.300 WSM Accuracy Problem

[jda2631]

I have a winchester model 70 300 WSM. It is just the standard model 70 with a 24 inch barrel and a synthetic stock. I have used some federal premium nosler partition bullets and hand loaded some barnes tsx and ttsx and some nosler accubonds. from these bullets I'm getting like 4"+ groups at 100 yards. I am noticing that when bolting a bullet into the barrel, whether from the magazine or not, it gets most of the way into the barrel smoothly then the case catches the top of the chamber or barrel and I have to almost force it into the barrel. After I shoot the round and eject the case, or just eject the bullet without firing, there is noticeable scratching on the case from when I had to force the bullet in. I dont know if this is causing the inaccuracy or not.

My question is what should I do? Just keep trying different ammo or have something done to the gun? Should I have a gun smith check out why I am having to force the bullet into the barrel and what is causing the scuffs? I am on a limited budget so I'm looking for the best, cheapest fix to this problem.

Thanks in advance!

 

[liltank]

I have a winchester model 70 300 WSM. It is just the standard model 70 with a 24 inch barrel and a synthetic stock. I have used some federal premium nosler partition bullets and hand loaded some barnes tsx and ttsx and some nosler accubonds. from these bullets I'm getting like 4"+ groups at 100 yards. I am noticing that when bolting a bullet into the barrel, whether from the magazine or not, it gets most of the way into the barrel smoothly then the case catches the top of the chamber or barrel and I have to almost force it into the barrel. After I shoot the round and eject the case, or just eject the bullet without firing, there is noticeable scratching on the case from when I had to force the bullet in. I dont know if this is causing the inaccuracy or not.

My question is what should I do? Just keep trying different ammo or have something done to the gun? Should I have a gun smith check out why I am having to force the bullet into the barrel and what is causing the scuffs? I am on a limited budget so I'm looking for the best, cheapest fix to this problem.

Thanks in advance!

You want to get that to a smith ASAP. You have burr in your chamber causing un-needed pressure. Take it to a smith and have it cleaned up. You should never have to force a bolt shut. I had a similar problem with mine when the chamber was initially cut. I could feed, but they would stick every time I tried to eject the fired round. I think once you get that removed you will be able to tighten up your groupings.

Tank

 

[lewellan2]

I agree with liltank. You definitely need to have the chambered checked and honed to eliminate any burring or eccentricity. You could send it back to Winchester, and they would probably take care of it, but that would take weeks typically. You may want to also recheck your reloading process. If you have not fully sized-resized the cases and trimmed them to length you can get similar results. Don't rule out that you have an eccentric (not true die) causing your cases to be out of round. if you have access to another 300 WSM try a dummie round or two in that chamber to see if your cases are true.
Dano

 

[jda2631]

ok thank you both! about the scuffing and forcing into the barrel, it is doing that with factory and reloads. here are some pictures

Here is the rifle:


Here is where the round gets "stuck" and i have to force it into the barrel:


This is a close up of the action:


And this is the round after i take it out (note this is a federal factory load, not a hand load):

 

[3fingervic]

I agree he should get it fixed, but shouldn't it be Winchester's problem? Why should he have to pay a gunsmith to fix it?

 

[liltank]

Definitely a burr somewhere. I would have them look at the mag and make sure it is feeding out okay. You could send it back to Winchester and they will probably make it right, but you will get stuck with the shipping cost to Winchester and who knows how long it will be until it returns. Using a smith will help ensure it is fixed correctly, and if there are any further related problems, you can just go back.

Tank

 

[3fingervic]

Definitely a burr somewhere. I would have them look at the mag and make sure it is feeding out okay. You could send it back to Winchester and they will probably make it right, but you will get stuck with the shipping cost to Winchester and who knows how long it will be until it returns. Using a smith will help ensure it is fixed correctly, and if there are any further related problems, you can just go back.

Tank

Good point, having the smith do it may be cheaper than the shipping. That sucks, you have to put money into the gun, just to make the gun like it should have been out of the factory. Aftermarket barrel?

 

[jda2631]

ok, I'll take it by the smith some time here soon. While its there i think i'm going to get him to bed the stock and give it a trigger job to get it to like 3lbs or something like that. is bedding that standard synthetic stock going to make much difference? its not free floated right now, can he free float the barrel in that stock? would it be worth my while to do this or should i just save up and get like a bell and carlson stock? i cant afford like a mcmillan or anything like that right now. im not looking to shoot at 1000 yards or anything like that, most likely the furthest i will shoot with this rifle is like 500 at the most and i will be carrying it around so if i get a new stock i dont wont a heavy fiber glass one. like i said im on a small budget and im trying to get the best accuracy i can for as little money as i can. what are yall's suggestions on what i should do? thank yall again.

 

[300WSMMAD]

A mate had a similar problem just last week with a Remmy 700 in 223.
This in NZ dollars but it cost him $35 and the smith did it for him while he waited! He just pushed the reamer in by hand and out popped a piece of swarf .5 thou thick that was all it took.

All the things you listed can help you attain better groups but IMHO there is a few things that could be done first before you go down the new stock path.
Some of which you have touched on yes Trigger 3 lb you may find that 1.5-2 lbs is where its better.
Bedding yes.
MUZZLE BREAK! if you dont all ready have one fitted. There are many options.

Just my 2c

Regards 300WSMMAD

 

[jda2631]

ok thank you for that info, i'm glad its a cheap and easy fix, hopefully will be around the same price here. I'm gonna for sure get a trigger job done when its at the smiths. I'm just not a big fan of breaks and the extra noise and muzzle blast they put out. I'm not going to be shooting it so much at one time to need the brake. also should i get this stock bedded and free float the barrel? or save up and get a new bell and carslon stock later?

 

[flyin lizard]

Have your smith do the trigger and take care of the chamber ,then you do the free float and bedding. Lots of threads on this site to show you how. It is not difficult to do, just take your time and don't skip a step. Do these things to the rifle now ,see how it shoots ,then if you still want to get a better stock go for it
and you will already know how to bed a rifle. Also you did not say what weight bullets you are shooting. My 300wsm does not like anything lighter then 175 grains.
It's a vicious cycle shoot, shoot ,tinker, shoot,shoot shoot,,tinker and on and on.

 

[jda2631]

I plan on using either 180 gr E-Tip's or 190 gr VLD's or maybe 180 gr Barnes TTSX and I'm going to start with R-17 and IMR 4007 and see if I can find a load my gun likes with some sort of combination of those.

How hard is it to bed a stock yourself? I've never even thought about doing it myself. I'll have to look into it.