was torn about it as it needs refinishing. Seeing yours is good inspiration. Thanks for taking the time to give us a look see. I hope you can get it back to shooting well soon. Why rifles have to be so picky is beyond me?

 

[ResearchinStuff]

Yes, if I were to disregard that shot, and bring the 2 20lb groups together, taking adjustments into account, it would have been a 4 shot group just over MOA. Funny you say that about leupold scopes, this rifle is wearing a VX3!

It's sad that I was able to guess the scope by looking at the target, just shows how wide-spread the issue is. I've never bought a scope from another brand, but as I have started to shoot more at longer ranges, I'm not sure I'll ever be able to buy another Leupold.

 

[mtwarych]

Gentlemen, I have a left handed step child (Ruger Hawkeye 257 Roberts) that has been giving me fits for the last couple of years, so much so I pretty much gave up on the rifle and was completely confused why the rifle went from a 1MOA rifle to a 6-8MOA rifle over the winter.

I followed the advice from tierradelmundo and frog4aday and all of a sudden I have a 1MOA rifle again.

Thank you for your help Gentlemen, The depth of knowledge found on this forum is incredible.

 

[Don A Parsons]

Here's one for the books that I'll share...

I picked up a Remington Model 700 BDL wood stock in 30/06,,,, I picked it up for a build project... 2 inches of blue-ing was worn off the crown,,, I presumed the crown was damaged...

5 shots and 2 fly'ers.
2 shots with 5 fly'ers.
7 shots and 1 fryer,,, bug holes to 3 1/2" and 4" spread off the bulls-eye on either side,,, we checked everything from top to bottom and tested it with 3 different optics and mount and rings...

Has to be crown damage I guess,,, we bore scope the full length of the barrel and it checks out good less a fraction of throat burn...

It left me and my gun Smith friend scratching our heads even after changing out the trigger...

Pizz on it I say,,, throw on a new barrel,,, zero stress bed the action and full length free float,,, might as well collar the bolt shank to make it fit tighter in the action at the same time...

Bingo,,, we got lucky on this build,,, we found out that the firing pin shank between the head that the spring seat on and the heel where the trigger holds the pin back when closing the bolt was bent...

Who-da Thunk...

The head of the inner firing pin would jam up against the inner hollow bolt shank,,, just enough to change the 10.000 thousands of second in delay time,,, sometimes it would hang up,,, sometimes it wouldn't... He found that it was bent when he spun it on the lathe...

He straighten it out and my new / used custom rifle in 6.5 A-square is a tack driver,,, I can order a new firing pin and spring if things go south,,, so far so good...

This falls into the firing pin hang fire category that could get over looked...

It is only 1 of the 100's of things that make it challenging to find when trouble shooting issues,,, good thing my friend has a few years under his belt making precision rifles for national match shooting in bench rest and F Class...

Attention to details that sometimes get over looked...

Cheers from the North

 

[NZer]

Thought you may like an update.... I went up to 75"lbs on the front, following the instructions, and this is the final result (firing at centre, then bottom right). I give up, I am taking it to a gunsmith and I may buy another rifle as this is my only decent centre fire hunting rifle. Maybe I can finally get a creedmoor!

 

[Frog4aday]

Thought you may like an update... I went up to 75"/lbs on the front, following the instructions, and this is the final result (firing at centre, then bottom right). I give up, I am taking it to a gunsmith and I may buy another rifle as this is my only decent centre fire hunting rifle. Maybe I can finally get a creedmoor!

I'm disappointed for you. I was hoping you were on the right track and would find the 'sweet spot' for the action torque, but I guess it isn't happening. That's frustrating. Hopefully the gunsmith can find something 'off' and get your gun sorted out. It'd be a shame to trade off or 'retire' the old workhorse when it might still have some good days ahead.

Thanks for giving us a follow-up. I was wondering how it was going. Apparently not well. Sorry. Best of luck to you and the gunsmith.

 

[Mainmechanic]

One more thing I would check. Very easy to install the magazine box incorrect and stress things. Would remove it and put the bottom metal back and try again single shot. Mag box on these rifles are k own for being a bit too long also. If this us improve refit box correctly.

 

[NZer]

Update on the update; according to gunsmith, bulged barrel. The last 10mm has a bulge, he recommends cutting off 1/2" of barrel and recrowning. Stand by for a third update as to how that works.