Need help with 7mmSTW

[Evan1234]

I am new to forum but have been doing some reading on here for a few weeks. I need some advice for some of you that have "been there done that". I have had a Win Model 70 STW for several years. Never shot it much. Just put a Nikon scope on it new and sighted it in and basically put it away. I did shoot fairly well. Recently I thought I would give Long Range Shooting a try. I got a Burris XRT II 6-24 and mounted it and started shooting. I was not expecting great results out of this thin barreled factory gun but it was worth a try.

I have tried several loads with four different powders. R22,R25, H1000 & IMR4350 with two different bullets 150gr Nolser and 168gr Bergers. As well as Remington and Winchester factory loads. I am shooting 3" groups/100 yards with everything.

Scope is tight. Barrel is not touching stock. Trigger is fair. This gun should shoot better than this. Is it possible the new scope is not holding point of aim?

Any ideas on what you would try next.

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

stainless with the Tupperware stock, or wood. If it's got the Tupperware stock, that's got to either go or be pillar bedded.
How's the bore? stw's will foul rather quickly; are you sure you are getting it clean?

 

[Evan1234]

Leftly, thanks for your reply. Wood Stock blue barrel. Winchester Supergrade. I have cleaned it well several times. Bore appears good. The barrel probably had 40-50 rounds shot thought it the last 10 years it shot sub 1' groups when I originally sighted it in with Factory loads.

I put a new scope on it and loaded some test rounds and they are all over the place. I went back to some factory loads, same thing.

I had plan to restock the gun to save the finish on the supergrade stock, but the way it is shooting now I hate to throw more money at it.

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

have you got another scope to try on it? If it shot well before the scope change, even if it's been a while, I'd look there first since that's your main change. It likely doesn't have too much in the way of stock issues if it's wood and free floated already. Pillar bedding could help, but you've got to get her back to moa or better to notice that.

 

[Evan1234]

Swapping the scope was my next step. I am having a hard time believing it is the scope. The few scopes that I have had go bad over the years would not move the point of impact consistently when you turned the dial. This scope will move the point of impact even though the group is terrible.

 

[Black67]

Evan, you could sell me the Winchester

I have a few Winchesters, and they can be a bit touchy at times. My Model 70 STW shoots 1/2" groups with factory ammo.

I would also check all of the bolts and screws are tight. For the scope bases, I would use a torque wrench and tighten them too 20 inch pounds. The scope between 15-18 inch pounds.

I would also check to make sure that the stock is on good, and check those bolts/screws are tight. I would torque these up to about 30 inch pounds.

For all of these, I would walk up to the point specified. Get all of the bolts to the torque at a lower setting, then reset the torque wrench higher, repeat. Do this until you are at the specified torque setting.

For the factory loads used, what ones were they?

For the 150 gr Nosler bullets, what ones did you try?

Hope some of this helps.

Bill

 

[Evan1234]

Bill, I am about ready just give it to you or throw it in a ditch somewhere.

I did torque the rings and base to the ranges you mentioned. I have rechecked the rings but I have not pulled to scope to test the base. I never considered torqueing the stock bolts, I just snug them up firm. I will try that.

I have tried 140 gr Winchester supreme and Core-locks factory loads because that is what I had on hand. 3 moa out of each.

I picked up some 150gr Nosler Ballistic tips to see if like them better than the 168 bergers. I really cant tell a difference in the groups.

I am hoping(but doubting) I have a scope problem at this point. Burris should make it right if that is the problem.

If I change the scope and the groups don't tighten, then make me a offer. No reasonable one would be refused!!!

 

[MudRunner2005]

Bill, I am about ready just give it to you or throw it in a ditch somewhere.

I did torque the rings and base to the ranges you mentioned. I have rechecked the rings but I have not pulled to scope to test the base. I never considered torqueing the stock bolts, I just snug them up firm. I will try that.

I have tried 140 gr Winchester supreme and Core-locks factory loads because that is what I had on hand. 3 moa out of each.

I picked up some 150gr Nosler Ballistic tips to see if like them better than the 168 bergers. I really cant tell a difference in the groups.

I am hoping(but doubting) I have a scope problem at this point. Burris should make it right if that is the problem.

If I change the scope and the groups don't tighten, then make me a offer. No reasonable one would be refused!!!

Wood stock - 45 in/lbs.
Synthatic stock with an aluminum bedding block or pillars - 65 in/lbs.

Also, glass bedding your action and recoil lug to the stock, and free-floatin your barrel will probably help significantly. Bedding your action and lug will take out all the slack cut into your stock at the factory because those stocks have to be made generically to fit every rifle of that model, so the tolerances are very broad. When you bed YOUR action to YOUR stock, it's like getting a custom pair of molded orthotics for your feet....Everything fits nice and snug and where it should be, and allows it to stay planted in place without allowing any wiggle room to create error.

 

[Evan1234]

The barrel is free floating from the factory. Also I think Winchester tried to do some bedding on this gun. It is the Super Grade model. There is some opoxy type material on the stock under the action. I have no idea it if was done correctly.

 

[Black67]

For Winchesters, I have found that the stocks are best around 30-35 in lbs from experience. I know that some others say to go higher, and I tried. When I did, it was worse. When I lived in Ct, a gunsmith that I knew there told me to keep it around 30-35 in lbs, as he did a lot of work on M70's. He did some work on my 7mm-08, and that was one thing he did. The groups shrank alot. I do understand where you are coming from Mud.

This gun was done by the old Custom Shop in New Haven, they know what they are doing. They more than likely did the recoil lug. My FN M70 had that done from the factory. As for my M70 STW, I have not had the stock off. It came from the Custom Shop too, and it just shoots to good to really change or mess with.

It might take some more shooting or much more cleaning. I have used the factory Winchester ammo that you are talking about before and it has the Lubox (?) coating. Once it is on, its good. The problem is the coated bullets. When you go back and fourth between coated and uncoated, you can have problems. Well, I did in my old 7mm Rem Mag. Savage. That gun would shoot under an inch all day, coated or uncoated. But when I changed from one to the other, I had problems for about 20 rounds until it was cleared out.

Hope some of this helps out.
Bill

 

[MudRunner2005]

Lubalox. It's what Winchester used to coat the Black Talon bullets in the late 80's to early 90's, before they were cut and reintroduced as the Ranger SXT bullet without the "scary" black coating and nickle plated brass.

 

[Black67]

I knew it was something like that, I am a blonde!!

 

[MudRunner2005]

It's all good bud. I'm just making fun of the libtards and dems for calling the bullets "cop killers", because they were too stupid to tell the difference between Lubalox and Teflon, and they thought they could penetrate level III body armor.

 

[Black67]

Evan

Do you know what bases and rings are on the gun?

Just trying to help understand some more of how things are connected.

Bill