New rifle problems

A friend bought a cooper long range model 52 26 nosler.
only have shot box and half of nosler accubond factory a129 gr because he hasn't received his dies yet.
it will shoot a couple about 1 inch at 100 yards sometimes
then suddenly it will shoot two to 3 inches and usually to the right and low but not always
we Changed the entire set up , different bases , rings and different scope no change

3 different rests off the bench. 2 different shooters. Proper torque on all the screws
it's free floated , stock not touching barrel.
we will be working on reloading some 140 Berger's when his dies get here.

what do you guys think about this? I have 2 coopers they shoot great.
could it not like the factory load that bad?

i shot my 6.5-284 3 shots touching, swapped to his 26 nosler and shot 2 shots about 3 1/2 inches apart perfectly level with each other. I think that eliminated the rest. I was totally comfortable with the shots that it wasn't me.
we will be checking the seating depth with a modified case
what else should we look for? I'll post some pictures tomorrow of the groups
When new rifles don't shoot, don't invest time or money. Send it back.. repeat if necessary. To many people try to fix rifles, fail then send them back. At this point you may share in the responsibility to fix.
 
With that rifle shooting a couple about a inch, and then goes to 3 inches, I would not blame blame it on the bullets only. I would try different ammo . I have had good luck with Nosler's shooting good in my 7mm's. All tuning done at 600 and 1000 yards, 3 shot groups. Don't shoot 100 yards for LR rifle. Its the first one that counts and better not need 5. !! If different ammo don't change you have a gun issue.
 
The only ammo we have tried was the nosler factory
we have quite a but of variables to take out before we ship it back.
and for me it's fun figuring it out.
I told my friend I would give him 50 cents on the dollar what he paid for it 🤣
what are friends for??????
im no expert but we will figure it out one way or another
 
I have had no problems with my Nosler's, I even shoot factory 2nd's. My 270 WSM .65 inch with 150 ABLR 5 shot group at 200 yards. My 7mm Remington mag averaged .75 at 200 with 150 ABLR. My 300 WSM 190 gr ABLR 1.65 inch at 200 is the best I can do with that one. I can hit the small steel targets at 200, 300, 400, 500 meters consistently as long as I do my part on wind adjustments. Any flyers I have I call, me not the gun or the load. My loads all use RL-22 for my best loads, also use IMR4350, and IMR4831. The ABLR's have to have a jump to the lands. Need to make sure your COL at what nosler suggest in there data. I have never seen Hammers and only heard of them here. so can not say anything about them. Correct me if I am wrong, but those are all cooper mono bullets correct? just my 2 cents worth from Idaho.
 
A friend bought a cooper long range model 52 26 nosler.
only have shot box and half of nosler accubond factory a129 gr because he hasn't received his dies yet.
it will shoot a couple about 1 inch at 100 yards sometimes
then suddenly it will shoot two to 3 inches and usually to the right and low but not always
we Changed the entire set up , different bases , rings and different scope no change

3 different rests off the bench. 2 different shooters. Proper torque on all the screws
it's free floated , stock not touching barrel.
we will be working on reloading some 140 Berger's when his dies get here.

what do you guys think about this? I have 2 coopers they shoot great.
could it not like the factory load that bad?

i shot my 6.5-284 3 shots touching, swapped to his 26 nosler and shot 2 shots about 3 1/2 inches apart perfectly level with each other. I think that eliminated the rest. I was totally comfortable with the shots that it wasn't me.
we will be checking the seating depth with a modified case
what else should we look for? I'll post some pictures tomorrow of the groups
Are the Accubonds the "plain" Accubonds or the Accubond Long Range, ABLR? I've been seeing on this forum instances where rifles will not shoot the ABLR's very good but shoot the plain Accubonds just fine.
 
I had a Cooper model 56 in .270 Weatherby that I was reloading for. I found, after burning up a lot of ammo, that after the second shot, due to recoil, and less spring tension in the magazine that the rounds were moving forward in the magazine hitting the front of it. This was driving the bullets further into the case. Not a whole lot but was enough to give me a flyer after the second or third shot, always. This became apparent when I handed the rifle over to a buddy at the range who proceeded to put two groups of five into a bug hole at 150 yds. He was single feeding each shot, not using the magazine. I paid more attention to neck tension and added a little crimp. Life became good again. I came to realize later on that the .270 Weatherby Magnum only provided about a 5-7% increase in performance over a .270 win, brass was expensive and hard to find and factory ammo was outlandish, plus the case took a whole lot of powder. Muzzle blast was pretty harsh too. I sent it back to Cooper and had them set it up in .270win. I just recently sold the .270 Weatherby barrel. I have never regretted that decision.
 
A blind man could get Hammers to shoot well at 100yrds. Highly recommend. Long range takes a bit to figure out the realworld BC but as for consistency...they shoot like lasers beams!
 
The 26N 129 factory loads are pretty poor from what I have seen. Just because they shoot a 3" group doesnt mean it is the gun. I bought 4 boxes at a deep discount and pulled them apart as I only wanted the brass. Seating depths varied .015" and the powder charge was a 2.5gr window.. which is pretty terrible compared to what is possible.
#1 I would try another bullet, and it would be a copper mono. Likely the 127lrx .050-.070" off the lands. Pushed somewhere in the 3450-3500fps range.
That is after making sure everything else with the rifle is spot on (rings/bases/scope/ bedding)
 
During your loading process carefully note and mark any irregular seating pressures. Use a Sharpie and label or number each case to match thewdata sheet notes.
If you do chronograph the next range session. Indicate which case number matches the fliers. At the next reload session deprive and size the suspect cases and do volume checks as to their capacities versus their presumed capacity.
Theses investigative procedures have worked for me. Errant velocity,
Case capacity and seating force can all be related to fliers on the target.
 
I have a 26 Nosler custom and will absolutely not group any factory ammo, 4" group at best. I loaded some 130 Gr Nosler RDF's over US869 and walla, .5 group and that's the last 5 of 20 rounds down the barrel. 26 Nosler are a finicky beast anyway so handloads are the only way.
 
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