Just one more tiny thing..... Have you checked the blind front guard screw hole in the receiver to be sure that there isn't an epoxy plug in the bottom left over from when you set the action into the glass? If there is, then the guard screw could be tightening against this instead of pulling the receiver down against the glassed surface. Ask me how I know. .. This can definitely cause accuracy problems. I didn't see this mentioned. Perhaps because you already checked and didn't mention it, but I didn't see anyone else mention it either.

That would be good if shooting the 265 gr TTSX BT or some other long range bullet. Other wise , ?? The normal 338 Winchester has proven to be a very good killer for normal big game hunting ranges. Now, if Hornady/Rigef would come out with the 338 Ruger off the 375 Ruger case. We would be moving into the 340 Weatherby velocity range . And then if they put it in a normal 24" barreled stainless Hawkeye. That would REALLY be something.

In the beginning you stated the barrel was crowding the LH side of the barrel channel.
This is your 1st and most important problem to resolve. That barrel is to the LH side for a reason. For whatever reason you have crooked threads in the receiver. If the barrel and receiver and scope cannot stay perfectly aligned shot to shot it won't shoot it's just as simple as that. Look more at the way the barrel fits the receiver and less at epoxy and pillars and I think you may find the solution you are looking for. I suspect a minor squaring of the receiver face is really all it needs to make it come around.

H47 and Timan,

Thank you.
1. Yes, the middle guard screw is clear and unhindered. The bedding was only done on the front platform and the rear tang. Great care was taken to keep the epoxy out of the trigger opening and the rear of the magazine opening.

2. Yes, I was concerned about a possible barrel interface that was not square. However, the receiver was not properly centered in the stock either. I sanded out the stock along the receiver and tang so that everything lined up without touching the sides and centered in the barrel channel. That worked out fine. Of course, in the process of bedding the recoil platform the action is now held against both sides of the stock at the recoil lug platform area and in the tang recess where the tang screw enters the receiver. The good news is that the rifle is now shooting sub-MOA, which is excellent for hunting. Page two will give some of the accuracy pictures and also a picture of what happened to the heart of the first buck who stood up to this rifle.

Wasn't talking about the middle screw. It's the FRONT screw. If you got some epoxy in the hole and didn't remove it, the screw will tighten against this, giving you a "false" sense of being tight, when it's not actually pulling the action firmly into the bedding...

Its a bit late now but I would have shot before I tried to fix what might not be broke.in

quote:

Originally posted by tjroberts:
Its a bit late now but I would have shot before I tried to fix what might not be broke.in

Touching one side of the forearm was a 'no go' for me. So it was sand out the receiver area and channel first, and I might as well bed it.

I understand your thinking and might have took off some wood too. But I have seen lots of rifles shoot just fine when all I've read in 30 years rifle loony hood says they shouldn't. You will never get River to Fix it now. but don't let me sound like a know it all.
I had the same rifle in 7 mag.
Shot ok but not great. Sanded out the pressure point in the for stock and it went all to hell
Just for kicks I put it in the synthetic stock from my Hawkey stainless.338 and it shot great. My stainless .338 is very accurate. Thinking of getting one in.270 ...tj3006

quote:

You will never get River to Fix it now.

I assume that this is an auto correct by the computer from Ruger to River.

Well, the rifle isn't broken now, so I don't want Ruger to fix it. I am very happy with this Ruger. As for the risk--the rifle only cost $500, new, in 2016. Pretty nice.

More importantly, on reflection, I am thinking that the culprit to the problem was the electric tape that I put on the recoil lug on its sides, bottom, and 'back' (barrel-side).

Those little tiny pieces of tape pulled off when pulling the action out of the epoxy. The little pieces of tape did not perfectly seal those spots of the recoil lug either. The result was that some of the epoxy probably oozed into a position where it was touching the bottom or side of the lug in one or two little spots and creating an unevenness during recoil.

Anyway, that is what I think was the most probable culprit. The 1/2" 'barrel support pad-band' was clean and pretty, all around the barrel. At most, I would think that it might have magnified some instability resonance elsewhere. Due to time considerations I could not do a piece by piece analysis but needed to remove that unnecessary 1/2" barrel support band and clean out the bottom lug area at the same time. It was a last chance: either it worked, or I would be borrowing my wife's rifle during the hunt.

(She dropped her first deer nicely with a 208 yard shot earlier in the day that I shot mine. Her deer was DRT, with a Tikka 270Win 110 TTSX at 3350fps. It was a "ladies first" affair. I wasn't going to hunt for my tag until she had filled her tag. After she filled her tag in the morning we went out in the afternoon with me carrying the accurized Ruger in 338WM. Two deer in one day in southern California is pretty fortunate. November 9, quite a day. All in all a very nice shared memory.)

The lady deserved a kiss.

Congrats on the hunt. I am a truck driver. I see quite a few deer in the talon ranch area. Smal ones but deer. I guess you can do hogs around there too ...tj3006

I haven't read this whole thing so maybe someone already mentioned this. Look at you third photo, showing the bedding when complete. Look at the bedding under the front of the barrel. I appears to me that the left side of the barrel channel is a bit farther toward the fore end tip than the right side. It is obvious that the space for the bedding there was not taped off. I suspect what is happening is the barrel vibrating when fired is bouncing off the right side is different from the left side.

I would tape off under the chamber to redo it. Also wrap tape around the barrel at the front of the stock to keep the barrel from pulling down on the action.

Don, thank you. If I redo the barrel bedding under the fat chamber part of the barrel I will try for better symmetry. At the moment, that pad has been sanded away and the rifle is shooting straight. If and when a barrel support would be tried I would want to prevent any run off back into the action area. The action area is already tight and I wouldn't want any seepage getting in and unbalancing the tight fit.

Yes, when the recoil lug platform was bedded the barrel was taped at the fore-end so that the barrel would remain free-floated when the action was screwed down tight.

quote:

Originally posted by Cold Trigger Finger:
I know a good competitor who shoots on team Hornady that only cleans every 400 rounds or when accuracy starts to go. And yes some bench resters do swab the bore between strings. How much it helps I dont know. But occasionally they Really clean the bore down to bare steel. And That is a cery involved process.
But, if someone wants to really scrub out their barrel . Have fun. Just dont be suprised if the rifle doesnt shoot very well.

Stop watching TV. You will have time to clean your gun properly.

Its obvious that some people dont know some things about the innerds of a rifle barrel. But, thats ok. My stand is that if anyone wants to spend money and time needlessly cleaning their bore. Thats no problem with me.
I'll only clean mine when they need it.

quote:

Originally posted by tjroberts:
Its a bit late now but I would have shot before I tried to fix what might not be broke.in

It is a bit late, but that is what I always do. I have seen it too many times, something that looks bad, but works good! I would never start bedding one till I verified that there was an opportunity for improvement, but that's just me.

Tanzan,
I got that 2800 FPS velocity with your load in my Ruger and my custom long throated gun. with 71.3 grs..yours was 71.0, you got 2780 FPS and I got 2810 av. of 10 shots taking out the high and low, that jibes with your chronograph...So were together on this..With RL-19 I got 2913 FPS with a 225 Accubond and that's what I shot my elk with this year, and several other elk were shot by others with my rifle and this load this season..I like RL-19 and RL-22 as both fill a case properly for those bullet weights and one cannot double load them.

As you know, all one has to do to become a .338 fan is use it a couple of times, that's coming from a dyed in the wool .30-06 fan of maybe 70 years...