Gentlemen,
Thank You All for your input!
Woods-I love the details!
I took this project(.300WSM) on for a friend! This was a new gun. The scope/base was mounted by someone else! The stock was replaced with a Boyd laminated thumb hole! When I started the stock was bowed out bad enough to have a lot of pressure on the bbl. I immediately tore it down to open the bbl channel and enlarge the recoil lug recess! I bedded with Devcon. There is no more touching or movement of the action in the stock! I torqued the both bottom metal screws to 40inlbs. In my screwball way of thinking, I was trying to break and determine the ideal load for this rifle. Looking back, I should have focused on bbl break in, only! I have used 180 Nosler BT,Hornady 165 Interlock, Nosler 165 and 180 Partitions pushed by a myriad of powders!
First: FL sized new Nosler brass. I loaded (5) 5-round recipes with the best one shooting .750" at 100yd! It was the second group shot. I was thinking, "I am the man"......(5) groups later, it turned to, "I am a moron"!
Mistake 1: Using a Lee FL die with a Redding shell holder and not measuring the setback. Due to the thickness of the shell holder, I was setting back .004"! The bolt closed firmly, but that did not concern me much at first.I was also pushing the bullets out to .002 to the lands. At 61 to 64gr IMR-4350, I was following my printed manual. The bolt got hard to open after firing! I also had the "shinny spot" on the head-stamp!
Mistake 2: Not rechecking/re-tightening the bottom metal screws!
Mistake 3: Assuming the scope rings were torqued to specs.
Mistake 4: Trying too many powders even though the were recomended. I tried: RL-16,Varget, Win760 etc.....
Good News.....everything snugged,torqued and lock-tited(blue) down!
It is shooting .750 with 64gr IMR-4350 and Nosler CT(Black) 180gr bullets!This is hunting gun and that's all it will ever be!You have to understand, this gun leaves in a few weeks to Africa to kill thinner skinned animals! So I have been pulling my hair out while under pressure to make it shoot decent! His goal is to shoot no more than 200yds!
Well, its off to the next conbooberated project!
I'm sorry this response got so long but, I felt I owed those of you that tried to help! Thanks again!
God Bless!
Brett
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"Shoot Low Sheriff; he's ridin a shetlend"