Reloadin' Joe

Accuracy Counts!

By Joe Evans

It so seems that long to extreme range rifle accuracy has come to the forefront. This is an endeavor which has blossomed since the first Gulf War. There has been a tremendous amount of development in long range rifles, ammunition for them, optics, and honing of shooters abilities to, quite literally, go the distance. In the 60’s and 70’s most sporting rifles off the shelf would average between 1 ½ to 2 inches for 3 shots at 100 yards. Varmint rifles would usually average ¾ to 1 inch at 100 yards. Yes, there were some that would do better, but this is what you could count on. Today, precision rifles will do much better. Some off-the-shelf specimens with the right load will put 5 shots into ½ inch and 3 shots into ¼ inch! Exciting times for shooters! However, most if not all of these items are pretty pricey and really not all that portable for a day’s trek in the woods. So, if you have a normal average sporting rifle that shoots into that 1 ½ to 2 inch range, what can be done to make it better? The first thing to take a look at is the shooter. Can you shoot well enough to take advantage of what the rifle can do? Case in point, in 2005 I was developing loads for 7mm Remington Magnum and shot a group of 1 3/8 inches. My notes stated that I was not holding particularly steady that day. Next time I tried it, I must have been a little more steady as it shot into ¾ inch. Don’t always blame the gun! Along these same lines it should be stressed that the rest be rock solid. Sure, you can shoot reasonably well, sometimes, over a vehicle hood but you are only kidding yourself to perform any serious work thusly. There are any number of portable benches out there and rifle rests. Most of the portable benches I have tried are just a little too wobbly for me. Actually, I have gotten my best, most consistent results by shooting prone with bipod and rabbit ear toe rest. Nothing is more solid and movement free than good ole terra firma! And make sure you squeeze, pull gently or otherwise release the trigger in such a fashion as not to jar the weapon off target. Sometime in the 1970’s until a few years ago, good triggers in American rifles were virtually non-existent. Before then, good triggers were quite common. The best I used was on a 1966 Remington 700 in 6mm Remington. Absolutely great! The worst two were a mid-eighties vintage model 70 Winchester at about 8 pounds and a quite recent Weatherby Vanguard which was indescribably bad. The Rugers I am familiar with had reasonably decent triggers. If you do not have a good trigger on your rifle, either have it worked on by a decent gunsmith or replace it with an aftermarket trigger. I’ve always been happy with Timney triggers. Affordable and easy to adjust. By the way, if you have a Ruger 10/22 with a rough trigger, Ruger has the replacement trigger for you! While we are on the subject of triggers, it should be emphasized that most all new rifles can be dry fired indefinitely. This is really a wonderful way to get to know your rifle better and is the only way to properly train your trigger finger. Practice makes perfect! On to scopes and mounts. Although the Picatinny rail and corresponding rings are the current rage, the Leupold-style lone piece base as well as two piece Weaver-style rings are still quite good. Of the two, the one piece base system is a little stronger and a little heavier. If you have one of these make sure that all mating surfaces to the receiver are clinically clean. Secure the one piece base to the receiver with Loctite Blue as these screws cannot be accessed once the scope is mounted.

It so seems that some of the Japanese small engine makers use a non-hardening gel on their screws to combat vibration. This is some really cool stuff and would be absolutely great to prevent loosening of all your firearms screws. The only problem is this stuff is made of unobtanium. I’ve tried the local supply and auto parts stores and when I inquired how I could get some of this stuff the reply consisted of a blank, open-mouthed stare accompanied by the classic line – “beats the s--- outa me.” So much for that! Maybe someday… Make sure your scope is of an adequate power to see your bullseye well. ‘Tis truly a great confidence booster to see your crosshairs firmly planted on your target as if it’s only fifteen feet away. Use only a reasonably good quality scope. A 2 ½ x 8, 3 x 9, or 4 ½ x 14 scope in the $180 to $240 range is kind of a bare minimum. You get what you pay for! Make sure all screws are properly torqued to the proper specifications. Do not rely on your Uncle Fudd or Internet Iggy for proper torque, use the manufacturer’s data only. Secrets of the bed. First, make sure the magazine box is free floating in its channel. You may have to grind a little of the bottom of the box. You don’t want the magazine box to be part of the bedding. Second, the bottom of the action as well as the back of the recoil lug is what contacts the stock. Bottom of recoil lag should not contact stock. Check for any cracks in the bed area. One time I found a nasty crack between the trigger and magazine box in a sour shooting Ruger M77 338 Win. I double cross-bolted the stock and this solved that problem. Some wood stocks are stable enough to perform their duties well, but I am a firm believer in glass bedding. Synthetic stocks can benefit as well. I’ve never done it or messed with one but pillar bedding would probably do the best, most reliable job. Barrel bedding is a controversial matter at best. In all cases I suggest bedding the back portion of the barrel (chamber portion) for an inch or two. The rest of the barrel can either be free floated or pressure point bedded. Most current gurus suggest free floating. This works for a really good barrel. However, it has been my experience if you have a light barrel contour, stiff wood or synthetic stock pressure point bedding will drop your group size and sometimes make different bullet weights shoot to the same point of impact. You will just have to experiment. We will talk about this a little more in the next issue. Clean barrel or fouled barrel? I am a firm believer that clean is the way to go. However, clean and oily often times sends that first round way left of center. Clean is good as well as it keeps rust out of the barrel. That being said, many barrels need to be fouled for five or ten rounds before they shoot their best. Each barrel is different. Lastly, don’t expect a weapon with a large bore and shell reminiscent of a frat boy’s beer keg to shoot tiny groups. We are only made of weak flesh and blood! Next time I intend on going into detail on some of the points involved in accuracy. Good – no, great shooting to you!