Gunsmithing Barrel break-in needed? 2 MOA from new rifle

[stello1001]

Hey all,

I finally had some free time and headed out to the ranch. I have a RugerAmerican Predator that I bought back in Feb but finally shot it for the first time. After sighting in, I decided to do two three shot groups. I used factory Hornady American hunter to sight in. My first three round group was about 2 minutes. I then used ELD-X and shot a 3 round group. It was much tighter but still over a minute. I do not have a range finder and I know I had the board out past 100. I want to say I was shooting at about 120 yards. Rifle is chambered in 6.5 creedmoor and scope is weaver tactical 3-15x50 with rings tightened to 16 inch pounds. Is there such a thing as breaking a barrel in and mine still needs more rounds down the Barrel? I think I shot about 16 rounds today and that's all it has. Any info appreciated.



I placed a quarter on the board just for size reference.

 

[Supersubes]

The rifles ive bought and built have all shot great from the very first round. I'd look elsewhere to diagnose the issue. Screw torques, barrel interference, scope, etc.

 

[stello1001]

I knew I was going to have some days off from work so I prepared myself in advance. I messaged Ruger in regards to how much torque is required on the screws that hold the stock to the action. Ruger told me to tighten from 60 to 80 inch pounds and to do both screws little by little versus doing one screw and then doing the other one. That's exactly what I did. Barrel is completely free floated. I suppose I could try match ammo to see how it'll perform with that. I tried those two particular rounds because I will be using it to hunt and thought I would start there.

 

[...]

For a hunting rifle....2 moa is more than adequate.

honestly it makes no difference if youre rifle can shoot 1/2 moa with match ammo if you never plan to run match ammo through it to hunt

but that group looks really good......if it were ammo related, you would have more vertical dispersion..........looks to me like youre pulling shots, or a parallax issue with your scope......or inconsistent cheek weld

 

[Wannashootit]

^^^
I concur. Factory rifles have no doubt come a long way in terms of accuracy- and many will shoot minute of angle or even better out of the box. It's gotten to the point, I think, where consumers have set that standard (minute of angle) as what's "acceptable"- and feel there's something amiss when that doesn't happen.

Absent borescoping, I'd do a thorough copper cleaning in case the leade is rough and deposited excess copper down the tube- then do a bit of "shoot and clean" break-in to see if it can be improved.

JMO,. YMMV

 

[...]

You may also want to consider replacing the plastic stock with a wood or fiberglass stock and bedding it well....

the plastic flexes...especially under load from a bipod.....and can contact the barrel causing accuracy issues

 

[Mordamer]

Your groups are exactly what I would expect from your rifle/ammo combination.

 

[GH41]

Your groups are exactly what I would expect from your rifle/ammo combination.

And add... Especially if shot off of an improvised rest by an average shooter.

 

[Mullhead]

American hunter is not very good ammo. My gun loved the amax's and will not shoot the eld's. Try the american gunner 140 bthp. Make sure the barrel free floated and turn the trigger down as far as it will go. Check your base if you didn't before to put your rings on. What rings are you using?

 

[dakewlndn]

For some reason my 6.5 CM does not like ELDX's in the 4 rifles (2 mine) have always been near 2MOA
I switched to Federal or Winchester Hunting rounds and they seem to do a lot better for me in the 6.5's

 

[stello1001]

I've taken the information posted by all of you and decided to try it once more. This time, I paid close attention to my cheek weld and tried keeping it as constant as possible. I also decided to go prone and shoot laying on my stomach off a bipod. On the rear, I was almost at my target. I simply placed a glove under it and it seemed to be perfect. I fired three rounds and took my time on all 3. I did this using ELD-X and my group is actually the same. I did this with a cold bore today expecting to maybe see some minor improvement. I didn't have a quarter to use as size reference but I did have a dollar. I'll attach the picture. I might do a copper cleaning as suggested as well as try with different factory ammo. As far as the stock, I actually have plans already to buy a laminate stock from stockys or a Magpul Hunter.

 

[Brux]

When shooting factory ammo I always tell people to buy 4 or 5 different kinds to see what your gun likes best. I wouldn't worry about the gun until I tried something different.

 

[stello1001]

When shooting factory ammo I always tell people to buy 4 or 5 different kinds to see what your gun likes best. I wouldn't worry about the gun until I tried something different.

That's what I'm thinking. Try out a few other brands. Plus, with group sizes as the ones I got, I could still make an ethical shot on deer or hogs which will get the lungs if not the heart. But yes, Winchester is definitely a brand I've been curious on trying, and I'll probably look at what else is out there.

 

[supercorndogs]

I have a 6.5 creedmoor Remage barrel. It started out a little over 2 moa. I am 80 rounds in, two thought cleanings, one lap job with JB paste.[worked it in the bore for 2 or 3 minutes.] And I adjusted the OAL of my reloads for my other barrel, and it is down to under an inch. Now that I feel it is broken in, I will start load development for it. I have not had any high end barrels that needed broke in, but I have had some cheap ones that needed it.