Hey guys I need your help. I went this weekend to sight in 2 new rifles, a Savage 10 & a Remington SPS Varmint, both .308. The Savage was shooting 3 round groups at 100 yards under 1" easy with 2 types of ammo, Hornady & Berger. The Remington was all over the place. Groups were low, high, & everywhere. I triple checked all screws were tight, disassembled & still the same. I'm a very proficient shot & this was frustrating. I'm ready to send to gun back to Remington. Could it be the junk SPS stock ? Any suggestions ? Both rifles were cleaned prior to shooting also.
At a loss !!!
- Thread starter Fasttimez
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FearNoWind
Well-Known Member
My Remington rifles shoot very well, but they are pre SPS stock versions so that'd be the first place I'd look. I'd first want to make sure that the clearance between the barrel add the barrel channel in the stock was sufficient; I like a minimum of .030. At the same time I'd check the recoil lug nesting to make sure there's no clearance between the recoil lug and the walls of the recess. A little bedding material will fix that.
WildRose
Well-Known Member
"all over the place" usually indicates one of three things.
Scope is busted.
Something is loose.
Needs to be free floated.
You've eliminated one of the three so I'd look at the other two.
Is the recoil lug bedded?
Scope is busted.
Something is loose.
Needs to be free floated.
You've eliminated one of the three so I'd look at the other two.
Is the recoil lug bedded?
The barrel isn't free floated, I checked it.....the recoil lug isn't bedded. By far this is the WORST factory stock I've ever seen. I'm shooting a Vortex Viper scope, I know the scope is good, mounts are good, all action screws are tight. This stock doesn't even have pillar bedding, just one complete piece of junk plastic that contacts the barrel in about 8 spots (I checked using some marking compound). If I would have known I'd have to spend another $300 on a stock I would never have bought it. Talking with a Remington guru, he said he considers the SPS stocks throw away's. He told me they are very low quality, that's how they keep the price down on the SPS models by using a cheap molded plastic stock.
1st, don't do anything that will void the warranty.
2nd, validate if the scope that is on it is good.
3rd, give it a chance, perhaps it just needs more rounds through to break in the barrel or just don't like the load your feeding her.
Good luck!
You can cut some aluminum cans and add a few shims between the action and the stock to float the barrel. Floating the barrel will probably make a pretty big difference. Also when you set the front on a bag the factory stock will flex into the barrel so be sure to have enough clearance to compensate for that as well. You can get a good deal on the houge pillar stocks $100 +/- or find one with a full bedding block for a little over twice that. I had a 700 tactical that was pillar bedded and it shot great and I really liked the over molded stock.
The shims would be to test to see if that's issue not a permanate fix. If that works you can do a bed job on it.
The shims would be to test to see if that's issue not a permanate fix. If that works you can do a bed job on it.
I had a Rem 700 in 7mm RM that was impossible to make shoot well, the culprit was an almost 8 lb trigger on a 9 lb rifle !
A Jewell trigger quickly fixed that issue !
have a smith test your trigger or simply replace with Jewell or a Timney trigger, probably should anyway since the recall on them .....
A Jewell trigger quickly fixed that issue !
have a smith test your trigger or simply replace with Jewell or a Timney trigger, probably should anyway since the recall on them .....
brentc
Well-Known Member
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It's frustrating, but normal. The remington needs some special attention to get the best of them I.e. trigger replacement and stock work. The savage comes right out of the box and shoots, crappy stock and all. I'm not a super fan of either brand, but when it comes to the savage 10 .308 vs. The comparably priced rem or even one that runs a couple hundred more, it's an absolute no brainer if you're looking for a rifle that comes ready to put rounds down range.
Before I did anything, I would put the scope that is on the savage on the Remington and the scope that was on the remington on the savage and then shoot them. If the savage is all over the place after that, you will know it's the scope.
WildRose
Well-Known Member
X2. That's the exact problem I had with two of my 3 Vortex Viper PST's.
I can't say enough about their customer service and turn around time fixing scopes but it sure was frustrating having those issues. I wasted a lot of time and rounds just "knowing" it had to be something else.
silvertip-co
Well-Known Member
Welcome to Savage outofthebox accuracy. Enjoy.
ditt:d!
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I'd swap scopes first like the others said.
I'd also check the front mount screws. For some reason a lot of mount manufacturers supply screws for the front bases that are too long and they bottom out against the barrel tenon threads. They'll torque down fine and you'll think they're tight but they're really bottomed out against the barrel threads and not holding the base against the receiver. I've seen a bunch that did this and were responsible for scopes moving all over the place. Very frustrating until you learn to look for it after the first few times it happens. A couple of quick swipes on the screw with a file will usually fix it but it would be much better if the makers would just put the right length screws in the package to begin with. I don't know why that's so hard for them to do.
The SPS stocks ARE junk but they won't cause groups that bad. Free floating will usually help but it's not going to make a rifle go from throwing rounds everywhere to a 1/2" rifle. Likewise, a heavy trigger will make one harder to shoot but you're not going to get magic by putting on a jewell. If the rifle is truly throwing groups that bad then something is loose in the scope or mounts, or you've got a bad barrel.
I'd also check the front mount screws. For some reason a lot of mount manufacturers supply screws for the front bases that are too long and they bottom out against the barrel tenon threads. They'll torque down fine and you'll think they're tight but they're really bottomed out against the barrel threads and not holding the base against the receiver. I've seen a bunch that did this and were responsible for scopes moving all over the place. Very frustrating until you learn to look for it after the first few times it happens. A couple of quick swipes on the screw with a file will usually fix it but it would be much better if the makers would just put the right length screws in the package to begin with. I don't know why that's so hard for them to do.
The SPS stocks ARE junk but they won't cause groups that bad. Free floating will usually help but it's not going to make a rifle go from throwing rounds everywhere to a 1/2" rifle. Likewise, a heavy trigger will make one harder to shoot but you're not going to get magic by putting on a jewell. If the rifle is truly throwing groups that bad then something is loose in the scope or mounts, or you've got a bad barrel.
