Drastic accuracy loss...

[TheBlurLS1]

Hey guys,

My uncle has a Remington 700 that's probably 15 years old chambered in .300 win mag. It has always been an absolute nail driver. He recently cleaned the gun, took it to the range, and now it will not shoot a damn 10" group at 100 yards. He couldn't get the gun to shoot, needed to go hunting, and ended up buying a .25 WSSM which he now loves.

Is there anything obvious that would screw up a nice shooting rifle that bad? I have thought about potentially loose optics, but he is a very competent guy and most likely installed the scope/base/rings right. I believe it also shot very well for a while with the scope that's on it and he didn't change a thing on the scope. I was thinking he may have damaged the bore/crown/etc., but I didn't think it would make a 1moa gun turn into a 10moa gun.

Anyway, does anyone have an idea? Anything I should ask about or check out? Thanks for the help!

-Casey

 

[Shady_Jay]

Re: Drastic accuracy loss...

I knew a guy with the same problem. I asked him what he cleaned it with and it was something a friend recommended. He couldn't remember the name but it was in a black bottle and stunk up his entire kitchen (Sweet's 7.62). Told me he left in over night and patched it out in the morning and now it won't shoot........


...and it never did again.

 

[Kevlars]

Re: Drastic accuracy loss...

OMG.... Sweets overnight ... wow ...that is one way to really screw up a rifle really quick.

One bottle of sweets should last a lifetime.

 

[Powder_Burns]

Re: Drastic accuracy loss...

Yep that ammonia stuff is killer on your bore. Insta-etch. Throw those chamber plugs away!

 

[KeithR41]

Re: Drastic accuracy loss...

Scopes die. Change it out and try again.

41

 

[Shortdraw]

Re: Drastic accuracy loss...

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: KeithR41</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Scopes die. Change it out and try again.

41 </div></div>
My guess too. That much change means something bad happened. Maybe he had the barreled action out of the stock and forgot to tighten the action screws afterward?

 

[1shot2kill]

Re: Drastic accuracy loss...

ask him if he took the stock out of the action i have seen guys do this and when they put the gun back together the metal box doesnt seat properly with the floorplate and it ends up binding and you get a very bad action to stock contact area

 

[TheBlurLS1]

Re: Drastic accuracy loss...

The scope is fairly new. Leupold VX-3L (I believe 4.5-14x56), so it's by no means a junk scope. I will ask him about the other potential issues the next time I talk to him and report back.

http://www.leupold.com/hunting-and-shoot...6mm-long-range/

I believe that's the scope...

 

[sermonator]

Re: Drastic accuracy loss...

If it's not the scope, and it wasn't chemical barrel destruction (as described), I'd be looking at the bedding. Floorplate not seating right can mess with you. Wood stock, tupperware, or a real glass stock? Tupperware are notorious about screw tension. I've ended up putting pillars in several for others, to get them to shoot well. I once had a wood stock on a 700 that got very wet and put me out by ten inches @ 100 and made my groups about 10" also. Similar thing happened on my dad's 721.

 

[TheBlurLS1]

Re: Drastic accuracy loss...

I will get a really good look at his stock/etc. the next time I go over there.

I just picked up an XCR Tactical Long Range in .300WM with the Bell & Carlson stock. We might be able to swap it out on his gun and try it. His is a stainless/synthetic combo (not sure if it's "tupperware" or "real glass", but I would imagine "tupperware" lol.

 

[Shortdraw]

Re: Drastic accuracy loss...

Don't rule out the scope yet. That Leupold is a good quality scope but they do go bad. If you can, swap another scope on it and give it a try.