Well I took my 2nd trip to the range with my newly manufactured Winchester Model 70 30-06 Featherwieght. This time I cleaned the bore down to the bone with Wipe Out; bought a new box of ammo Power Points, Checked over the bases, rings and scope; torque the action screws to 35 inch pounds; and used the old business card under the barrel trick. I know it’s kind of dopey to change so many things at once, but I was using the counsel I received here and 30 years of shooting and hand loading. The results were that my 3 shot groups shrank to 1.75 inches with some vertical stringing (still). I doubt that this rifle will ever shoot 5 shot groups in under an hour. It still begins to wander after the 2nd shot. I will begin my hand loading tomorrow. Hopefully things will improve more before I go back to Africa in April, 2012. Thanks to everyone who actually offered constructive help based on their experience..
New Model 70, PART 2
- Thread starter GaryO7
- Start date
Gary, that vertical stringing sounds like a sign of pressure building. Pressure builds as the barrel fouls until it reaches a more-or-less stable plateau. It sounds like you have a gun that will never shoot good on a clean barrel. That isn't unusual. That is the reason my hunting rifle barrels get cleaned only once each year - just before sight-in time. I'll clean it good then waste half a dozen or so of the really cheap rounds before I sight in.
From then on until the next year, the most the barrel gets is a single pass with a dry patch every 3 rounds.
Before you give up on factory ammo, try this technique and see what happens.
From then on until the next year, the most the barrel gets is a single pass with a dry patch every 3 rounds.
Before you give up on factory ammo, try this technique and see what happens.
Hog Buster
New member
New rifle you say...... Sometimes it’s the Indian not the arrow.
That's quite a revelation and I'm sure that your doctors are giving you the very best of care. My prayers for your health.
My sons and I were shooting yesterday and the eldest (he's 35 years old) was having trouble shooting his rifle, which he's always shot really well. After some diagnosis, and letting him shoot one of my rifles with better optics we came to two conclusions. First, he's getting older and his eyesight is headed south. It happens to the best of us and it's time for him to visit an optometrist. Secondly, the crappy optics on his rifle have also gone south and the two problems together combined to give him another view on aging, both physical and mechanical. He needs glasses and a better scope. It sucks, but there it is.
That Model 70 Featherweight is a fine rifle, but that featherweight barrel might be prone to heating. I've got one rifle, a .243 with a barrel that can only be described as pencil-thin. The first couple of shots are wonderfully accurate, but as the barrel heats the shots start stringing up the page. I've tried every trick in the book, but the shots keep stringing up the page. If this rifle were shot in a manner where the barrel stayed hot, that might be a concern, but it's a deer rifle, so letting the barrel cool isn't an issue. The first two shots are all that matters, so that's the way I shoot it. I can still get good 10 shot groups, but I can only fire them 2 at a time.
Its normal for groups to open up as a gun heats up. On some rifles, like my Mosin it may open up to only 2.5 MOA from 2MOA, as long as I'm not firing excessively fast. Your lightweight barrel exacerbates the problem. On my Mosin, I get vertical stringing after about 5 shots, not bad considering the barrel tapers a bit.
1.5" ain't bad for a Buggy Whip Barrel ! Featherweights are hunting Rifles not Target Rifles . How often do you get more than three shots at an Animal ?