Howa Ranchland 308 accuracy

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Dana C

New member
I have a Ranchland 20" in .308. I have been careful breaking it in and have managed to get a couple of 1" groups on a good day.
This is the question. It has a Hogue stock and is supposedly free floated. The trigger is very nice and I have a Nikon Monarch 5-20x44 on it. I think however that the rail mount is backwards as the elevation had to be moved several inches to even get close to being on at 100 yards. I should say it was way low, hence my feeling that it was mounted backwards.
Here is the real question. The barrel is a light sporter. I am not so very worried about that as the length, 20", eliminates the whipiness that comes with longer barrels. Would a recrown substantially improve accuracy? I know that a hunting rifle only needs coffee cup saucer accuracy in reality but I love to be able to put holes in paper really close together. It is not a need thing but a want thing.
So tell me how to make it that way if you would. Your ideas would be much appreciated.
 
Unless the current crown is damaged, I would not touch the crown. Try to shoot a FMJ into a soft barrier (dirt or sand pile with a backstop) that will stop the bullet. Look at the bullet to see if something has damage it. If so, it could be something in the rifling or the crown; or the bullet is being damaged when it is chambered. Some rifles are picky as to what bullet velocity and bullet weight they like.
 
Question #1: Did the rail mount come already installed on the receiver or did you install it??? If you have concerns, then remove the mount & reverse it to see if it fits any better.

Question #2: Is the factory crown damaged in any manner? If it is, then the muzzle will need to be recrowned. As a matter of personal preference, i have always recrowned the muzzles on any new rifles or handguns which i purchase. I do all the work myself & have seen some groups shrink .250" ctc on the rifles.

If your group size is consistently in the 1.000" ctc, then try a different brand of factory ammo or a different reloading recipe if you load your own.

Guru1911
 
Good luck installing the rail backwards. Unless you're only using 2 of the screws (the outside pair) it's not possible.

The Hogue stock is great. Make sure you've got the screws tightened up good and that the magazine steel is not stopping the pillars making proper contact with the action. You'd notice if you had the mag well pinched because the bottom metal would bow slightly. Make sure the barrel has uniform clearance in the channel before you tighten up.

If the crown looks good and uniform with no visible damage under good intense light and a loop, leave it.

Howa's are brilliant barreled actions, feel good about that.

First suspect your abilities and next the scope rings/scope.

No actually reverse that. I can't say how many good riflemen and superb rifles are let down by poor scope mounting.

-SS-
 
Dana C said:
It has a Hogue stock and is supposedly free floated.
Click to expand...

It's easy to see if a stock is free-floated and checking will take the "supposedly" out of the question. Will a dollar bill slide between the barrel and stock, from the forend to the chamber area? If so, it's floated. If not, it's not.

What level of accuracy are you expecting from this rifle? To what purpose? I know that we all want our rifles to make one-hole groups, but sometimes that's simply not practical. I've got three rifles, for example, that with good handloads deliver groups of just about an inch. Sometimes slightly more, sometimes slightly less depending on my level of marksmanship that day. These are hunting rifles. Thin sporter barrels, light stocks. Mass-produced. There's nothing custom about them. Yet, they deliver MOA accuracy. It's hard to argue with performance like that.
 
The scope rail can not be on backwards. Can't do that on any rifle I have ever seen. However, I have seen a good number of rifles where the scope rail does not sit flat. This then puts a bend/torque on the scope tube. To check if you rail is sitting flat take off the scope. Take out the screws on one end of the rail. Make sure the screws left in are torqued correctly. Then hold the rilfle up to a light and see if you can see any under the unscrewed end of the rail. If you can't see any light then reverse the screw down and see if you can see any light under the other end of the rail.
If you can see 'any' light under either end of the rail then you need to epoxy bed the rail. This is quite easy; can be done in 20-30 minutes if you have never done it before. Look on Google and You Tube for the procedure. I know there is a least one very good on on You Tube.
The other thing to do (and probably the most important) is make sure the action screws are torqued down properly. I have recently aquired a very good torque wrench and have used it on a number of fiends' and my rifles. This has made an amazing difference in the accuracy of some gun. Another thing to try if the above are correct is to change the torque on the action screws. Shoot a group or two and then tighten the screws 4 or 5 in/lbs. and shoot again. If you have a 'metal' bottom metal and pillars you can tighten up in several steps to see what happens.
The last fairly easy thing you can try (or just do it anyway-I do on all rifles I build now) is epoxy (JB Weld) the recoil lug. This is much easier than bedding the whole action and often gives just as good results. Again you can look on Google and You Tube but all you have to do is take the gun apart, put a couple of coats of car wax on the bottom of the the action anywhere near the recoil lug, and on the recoil lug. Oil or grease up the front action screw and the area of the stock around the screw (you really, really don't want JB Weld to stick these things together). Then clean the stock around the recoil lug recess with brake cleaner (alcohol or any high flash point solvent-that won't melt the stock-will also due in a pinch). Then mix up your JB Weld, fill the recoil lug recess about 2/3 full. Be careful. Less rather than more is better here. Now with the stock held level put the action in and torque it down to the correct spec. I let mine sit for two days and then take it apart and clean the wax off. Note: The rifle/stock will be difficult to pull apart. The best way I have found is to sit in a chair with the rifle butt on the ground, action towards you. Put one hand on the tip of the stock and grab the barrel just above with the other hand and start working the pieces apart. BE CAREFUL. The recoil lug is held in the stock with a vacuum like force that lets go suddenly. Don't hit yourself in the face with the barrel! And don't ask me how I know this. :)
 
Before you take the "damn the torpedo's full speed ahead" approach, I would simply try some different ammo.
Ammo alone can make huge differences in group size.
 
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