New guy here

[LeviBerg]

Hi, I've had my PAL for a couple years and finally got around to picking up the standard farm shotguns and and small caliber rifles. This is just a Savage 93BV in .17hmr with a Cabela's brand 3-12x40 tactical scope and Rock Mountain bipod. The best I've managed is a 1.5" 3 shot group at 100yds. Sorry for the bad pic

 

[hilbillee]

Re: New guy here

Welcome Levi. Just keep practicing and you will get better. Matbe you can try free floating your barrel to see if that will help your accuracy, which isn't bad by the way. Any wind will make the 17 move at that distance. Does your rifle have the accutrigger? If not maybe you can get a riflebasix or timney trigger installed to help. also try several different types of ammo to see which one your rifle likes the best. Also, the "just a Savage 93" isan excellent rifle and can't be beat for the money.

 

[LeviBerg]

Re: New guy here

Thanks for the help so quick. It's got the accutrigger (which I really like) and a bull barrel that's freefloated. I'm really happy with the rifle/cartridge, but it's obviously nothing compared to some the setups on here.

I'd like to try polish the bolt a bit to see if that smooths the action any and look into pillar bedding it. I'm curious if that's really necessary on such a light round though.

 

[AK10mm]

Re: New guy here

What is a PAL ?

 

[LeviBerg]

Re: New guy here

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SANDRAT</div><div class="ubbcode-body">What is a PAL ?
</div></div>

A PAL is a possession and acquisition license for firearms up here in Canadia.

 

[AK10mm]

Re: New guy here

Ahhhh,I should have known that,have a friend from BC that comes down and shoots with me,loves to burn up ammo in one of my AR15's

 

[hilbillee]

Re: New guy here

Levi,
Another goodplace to check for info on rimfires is here.

www.rimfirecentral.com

 

[LeviBerg]

Re: New guy here

I believe that. All AR based platforms and most other "black" rifles are restricted in Canada. It essentially means we need a special license just to own them, and they can only be used at a range.

 

[Dylan in AZ]

Re: New guy here

Pillar bedding a rifle really can't hurt it's accuracy (unless it's done wrong of course) but in some cases it wont help the accuracy either. If you're going to go that rout you might as well fully bed the action as well. Your groups will get smaller with more practice, and as mentioned above, ammo testing also helps quite a bit. 5-shot groups are much, much more representative of you and your rifles capabilities. Oh and another thing, you might consider participating in some of the rimfire competitions at your local range or here on the 'Hide. I'm dedicated to doing some of them very soon and my groups suck at 100

I think it will be a great learning experience and should easily show improvements on my part.

Welcome to the 'Hide
-Dylan

 

[LeviBerg]

Re: New guy here

Awesome, thanks for the info. I might go bug the local gunsmith this weekend and see what he thinks about it.

 

[Prison Mike]

Re: New guy here

Welcome to the Hide!!!

 

[jambau]

Re: New guy here

I got an H&R single shot in .17 to play around with.Innitially it would only give me 1.5 - 2". Then I switched to Hornady 17gr. ammo. Now it consistently holds MOA. Moral of the story: Try different ammo. Find what your rifle likes the best. Then consider other enhancements if you still consider them necessary.

 

[LeviBerg]

Re: New guy here

I've tried a few and it's seems to like Hornady 17gr vmax's the best between Remington, Hornady and CCI. I found an article on polishing the action and removing tool marks, so I'll look into that in the next little while too.

Thanks again for the tips and help.

 

[jambau]

Re: New guy here

Another thing to experiment with is cleaning. You will read stories from guys that claim their 17's shoot better as the barrel gets dirty. Althought it may not be the norm, it is exactly the case with mine too. I have no idea why. I do clean it after each session but I know I have to fire at least 12 rounds before it tightens up. I plan on using it for PA groundhogs so It will probably sit dirty all summer. There used to be a fire lapping kit for rim fires sold through Brownells. You dip the tip of your bullets in the abbrasive compound and fire them. I never saw a review on it but you could check it out.

Good luck

 

[RicosRevenge]

Re: New guy here

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Tikka09</div><div class="ubbcode-body">used to be a fire lapping kit for rim fires sold through Brownells. You dip the tip of your bullets in the abbrasive compound and fire them.</div></div>
Please don't do this!!! Last resort only!

Welcome to the Hide and congrats on your rifle! 1.5" at 100 isn't bad at all; especially if there is any wind at all. Ater seeing a LOT of people at the range; this is actually easily above average for any caliber - rimfire or centerfire.

Now try 5 shot groups. Work on your breathing and stability as well as a slow trigger pull. I would bet that as your skills improve the groups will shrink and then you can figure out what to do with the rifle to bring it up a notch in accuracy.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Re: New guy here

Welcome. Try different ammo, and leave the rifle the way it is. Savage rifles are seldom improved by tweaking. They're very nice pieces as they come, new in the box.

Greg

 

[jambau]

Re: New guy here

I also agree with RicosRevenge. Once I got more involved with shooting and not just hunting, I spent more time at the range and a strange thing happened. All my rifles magically got more accurate !!!! Go figure!! Looking to try some long range matches this summer to accelerate the learning process.

 

[LeviBerg]

Re: New guy here

Well since I have to work tomorrow, I skipped a party and took the time to polish the firing pin and extractors for something to do. I didn't do the inside of the back half of the bolt, mostly because I couldn't find any brushes for the drill press or my entire dremel kit.
The action is considerably smoother, and the trigger breaks a little easier, but I could just be fooling myself on that.