I was asking on the board about a new scope because I felt the Nikon scope went bad and ended up with the Leopold Freedom 3x9 but that did not seem to fix the problem.

Problem:
This rifle for 3 years was a tack driver two shot sight at 100 gave you two shot one and a half holes vertically.

Went to hog hunt which I do several time a year and the gun was shooting 3 shot all over the paper from 2" to about a 6 inch group around 4 or 5 inch high and 5 inches across at best. Crippled several hogs till I went to the 7 mag.

Side note when I bought this rifle it had to go back to Savage because it had a BAD barrel but they returned it with a new barrel and it was a great little gun.


Checked all the screws on rifle and scope and all tight when it went bad and rechecked at my range.

Rifle is the Savage 11 in 7mm-08 that I re bedded and rebuilt the cheap plastic stock when I got her. Rebedded and went from under a inch to touching and bedded some all thread in the fore end and in the back grip where they say this stock could break.

I was guessing on the Nikon scope that came with the package Model 11 Trophy hunter.

I put the Freedom on and went to shoot her in and was getting 2 -3 inch groups. Off an old Caldwell sled I got an horizontal group 2.5 wide. I do hate the Caldwell sled but tried it to see if that helped because from one hole this is a lot of difference. I had rechecked the screws on the rifles and scope and checked again.

I am using the old Nikon bases that came on the rifle with the cheap Nikon scope. Shooting the Hornaday Whitetail 139gr bullets that shoots well in 5 different rifles I use them on. Noting worse than under an 1 inch groups but this was the only one that put the holes touching. I love a lead tip bullet to 350.

Ideas to check?

Replace the old Nikon bases and rings? If so why the change when the gun was not dropped and went home to the safe and back to see this extreme change.

Something that might have changed with the rifle to ck for?

I have the 7 mag and old 270 both Old Remington 700 actions on old Chet Brown stocks from the early 80's that I have for spares.

Not sure what to do with this problem.

Take the barreled action out of the stock and check for debris between the two. While out try flexing the stock to see if it is still as stiff as you recall. Clean the barrel well. Extremely well. Try a copper solvent or JB Bore Paste and Kroil routine.

Stop referring to firearms with female pronouns.

Carbon buildup can also cause this problem. A bore scope would be very helpful with this kind of problem.

crown dings can do this as well

I'd clean the snot out of the barrel.
definitely check the crown too before I went digging any further.

also did you buy a new box of ammo?
a different lot of the same brand will sometimes go from shooting well to junk in a rifle.

I checked the bedding, took the gun apart and used the copper solution to clean the barrel and looked for dings in the crown area.
I did not see anything out of place other than between two trips the gun fell apart.
Hard to figure out why the touching group spread out ot 5-6 inch group.

Still open for suggestions.

I am not sure what it is.

I checked all the screws and they were tight same as the scope that I could get to.
Use the copper solvent to clean the barrel and then too it apart. All looked good little grit from the dust but again the bedding, floating and all looked good. Wiped the area and oiled.

The rifle shot well before bedding but I hated the flimsy stock that felt like a Daisy bb gun stock. I put 1/4 inch all thread in the fore arm and bedded with the commercial Cevcon steel. Also drilled behind the receiver and placed a piece of all thread in the hand grip of the stock with the same Devcon then foamed the stock. It added a little weight but shot and felt great.

The base and rings are what Savage has in the package and I have had not problems with either.

I am still amiss at what happened between one trip to the next. I can go to a friend's and stay and hog hunt on several ranches.

What could cause it to go crazy. I had that with the bad barrel when I got the gun but since the new barrel it has been great. I hated the stock and it shot 3/4 inch before the bedding.



I changed out the Nikon scope thinking it was bad but still with the 3-4 in-ish groups and the Freedom scope it should be back to 1/2 or less.


Better with the Freedom 3x9 but It leaves me with the belief it is the rings and bases.

I took the rings and bases off and would guess this is the problem. Aluminum scope to base is not a hex but big flat screwdriver screw and tight but came off. When I used the small star (after I found one )to look at the mount to the savage I found the back piece tight but the front base both screws had just backed off ever so little. One was just not tight and the other had backed off about 1/2 turn. Hope this is the problem and I guess the rifle could always use a better scope now that all my rifles have Leopold scopes even if this one is the Freedom.

What is a good set of bases and rings for the savage?

Thanks, Jim

I think you have this in two different places.

my grandson has this same rifle, 7MM-08, with same scope combo. bought 8 years ago, we have change nothing, still shoots .75 - 1.00 groups at 100 with good hand loads

Vines
Look at the Hornaday Whitetail loads in 139 gr.
BC is not as great as some but it shoots under an inch in 5 different rifles and better than that in most. 22$ a box and lead tip except the 7 mag. 2880 off the chrony and touching holes at 100 yards.

With what I have to load for this gun I cannot hand load as good or as tight as these rounds to ~350 yards. Wish they used a boat tail.

The only thing I have not put a hole thru was a pure Russian boar 325-350? Too big to drag off At 125yards or so I put two rounds in the shoulder you could cover with your hand and neither came out the other side. Went down came back up and walking off poorly till the next round. Ugliest thing I have ever shot.

QUOTE
Look at the Hornaday Whitetail loads in 139 gr.

Jim..

I have not shot factory rifle ammo in 37 years. I shoot to much to buy factory. hand loads cost me about $0.45-$0.50 cents a pc. I to have hand loads and hunting rifles that touch holes at 100

quote:

Originally posted by RPSnell:
Carbon buildup can also cause this problem. A bore scope would be very helpful with this kind of problem.

Yep scope the barrel