Learing to shoot light rifles.

Have you checked the bedding? I have a CA in 28 nosler. I read that where the lug sets in the stock the company only puts a small drop of epoxy, which when I checked was the case. But also the stock was above the rear pillar where the action screws down. So I took a dremel tool to the stock and the bedding and re bedded the stock, only putting blue painters tape on the side and front of the lug. Shoots .250-.375 groups depending on the bullet.
 
I've run Orthopedic practices for the last 23 years and amassed quite the collection of surgical implants.

The ankle plates make great keychains!
 

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First of all, Very nice X fix on the ankle. It should heal nicely and may take few months before they can remove the frame. That was one hell of a fracture to had!!!!
That happened September 29, 2015 and had the fixator removed the last week of December 2015. I was able to return to work September 16, 2016. To say it was a rough year was an understatement. I had just changed jobs and my disability insurance hadn't kicked in yet.

We were blessd to be able to survive of savings for most of that year, as my wife wasn't able to work either due to having to run me around to medical and thearpy appointments. She was able to finally start an administrative job with the Junior College in June of 16, and I worked part time at Wal-Mart starting July of 16 until I could get released back to work at BNSF.
 
As Xsn10s pointed out earlier, your bolt handle rubbing may indicate something is off with the rifle's geometry.


The scope base was proud, and hung over the back of the reciever ring. When the bolt cammed over the corner of the bolt handle made contact. See pictures below.

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The bolt handle isnt rubbing on the stock in anyway to create a secondary recoil lug. Nor can I find any binding issues anywhere else. I'm pretty sure it's more my ability to shoot this rifle, than there is a problem actually with the rifle.


Have you checked the bedding?
The rifle has a carbon fiber bedding block. There isn't any kind of other bedding material.
 
Also how did the PPU ammo shoot? If your gun likes cheap ammo, let her eat.

In three rifles it seems consistent at being over 2 MOA for 5 or more rounds. I paid $130 delivered for 200 rounds back in June of 2020 when ammo was scarce. It'll kill deer at the ranges we shoot from the blind in Oklahoma on my buddies lease. I also let people shoot a few rounds of it when they want to try out my suppressor.
 
Might be worth free floating the barrel, are you planning on using a bipod? On my nula, it shoots best for me with it snugged firmly into my shoulder, left hand snugged up against a light bag under the butt, on a spartan bipod (.280ai, does 1.5" 3 shot groups at 450 yards) but that is a very stiff full length bedded stock. No brake, barnes 145gr lrx at about 3050. Kimber montanas have a little flex to the stock and folks have often had to do some work to eliminate shifting contact points to get them to really tighten up, might be worth checking those threads and then really looking for wear points on the barrel channel, mag well etc. With that amount of free float (not much) I'd also be really surprised if harmonics weren't changing as the barrel warms up and cools down. I'll bet you get it sorted with a little time! (Edited to say also worth checking action screws, marking the ends and tightening then removing to see if any are making contact with metal when tightened. Another feature of montanas that caused fits.)
 
Scrambler, I was the product manager for the gamma 2 and gamma 3 IM nail system and later the Feild Marketing Director for the Inter Tan Hip Fracture system. Spent my adult life in surgeries with Ortho Surgeons, Ortho Residents and PA,s. It was a wonderful 30 years in Ortho Trauma. Perhaps we were even at the same national OTA meetings or AAOS conventions????
 
Sorry about your scope base. It would be nice if we could trial fit half dozen scope base/ring setups before install on new rigs. I have a Howa Carbon Stalker in 7mm-08. I went with Talley Lightweight Aluminum rings and had to go to rings higher than I wanted to allow the bolt handle to clear the scope.

It shoots 1 MOA with Barnes 145 gr LRX and RL17. Still I like to tinker so I put in GunBloke trigger spring and I epoxy skim bedded the receiver. No pillars because I believe that the carbon stock is stable enough.

Next time at the range find a good shooter and kindly ask them to fire five rounds through your Howa to see what groups they get.
 
Ducky, you need to go back and edit your original post #1. You wrote "Advertised weight for this rifle is 7 lbs 4 oz, but it weighs 7 lbs 10.6 oz on my scale. " Then, later you wrote the rifle weight with scope and suppressor was lighter than without the scope and suppressor,
"So I put my rifle on a diet, by grabbing the NF 3-10X42 SHV off of my M700 .308 Win. This made my weight go down to 6 lbs 3 oz unsuppressed, and 7 lbs 0.9 oz suppressed." That's impossible.
 
I fix the free float issue first. Have. Plenty of clearance. The lightweight barrels are so much more susceptible to contacting, especially with the weight of a suppressor on the end.
 
The scope base was proud, and hung over the back of the reciever ring. When the bolt cammed over the corner of the bolt handle made contact. See pictures below.

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The bolt handle isnt rubbing on the stock in anyway to create a secondary recoil lug. Nor can I find any binding issues anywhere else. I'm pretty sure it's more my ability to shoot this rifle, than there is a problem actually with the rifle.



The rifle has a carbon fiber bedding block. There isn't any kind of other bedding material.
Gotcha Ducky, I misunderstood where the rubbing was happening.
Keep shooting!
 
I'd have to agree with David. Find someone that is accustomed to the sharp recoil of a light rifle, preferably about your size and get him to fire a couple groups. The first, just to get acclimated to your rifle, cool the rifle, then let him shoot for group.
You might get someone to load or not load the rifle just to make sure that you aren't flinching or jerking the trigger.
I'd tend to agee with some of the others and look at the screws and bedding too.
Good luck, Paul
 
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