I was shooting my new Savage Model 14 in 300 WSM this morning. I fired two groups of factory winchester 180 gr. accubonds and then fired three 5 - shot groups of my hand loads- Sierra 165 gr. HPBT over 68 gr. IMR 4831. This rifle was spraying bullets everywhere! The BEST group was 1.78" and I won't even go into the worst.

Now, I may be no pro, but I shoot better than that...at least with my other rifles. I cleaned the bore...still spraying.

Finally, I'm walking to the bench; unloaded rifle in hand when I noticed the stock was loose. Aha! I was ready to send the rifle straight back where it came until I found the loose stock. I get a wrench and tighten the stock. I have two rounds left. I fired them after waiting 5 minutes btwn. shots and the holes are touching!!!! I think I've got it. Then, I wanted to fire one more to make it at least a three shot group. Problem: I only have new brass left and didn't bring my sizing die. The brass like everything else I shot this morning had been sized, trimmed, deburred and chamfered. The only difference was this piece had not been loaded and the two rounds just fired were once fired brass. I weigh a charge and seat the bullet exactly as the other two shots. I touched it off and it went 1.78" left. Vertically, it was in line with the other two shots.

Wind was calm 5-7 mph and mild temp (I'd guess around 50 degrees Fahrenheit). Do you think that new brass would group that far away from my once fired brass?

Finally, how tight should the action screw be? I'm worried now that it will be moving all the time changing my POI.

Also, yes, I had taken the barreled action off the stock to adjust the accu-trigger because it was new and not light enough to suit me. It was not very tight from the factory so I didn't force the issue when re-installing it.

Thanks in advance.

things i would look at in no particular order: crown for damage, stock screws obviously, dirty barrel, may need to be cleaned with JB Bore cleaner, Sweet's, somthing. loose scope base and or ring screws, bad scope possibly?, triggers lightened so thats a good thing. thats my 0.02 worth.

45" pounds on the front and 35" pounds on the rear. Or tighten down evenly front to rear making sure not to flex the action as it gets tight.
Shoot a group if results are not any better loosen and retighten. Try that a few times and see what happens to the groups.
What tye of stock do you have?

Thanks for the help so far...It is a factory stock (wood). Excuse my ignorance, but I have used a torque wrench only a few times in my life and I don't own one to play with. I don't know if I know what 45 lb. of pressure feels like on a Craftsman T-handle allen wrench???

The scope (Leupold VXIII 3-9x40) is new as well and is mounted in Burris bases and rings. I lapped the bases prior to installation. Everything about the scope is tight. I'm sure the action screw is the problem.

** INCH Pounds ** Not foot pounds!!!

The stock won't take cylinder head type torque...

Please read this before you whip out the ol' engine rebuilding tools and split the stock... Please... Regards, Guy

Thanks 700! Good thing I don't own a torque wrench huh?

best bet would be to take it to a Smith
Torque is defined as:
Force x Moment Arm = Torque
In the English system, torque is measured in "foot-pounds", "inch-pounds", or even "ounce-inches".

In the Metric system, torque is measured in "Newton-meters".
8.851 inch-pounds = 1 Newton-meter
1 foot-pound = 12 inch-pounds
16 ounce-inches = 1 inch-pound
1 Newton = 1 kilogram-meter per second squared
A 1 horsepower (746.0 watt) motor operating at base speed of approximately 1750rpm produces 3 foot-pounds of torque. The formula is as follows:

(horsepower x 5250)/rpm = foot-pounds

(Foot-pounds x rpm)/5250 = Horsepower

Tip: A simple way to determine the torque required to move a load is to connect a torque wrench to the load and take a reading

My Savage 12 BVSS also had the same problem.... I needed to tighten all the nuts holding the rifle to the stock..... must be a Savage thing at the factory.... have weenies on the rachets for bolt and nut tightening...

oh twell....

cheers
seafire

I thought I read in a sniper equip book that they tourqe their M24/M40 (rem M700) stocks to 65in lbs. front and rear? I am at work now, but tonight I will have to look at that book...

A Savage rep told me 25 inch pounds front and rear over the phone. Based on your story the loose stock screws would cause the problems. Inconsistancies in recoil. There are several variables in the three round group. Just by changing brass you did the equivallent of changing lots number in ammunition. The third rouond had different neck tension and dimmensions. Take another trip with a couple of different loads and you should see good group sizes with small changes in Point of Impact. Even the break in shooting the string could have been the change to bring it over that far.

Well I looked in that sniper book I have, "Ultimate Sniper". It mentioned that some get torqued at 60in lbs.....