Hot barrel

[matt.45]

I bought a Remington 700 adl in .243 a couple years ago for target shooting and critters. I recently got into reloading and started to shoot it a lot more. The first four shots will always group right about 1\2 inch. the next four at about an inch with the group moving high and left and just about every group for the rest of the day will be at about 1 and 1\2 inch. Is there any remedie for this? Is this normal with cheap barrel's? How long do you wait between shots when shooting for groups? I appreciate any input you may have.

 

[Art Eatman]

You didn't say whether you have the plastic stock or not; I am rather underwhelmed by them.

Anyway, the average sporter-weight barrel in a plain-vanilla rifle will do quite well for such uses as deer hunting. "Tweaking" in various ways can improve accuracy or consistency, but not always.

Ideally, one should let a barrel return to ambient temperatures before firing the next shot of a string. Failing that, a rather slow rate of fire for a group is okay, but then let the barrel cool before firing another (for example) five-shot group.

If you DO let the rifle cool between groups, and the change in point of impact always occurs and always stays with you after the first group, I don't know why--that's new to me. As far as the enlargement of the size of the group, I suspect that your barrel might be sensitive to cleanliness. It might be a bit rougher than one would ideally hope for, and foul a bit more readily.

I suggest using a copper-solvent bore cleaner. During your next trip to the range, take your cleaning stuff with you and clean between groups just to see if it makes a difference.

FWIW, Art

 

[ArmySon]

If you follow Art's recommendation on cleaning and it still scatters, you might want to try fire lapping the barrel. If done properly with 800-1200 grit compound, it won't hurt your barrel at all and can quite possible increase your accuracy.

The barrel on the ADL wasn't designed for target shooting. It's purpose in life was to shoot game. However, it can be a good target rifle if you allow adequate cooling and proper maintenance.