I was at my local gun shop and found a Remington 40XB .223 repeater. It was sporting a Leupold 35 power competition scope. Serial number is in the 33,XXX range. It has a blued receiver and a 24" stainless barrel. I found the markings CY on the left side of the barrel. I tried to figure out when it was made and the best I can come up with is 1974?? Anyways I knew nothing about the rifle. I am new to bolt action rifles...lots of AR's but this is my first bolt action..Anyways I took it out to the range today and did not do so well with it. I went out to 100 yards and I was using FMJ 55gr, 62gr cheaper stuff brass case that I use in my AR's and then I used 75gr Hornady Match as well. I am having some problems keeping tight groups. We were shooting on sand bags and I had another person at the range shoot it and he did maybe 1-11/2inch at 100 yards and I did maybe 1-2 inch at 100 yards. I have a Rock River A4 Varmint 24" that I can shoot 1/2" all day long at 100 yards. I checked the receiver bolts to the stock and they were snug not overly tight. I checked scope mounts as well. Is their a specific gr .223 that 40X's like?? Wish I knew what the heck I was doing wrong..Rifle came with synthetic stock and spare wood stock. I was using the synthetic stock today and have since put it back in the wood stock to try out. Am I using the wrong ammo?? Also it seemed like the groups were all over the place and not consistent. I only had 2 holes touching themselves out of 100 rounds or so...HELP!!
Got a Remington 40XB in .223..need some advice!
- Thread starter gqllc007
- Start date
Re: Got a Remington 40XB in .223..need some advice!
I Goggled the rifling on the .223 40XB and came up with a 1 in 12 twist rate so a 55g projectile should be a good starting point. Have you checked for throat erosion I know that .223 is not the hottest round in the world but a 1974 barrel could be shot out.
I Goggled the rifling on the .223 40XB and came up with a 1 in 12 twist rate so a 55g projectile should be a good starting point. Have you checked for throat erosion I know that .223 is not the hottest round in the world but a 1974 barrel could be shot out.
Re: Got a Remington 40XB in .223..need some advice!
How does the rest of the rifle look? Is there a lot of wear on the bolt body or lugs? Overall condition will tell a lot about how many rounds have been through it. The 40X is a hard rifle to figure out a manufacture date on. The Serial number doesn't help much. I've tried to date my 40X with no real luck. They're a little picky about ammo so don't be too discouraged. You'll need to get some match grade ammo or reload to really see it's potential.
How does the rest of the rifle look? Is there a lot of wear on the bolt body or lugs? Overall condition will tell a lot about how many rounds have been through it. The 40X is a hard rifle to figure out a manufacture date on. The Serial number doesn't help much. I've tried to date my 40X with no real luck. They're a little picky about ammo so don't be too discouraged. You'll need to get some match grade ammo or reload to really see it's potential.
Re: Got a Remington 40XB in .223..need some advice!
Gun looks good to my untrained eyes. I guess I would need to see how a "good" bolt looked?? I have nothing to compare. The bolt feels solid and locks up nice..no wobble, rattle, freeplay etc..there is still bluing on the bolt lugs..I can see some use. The very sides of the lugs are not razor sharp or anything..I am going to get some Vmax 40gr and 50gr to try out tomorrow
Gun looks good to my untrained eyes. I guess I would need to see how a "good" bolt looked?? I have nothing to compare. The bolt feels solid and locks up nice..no wobble, rattle, freeplay etc..there is still bluing on the bolt lugs..I can see some use. The very sides of the lugs are not razor sharp or anything..I am going to get some Vmax 40gr and 50gr to try out tomorrow
Re: Got a Remington 40XB in .223..need some advice!
Hi
I am not an "expert"! Check the bullets, if they are some bulk pack fmj, they just do not shoot well. A good brand of 55 gr. will do better. With that nice of a rifle you might buy some 52/53 gr. match bullets. Check your brass, you want one head stamp, same lot if you can. Then you can do some stuff to the brass to get it to shoot better. Outside neck turn the cases I have never found cases that were not thicker on one side. You can debur the flash hole, and uniform the primer pocket. After that just use that brass in that rifle, and just neck size the case. Full length sizing does affect the group.
Hope this helps
jim
Hi
I am not an "expert"! Check the bullets, if they are some bulk pack fmj, they just do not shoot well. A good brand of 55 gr. will do better. With that nice of a rifle you might buy some 52/53 gr. match bullets. Check your brass, you want one head stamp, same lot if you can. Then you can do some stuff to the brass to get it to shoot better. Outside neck turn the cases I have never found cases that were not thicker on one side. You can debur the flash hole, and uniform the primer pocket. After that just use that brass in that rifle, and just neck size the case. Full length sizing does affect the group.
Hope this helps
jim
Re: Got a Remington 40XB in .223..need some advice!
OK... The back of the lugs is where the wear or galling will be. It sounds pretty good though. Also look at the bolt face. Deep rings are a sign of considerable use but not always. Pull the bolt and look at the rifling from the back. You can see where the rifling begins just in front of the chamber. If the rifling looks to gradually appear as you look toward the muzzle it's shot out. It should be a very short bevel from chamber to throat to lands.
Honestly though, it sounds like you just need to get some better ammo. My 40X is in 7.62 NATO and it shoots bug-holes out to 300yds. if I do my part... And yours is a .223 so there's no recoil! That rifle will most likely SHOOT!
OK... The back of the lugs is where the wear or galling will be. It sounds pretty good though. Also look at the bolt face. Deep rings are a sign of considerable use but not always. Pull the bolt and look at the rifling from the back. You can see where the rifling begins just in front of the chamber. If the rifling looks to gradually appear as you look toward the muzzle it's shot out. It should be a very short bevel from chamber to throat to lands.
Honestly though, it sounds like you just need to get some better ammo. My 40X is in 7.62 NATO and it shoots bug-holes out to 300yds. if I do my part... And yours is a .223 so there's no recoil! That rifle will most likely SHOOT!
Re: Got a Remington 40XB in .223..need some advice!
Yep you guys were right! Well I went to the LGS and picked up some 40gr Hornady VMAX. Here is the result of a 5 shot group at 100 yards. The black circle is 1 inch in diameter. I think the gun is fine ! I just needed to find the correct round for it!
Yep you guys were right! Well I went to the LGS and picked up some 40gr Hornady VMAX. Here is the result of a 5 shot group at 100 yards. The black circle is 1 inch in diameter. I think the gun is fine ! I just needed to find the correct round for it!
Re: Got a Remington 40XB in .223..need some advice!
33,xxx would be correct for the 70's. The CY would indicate a April of 1974 manufacture date. The repeater is a great find. Your 223 could be a 14 twist. Very popular back in the day as the 223 was used for both target shooting and varmits as well.
33,xxx would be correct for the 70's. The CY would indicate a April of 1974 manufacture date. The repeater is a great find. Your 223 could be a 14 twist. Very popular back in the day as the 223 was used for both target shooting and varmits as well.
Re: Got a Remington 40XB in .223..need some advice!
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Voracious</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Vagenius..bullet length is a "culprit",long before length.
Bless your heart! </div></div>
Are you through?... Because there are some here who would really like to get back to some serious discussion... Oh, and fill out your profile.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Voracious</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Vagenius..bullet length is a "culprit",long before length.
Bless your heart! </div></div>
Are you through?... Because there are some here who would really like to get back to some serious discussion... Oh, and fill out your profile.
Re: Got a Remington 40XB in .223..need some advice!
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: oneshot onekill</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Voracious</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Vagenius..bullet length is a "culprit",long before length.
Bless your heart! </div></div>
Are you through?... Because there are some here who would really like to get back to some serious discussion... Oh, and fill out your profile.</div></div> Thank you...I thought I was the only one getting annoyed!
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: oneshot onekill</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Voracious</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Vagenius..bullet length is a "culprit",long before length.
Bless your heart! </div></div>
Are you through?... Because there are some here who would really like to get back to some serious discussion... Oh, and fill out your profile.</div></div> Thank you...I thought I was the only one getting annoyed!
Re: Got a Remington 40XB in .223..need some advice!
Here's hoping you've an inkling to how far you are in over your head. Secondly,here's an invite to "state" where I'm "wrong".
Thirdly...you are dumber than most thought,despite the obvious signs.
Bless your heart.
Here's hoping you've an inkling to how far you are in over your head. Secondly,here's an invite to "state" where I'm "wrong".
Thirdly...you are dumber than most thought,despite the obvious signs.
Bless your heart.
Re: Got a Remington 40XB in .223..need some advice!
first thing I'd do is find the twist rate of the gun so you can find the proper weight, ok length, bullet to use.
do you reload? The gun may have a long throat that could be causing the large groups. Reloading to a little off the lands may bring the group in.
Did you make sure the action screws are properly torqued?
Are you feeding single or repeater? I had a 700, several actually, that would not shoot well as a repeater but single shot worked great.
did you clean the gun first? May be the bbl needs fouling rounds to shoot well.
possible that you just haven't found the amo the gun likes.
examine the fired cases. is the neck straight? Whats the diameter of the OD at the neck of the case? Check case dimensions...is it a match chamber? Look at the primer. Is the dent from the firing pin well centered or off to one side
is the bbl well floated?
just thoughts off the top of my head
first thing I'd do is find the twist rate of the gun so you can find the proper weight, ok length, bullet to use.
do you reload? The gun may have a long throat that could be causing the large groups. Reloading to a little off the lands may bring the group in.
Did you make sure the action screws are properly torqued?
Are you feeding single or repeater? I had a 700, several actually, that would not shoot well as a repeater but single shot worked great.
did you clean the gun first? May be the bbl needs fouling rounds to shoot well.
possible that you just haven't found the amo the gun likes.
examine the fired cases. is the neck straight? Whats the diameter of the OD at the neck of the case? Check case dimensions...is it a match chamber? Look at the primer. Is the dent from the firing pin well centered or off to one side
is the bbl well floated?
just thoughts off the top of my head
Re: Got a Remington 40XB in .223..need some advice!
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: seanh</div><div class="ubbcode-body">first thing I'd do is find the twist rate of the gun so you can find the proper weight, ok length, bullet to use.
do you reload? The gun may have a long throat that could be causing the large groups. Reloading to a little off the lands may bring the group in.
Did you make sure the action screws are properly torqued?
Are you feeding single or repeater? I had a 700, several actually, that would not shoot well as a repeater but single shot worked great.
did you clean the gun first? May be the bbl needs fouling rounds to shoot well.
possible that you just haven't found the amo the gun likes.
examine the fired cases. is the neck straight? Whats the diameter of the OD at the neck of the case? Check case dimensions...is it a match chamber? Look at the primer. Is the dent from the firing pin well centered or off to one side
is the bbl well floated?
just thoughts off the top of my head
</div></div>
So far all the research suggests a 1:14 twist.
If you look up a couple of posts you will see my latest range trip with a photo. 5 shots in under 3/8" of an inch. I used 40gr Hornady VMAX as they did not have any 50gr for me to try.
I cleaned the gun thoroughly last night. And re torqued the action screws
Today at the range it tightened up nicely after the 10th round. The 5 shot group in the picture is round 11-15 and black circle is one inch. All rounds were fired as a repeater
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: seanh</div><div class="ubbcode-body">first thing I'd do is find the twist rate of the gun so you can find the proper weight, ok length, bullet to use.
do you reload? The gun may have a long throat that could be causing the large groups. Reloading to a little off the lands may bring the group in.
Did you make sure the action screws are properly torqued?
Are you feeding single or repeater? I had a 700, several actually, that would not shoot well as a repeater but single shot worked great.
did you clean the gun first? May be the bbl needs fouling rounds to shoot well.
possible that you just haven't found the amo the gun likes.
examine the fired cases. is the neck straight? Whats the diameter of the OD at the neck of the case? Check case dimensions...is it a match chamber? Look at the primer. Is the dent from the firing pin well centered or off to one side
is the bbl well floated?
just thoughts off the top of my head
</div></div>
So far all the research suggests a 1:14 twist.
If you look up a couple of posts you will see my latest range trip with a photo. 5 shots in under 3/8" of an inch. I used 40gr Hornady VMAX as they did not have any 50gr for me to try.
I cleaned the gun thoroughly last night. And re torqued the action screws
Today at the range it tightened up nicely after the 10th round. The 5 shot group in the picture is round 11-15 and black circle is one inch. All rounds were fired as a repeater
Re: Got a Remington 40XB in .223..need some advice!
interesting, when I first opened the post, no threads showed up.
looks like you got a shooter, groups look good.
interesting, when I first opened the post, no threads showed up.
looks like you got a shooter, groups look good.
Re: Got a Remington 40XB in .223..need some advice!
When I bought the gun it was on a trade deal and is my first bolt action rifle. I asked them what the twist was and nobody knew. I use 55/62/68 and 75 gr in my AR's. Each one that I own likes different ammo. When I first went to the range with this gun the groups were as tight as 1 1/2 inch to as big as 3 3/4 inches! I was like...whoa..something isn't right!
When I bought the gun it was on a trade deal and is my first bolt action rifle. I asked them what the twist was and nobody knew. I use 55/62/68 and 75 gr in my AR's. Each one that I own likes different ammo. When I first went to the range with this gun the groups were as tight as 1 1/2 inch to as big as 3 3/4 inches! I was like...whoa..something isn't right!
Re: Got a Remington 40XB in .223..need some advice!
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Voracious</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Here's hoping you've an inkling to how far you are in over your head. Secondly,here's an invite to "state" where I'm "wrong".
Thirdly...you are dumber than most thought,despite the obvious signs.
Bless your heart. </div></div>
So... What exactly is that supposed to mean? And... I don't think anyone said you were "wrong". Just an ass.
Wait a minute... Were you once called "Nobody" on this site? Is that you Nobody???
OP...sorry to keep hijacking your thread.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Voracious</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Here's hoping you've an inkling to how far you are in over your head. Secondly,here's an invite to "state" where I'm "wrong".
Thirdly...you are dumber than most thought,despite the obvious signs.
Bless your heart. </div></div>
So... What exactly is that supposed to mean? And... I don't think anyone said you were "wrong". Just an ass.
Wait a minute... Were you once called "Nobody" on this site? Is that you Nobody???
OP...sorry to keep hijacking your thread.
Re: Got a Remington 40XB in .223..need some advice!
Have you determined your barrels twist yet? Run a jag with a snug patch through barrel and measure how many inches it takes for the rod to make one complete revolution. If it is 1 in 14", thats a rather slow twist that will definately not stabilize any of the longer bullets like the 62, 69, 75, 78 ect. Do you reload yet? Try the 52 and 53 grain match bulllets as was previously suggested. If you don't reload, I believe Black Hills makes a 52 or 53 grain match load.
Have you determined your barrels twist yet? Run a jag with a snug patch through barrel and measure how many inches it takes for the rod to make one complete revolution. If it is 1 in 14", thats a rather slow twist that will definately not stabilize any of the longer bullets like the 62, 69, 75, 78 ect. Do you reload yet? Try the 52 and 53 grain match bulllets as was previously suggested. If you don't reload, I believe Black Hills makes a 52 or 53 grain match load.
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