help with making my gun shoot

[7magWeb]

Well here we go. I'm new to all this but I am looking for some imput. I'm after shooting way out there ...500-1000yds. Bought a new savage 116 ss 7mm accustock/accutrigger and greybull presicion scope. Broke it in with $15.00 boxes of Federals and then bought some $50.00 HSM berger bullets. Couldn't hit squat with the bergers. all over the place. Than I called another scope /ammo company, got told, "these will work or you get your money." $75.00 later for that box, the $15.00 Feds hit better than the good ones and no email return from the company or my money back. Live and learn. So after reading this forum everyday at lunch for the past year, searching everywhere, talking to a couple gunsmiths etc, even email back and forth with Walt Berger himself, I've come to the point that I believe that what make sense is that I found out that most factory made guns/barrels are basically sloppy, meaning that there made to shoot many types of ammo brands etc, which I'm sure most of you know already, So I'm considering taking my gun into the local gunsmith, have him pull the barrel off and refit the insides to match what it takes for VLD's like it should have been to start. What are you guy's thoughts? Am I going forward, sideways or maybe backwards. The guys at my gunsmith shop seem to understand what my problem is and seem confident that what they will do will make the changes that I need. You know, custom fit my barrel to match the VLD's. I have what I have and want to make it work.

 

[405win]

Hi 7magweb, and welcome.
There are many things that have to work to make those longrange shots. Your set-up sounds good and should work well. I'd start with the simple things first.
Is your scope mounted correctly and securely? Any stock issues such as loose bolts or bedding issues? Acustocks are an improvement over the old savage stocks but check for barrel contact. How's your trigger, your form, your follow through? Trigger control is a big thing for me.
These are just places to look, I'm not saying any of these are a problem.
Lastly, ammo. Factory ammo is just that. Mass produced to work in all guns. They do a great job but often custom or handloaded ammo is needed to bring out the full potential of a rifle.
The fact that the federal ammo shot better says your on to something. I'd start there before spending the money on barrel work, but thats me.
Good luck.

 

[Don Ward]

Good advice from 405win on checking the basics first.

Bergers are long. To make them into factory ammo they need to be loaded deep enough in the case to run through whatever 7mag they may get put in. That means you probably a lot of jump before your bullet gets to the lands. In a chamber that isn't lined up perfectly (common in factory guns), that can mean poor accuracy.

Probably no harm in having a new chamber pushed in the barrel, but it still may or may not like the HSM stuff. VLDs can be finicky when you can't play with the seating depth.

You might try a box of Remington Scirocco 150s. They have worked well for a number of customers looking for a factory solution and they have a decent BC.

If you are after VLDs or bust, hand loading might end up being the only solution but some chamber and crown work might do the trick.

If we already cut you a dial for the HSM stuff and you end up switching, just give me a call and we'll get you a dial to match whatever you end up with.