I have reloading 4 this 7mm08 browning a bolt now 4 a few months,and I can not get any better groups than 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 @ 100 yards. does anyone have any ideas,or are my hopes 2 high 4 this gun!!!

There are lots of possible varibles here. Are you new to reloading? What components are you using? How well do you normally shoot? Are the action screws tight? How does the crown look? While I am not a Browning A-bolt fan, you should be able to do better than it sounds like you are doing.

It depends on whether you are a good shot? Or whether you have the shakes. On how good a scope you have (which is always a neglected facet in all these accuracy reports).

If I was shooting 1 1/2" groups I'd pack, up go home, and be happy. But some guys want more. Not sure why.

Sounds like a scope problem...check for loose ring screws, mounts etc...

You should be able to do better than 2" with the 7mm08..

Also...are you getting a consistent sight picture and aim point?

Good luck..I know how frustrating this can be.

How about more info like what weight bullet, what powder? what scope?
I would run through all the base and mount screws, ring screws, make sure you have a "known" and proven accurate scope on it (something that has shot tight groups on another rifle)Check the stock screws to make sure they are tight but not overly so or inconsistant.

Good luck with your project.

You should be doing much better than that. I get 1 1/2" groups at 200 yards with my 270 A-Bolt. That's using a shooting rest. I use Hornady 140 gr Light Mag bullets. I have tried various Federal Premium bullets, but can't get close to matching the Hornady's. I spent a lot of money on ammunition to find one that would group acceptably for me.

The Federal 210 gr Nosler Partitions work great in my 338 wn mag A-Bolt. The 338 has the BOSS. Which I would not buy again even though with the shooting rest I can put those Noslers in the same hole at 100 yards. My friend was watching me through his spotting scope and he thought I missed my second shot. Well the hole looked a little bigger and sure enough it was in the same hole, so he said let's see you do that again, so I did it again.

Will makes a good point in his post. 1 1/2" groups at 100 yards is good. I just like to play with it a little more to see what it will do.

I recently bought a Barrel De-Resonator from Cabelas. I have seen them on Babe Winkelman's guns. I plan to try it in a few weeks on my 270 when I am at the range in Myakka, Fl. They claim it controls the harmonic resonance (vibration) of the barrel improving accuracy. At less than $20, I thought I would try it. I have not read any reviews on it, but will let you know if it works for me.

Some great points so far. I know from painfull personal experience that once I finally developed a good repeatable bench form my group sizes droped by more than half in some cases.

I was getting better groups than that with my BLR 7-08 using factory loads. I've heard of other folks that have had problems with the -08 or that have complained about it (these issues being with accuracy).

I don't know that any of them were substantiated, and I don't personally believe that the 7-08 has any innate problems with accuracy, but who knows.

Sounds more like shooting problems to me... try shooting off a sled and see if you get better groups.

Worse come to worse, if it is the rifle, you could have it rebarreled etc. if needs be.

Also, I think Will has a great point. 1.5 in. groups aren't that bad unless you plan on taking 300 yard shots, and I don't see you doing that with the 7-08. However, it is your rifle.

Good luck.

I had an A-bolt micro hunter7mm08.
It was about like yours. Traded it away.
And I shoot enough sub moa groups that I darn well it was not me.
had a 2X7 Bushnell 3200 on it.
...tj3006

I've been shooting 7-08s since they were wildcats and have yet to have one that wouldn't shoot. I'd start doing "stuff" and see what the problem is. First off, I'd take my scope off and re-mount it using a little lock tite and making sure everything was snug as I went. It doesn't take much movement to ruin a group. Maybe try another scope with a proven track record. Take the rifle out of the stock and put it back together making sure everything thats supposed to float is floating and everything thats supposed to be snug is snug. Make sure there's no unusual pressure along the barrel.
Give the barrel a good cleaning. Use copper cleaner and follow directions. Use a bore guide and plenty of elbow grease.
Usee a good rest set up and practice dry firing several times before starting to live fire. You should be able to have the trigger break and the crosshairs not move off the target. When you can do that, start your live firing and really concentrate on doing the same thing that you did whilst dry firing. Don't hold the rifle in any sort of death grip.
I'm not an A bolt shooter but there's nothing wrong with them and I've used the 7-08 to win factory matches. If you've decent ammo, there's no reason why you shouldn't do better.

Forgot to ask, what powder, brass, bullet, etc are you using? What power scope? What scope?

I had one like your, sent it back to Browning with targets. Two weeks later I had it back with a recrown job and bedding job and about 6 targets useing all differnt factory loads they had shot.
It will now keep most factory loads under 3/4".
Good luck

Some rifles just won't shoot; poor bedding, poor bbl., poor scope & mounts. No amount of tinkering will help if the bbl. isn't good. SO you can start w/ the scope & mounts, if good, then check the bedding (I had a stock crack once & it plays havoc on groups) for high spots or movement in the action. If everything else looks good, then it may be the bbl.
You can sometimes get "better" results w/ certain bullets & powders but your rifle may only be a 1.5moa rig. My 338-06 won;t shoot any 225gr bullet/powder combo smaller than 2" @ 100, but 210grNPs & 250gr anything easily go 1moa, go figure.

I didn't notice it, but how are the groups spread? Are they all over? Slanted? Vertical? Horizontal? This can give us a better idea as to what may be happening.
A lot of good ideas have been advanced so far. How about some more info on your load and groups?

Anybody else shot it? Different results than yours? -WSJ

Hey guys sorry about the lack of info,scope is 3x9x50 bushnell 3200 with warne bases&rings.All tight, gun is clean,win brass&primers IMR4350 Imr 4320 varget,139grsst,139btst,nosler 140gr spt,maybe I just havint used enough dif powders and bullets? My shooting is pretty good,I have no prob with my 308LTR or my 260rem,witch I no the browning dont compare to these but as far as my shooting goes its good.This A bolt is about to get traded for differnt make in 7mm08 any suggestions?As far as groups there all in the pic just not tight. thanks for all the info

1/2MOA: I have just completed a short test sequence with a M700 in 6.5 * 55. The better groups were about 2" at 100 yards. I ended the session shooting 140 SMk's and I got one heck of a lot of left to right stringing.

I believe I have a bedding problem. A piece of paper binds between the barrel and the barrel channel.

I am certain, that once I bed the rifle, I will be getting nice round groups, hopefully closer to an inch.

For me, the first thing I do is check the bedding. If that looks OK, change scopes. If that does nothing, then I will bed the action. If that does nothing I punt, and replace the barrel.

I have pulled Mitch Maxberry's target when he was shooting 7mm-08. He won the National Championships with that cartridge, and I can tell you, in a good shooters hand, it is capable of shooting itty, bitty groups.

I have a A-bolt SS in 7mm-08 and my Father has a Micro hunter in 7mm-08. Both of these rifles will shoot sub-MOA with the same load. The load is Varget, Fed 210M primer, Rem case and 140 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip. I don't know what to say about your rifle. It could be bedding or a defective crown. If you want to keep the rifle, I would check the crown REALLY close with a loupe for burrs or defects. Next, check the bedding. I have bedded some of my A-bolts, but my 7mm-08 is not bedded. If you decide to keep the rifle, trash the trigger spring and order a Timney spring set. That's the first thing I do to an A-bolt when I buy one. It's $20 well spent. If I can help you any more, send me an email or PM.

1.
Check Action Screws

2.
Check scope Mounts

3.
Be sure to shoot of a solid bench

4. Check barrel to make sure its floated

5. Ask a friend to watch you shoot, in case of flinch

6. 9 power scope isn't massive magnification so the rifle may be sweet :-)

It could have something to do with a bedding problem.
Are you cleaning the barrel between each group? You should shoot 2 or 3 fowling shots before conducting your test shots. This makes a bid differerence.

Also, Your rifle may just not like the 139-140 gr bullets. I have a 300 wsm that wouldn't shoot 165 g better than 1.5moa. I had tried Nosler, Hornady, Swift, (getting to be pretty expensive testing). Finally I tried the 180 Noslers and my group shrunk to less than 0.5 MOA at 200.

I have also had good luck w/ CCI br2 primers in several cals. I try to stay away from the older IMR powders and started using Hodgdon to replace them (IMR 4350-h4350) because they are less temp sensitive.

Make sure you are allowiing your rifle to cool properly between shots. A round in a hot chamber will produce different pressures than one in a cool one.

BTW, you have to make sure that you are not flinching. I use a bipod and sand bags under the rear of the stock and a couple of bags resting on the sling to add weight to the rifle. If yo shoot off of bags, make sure that you have nothing touching the barrel. cheek weld is also important when trying to get groups tight. Make sure the rifle is held tight every time you squeeze the trigger.

Does your trigger have creap?

One of the best alterations I have done to a factory rifle to make it shoot was to have the trigger lightened to 2#'s.

As others have mentioned, there are many variables that can come into play. You need to take away as many possibilities as you can before you blame the gun itself. Check your scope mounting to make sure all is tight. Clean your rifle so you can know for sure its not because its dirty. You might try a shooting aid like a Lead Sled (almost anyone can shoot better groups with something like that, but of course, you can't take a Lead Sled out hunting). I was shooting with a friend the other day and I let him shoot my rifle and he shoot 3 to 4 inches low every shot. He said my scope was off. I shot the gun and it was 2" high at 100 yds, just like I had it set. He tried again, and another three shots were 3 to 4 inches low. For the life of me I don't know what he was doing

If you have tried most items but are ready to trade off, try this last thing. See if you get the same type of groups at 200 yds. If it's you, ammo or the rifle, your group size should expand to 3 to 4 inches. If you find that tyhe group stays 1 to 2 inches then get the crown of the barrel fixed. If the crown is bad, the bullets will take longer to stabilize than 100 yds.