New Rem XCR = 7" to 0.8" groups???

[Alfred Crouch]

A good friend bought one in 7mm Mag. First groups (by he and my son in law on more than one trip to the range) were from 6 to 7 inches with 160 gr. Trophy Bonded Ammo. After much head scratching and discussion they called Rem and discussed it with them. Rem questioned the ammo and the shooters ability. After they were satisfied he knew how to shoot and was capable of shooting reasonaable groups they asked that he send the rifle back to them. They checked it and tested it, found no problems and sent it back to him saying they got 0.9" groups with 175 core lokt bullets.

Back to the range for more 6 to 7" groups. Another shooter got the same results. They visited the local sporting goods store and returned with some Rem 175 gr. core lokt bullets. SHAAZAM. 0.8" groups.

What gives. Some variation would be expected but from 6 to 7" down to 0.8" ????

ANY IDEAS ???? THOUGHTS ????

 

[sniperjwt]

as strange as it may sound some barrels just dont like certian ammunition. It might be the powder or the bullet its self but you will find this happens a lot. You can try all day long to find a load for a certian bullet and never get it to shoot but then try a different bullet and you can shoot sub MOA groups with any load you try. Its just how it works.
Hope this helps.

 

[Autorotate19]

Thats pretty crazy. I just bought a weatherby accumark in 7mm rem mag a couple weeks ago and when I was breaking in the barrel I used some old cheap 175gr core lokts too. It shot a three shot group right at .5" at 100 lol! Too bad they dont have a better ballistic coefficient or Id just load some up for long range.... Good Luck and glad it all worked out!

 

[Kevin Thomas]

Al,

Sounds to me like this is possibly a concentricity issue with the Trophy Bonded bullet involved. Never worked with them, but this is normally what we se when the jackets are not concentric. I used to see this commonly with the GameKing 150 FMJBTs, since those were frequently ones that had such issues. Obviously, with the results you got from the CoreLokt bullets, the rifle isn't the problem.

Kevin Thomas
Lapua USA

 

[Alfred Crouch]

Thanks for all of your input.

Kevin, It is a bit suprising to see Trohy Bonded ammo with concentricity issues but that sure sounds logical. Some variation in group size would be expected from bullet manufacturer to bullet manufacturer but to go from 6 to 7" down to 0.8 is surprising. Appreciate your response.

 

[elkaholic]

Thanks for all of your input.

Kevin, It is a bit suprising to see Trohy Bonded ammo with concentricity issues but that sure sounds logical. Some variation in group size would be expected from bullet manufacturer to bullet manufacturer but to go from 6 to 7" down to 0.8 is surprising. Appreciate your response.

I too would be suspicious of concentricity. I manufacture bullets and this makes sense. I'm not saying that ALL trophy bonded are that way, but you may have gotten a bad run. They do have a VERY thick jacket and small core which doesn't lend itself to top accuracy to begin with........Rich

 

[Catfish]

The first bullets had to have some sever problems. I did get stuck with some bullets that were seconds once and they shot 3 1/2 to 4 in groupd from a bench gun. I have also saw that grey trail as the bullets evaporite on the way to the target. With no more varation in bullet weight between the 2 bullets I would not expect over a 2 in. group regardless of bullet shape.

 

[RBrowning]

Out of curiosity, have you checked the bullet diameter of both brands? The trophy bonded may be on the small side or even the wrong caliber completely. I've heard of rifle barrels being marked one caliber and being bored something else. A 270 bullet would probably load into a 7mm case just fine but it will bounce it's way down the bore with some pretty erratic results. But an under sized bullet is better than an over sized bullet!

 

[Chas1]

An oversized bullet now that can get ugly.

Kevin, if I have a rifle that likes 300 gr smk's do you think it'll like 300 gr scenars? I shoot alot of paper and the scenar lists a .785 bc so I'm thinking about giving it a shot.

 

[groper]

chas, ill tell ya after tomorro