Garrum
Member
If its not one thing, it's another.
First, the offending rifle. It's a Remington 700 Sendero SF, chambered in 7mm Rem Mag. The sighting is done through a Simmons 3.8-12x44mm Aetec mounted in Redfield style rings and bases. I tuned the factory trigger down to a crisp and consistent 3.5 lbs.
Second, the possibly faulty handloads. They are 139gr Hornady SST's over 66.5 grns of RL22 in Winchester cases, lit up by Federal GM215M primers. The bullets are seated very close to the lands. I am very careful about weighing powder charges. The dies I am using are Redding Competition, the ones with the Titanium bushings. I don't, however, have a concentricity gauge to check runout with. I also don't have a chronograph to check velocity deviation.
The problem is this. When I fire a group, I often get two rounds very close, say .4 or less, but the other round is sometimes up to an inch and a half away, but usually closer to an inch. There is no set order in which the rounds impact. Sometimes, the first round is the flier, others, its the second round, and just as often, the third.
But, just to cause me grief, sometimes I'll fire a group without even a hint of a flier, just a tight little cloverleaf of about .5.
Now, I realize that it could be crooked ammo, wide velocity spreads, faulty scope, or a bad bore. The bore looks pretty good though, very minor looking tool marks. The crown looks OK as well. The reason that I'm posting this long, drawn out question, is that I thought that maybe some of you fellas had seen a rifle do something similar and could enlighten me.
As always, any help or info is appreciated.
First, the offending rifle. It's a Remington 700 Sendero SF, chambered in 7mm Rem Mag. The sighting is done through a Simmons 3.8-12x44mm Aetec mounted in Redfield style rings and bases. I tuned the factory trigger down to a crisp and consistent 3.5 lbs.
Second, the possibly faulty handloads. They are 139gr Hornady SST's over 66.5 grns of RL22 in Winchester cases, lit up by Federal GM215M primers. The bullets are seated very close to the lands. I am very careful about weighing powder charges. The dies I am using are Redding Competition, the ones with the Titanium bushings. I don't, however, have a concentricity gauge to check runout with. I also don't have a chronograph to check velocity deviation.
The problem is this. When I fire a group, I often get two rounds very close, say .4 or less, but the other round is sometimes up to an inch and a half away, but usually closer to an inch. There is no set order in which the rounds impact. Sometimes, the first round is the flier, others, its the second round, and just as often, the third.
But, just to cause me grief, sometimes I'll fire a group without even a hint of a flier, just a tight little cloverleaf of about .5.
Now, I realize that it could be crooked ammo, wide velocity spreads, faulty scope, or a bad bore. The bore looks pretty good though, very minor looking tool marks. The crown looks OK as well. The reason that I'm posting this long, drawn out question, is that I thought that maybe some of you fellas had seen a rifle do something similar and could enlighten me.
As always, any help or info is appreciated.