Have a remington 700P in 223 caliber (1-12 twist). Have been trying to get an accurate load adjusting powder weight and lands contact. Currently using H322 (24 to 25 grs.) 53gr. Sierra HP Match, Fed match primers, IMI brass, all shot off bench. Here are some numbers after 250 rounds:

Avg Group (100 yds): 9/16
Std Dev: 3/16

Not having the trained eye of a gunsmith, Im not sure what I'm seeing about the gun has any effect on accuracy. Here are some of my observations: (1) I noticed that the side of the bolt body just forward of one lug on one side only is rubbing on the barrel shroud when chambering a fire-formed case. (2) The firing pin dings the primer off center (maybe .010 from center). (3) The runout on a fire-formed case is about 1.5 thou. (4) the lugs look a little funny. There is a thin bright shinny ring around the outer edge of lug but both appear to be making contact based on lube being rubbed off the surface.

Can you give me some input on what I am seeing?
Ron

Why don't you tell us what level of accuracy you were expecting?

.56 MOA is good enough for me in that kind of rifle.

Was expecting to get the majority of the groups less than .5 MOA. The fact that my average is about 9/16 with a SD of 3/16 means that 30 % of the time I'm between 9/16 and and 3/4. Add another 20% between 3/4 and 1 inch seems way off to "reach out and touch" a hog.

Besides, I do not want to loose too many $ to my buddies who want to bet me that I cannot hit a hog a 300 yards.
Ron

If the rifle is off the shelf, and out of the box stock, you be doin' pretty damn good, I'd say. You didn't mention anything about the trigger, bedding, or barrel floating. Usually,(but not always) attention to those three items will enhance the accuaracy of a factory rifle. One question, are you really going to shoot hogs at 300yds with a 223? You're talkin' steel hogs, right?

Sounds accurate enough for a off the shelf Remington. But how many different loads and bullets have you tried? Have you tried Benchmark, maybe IMR 4064. I say you try a few different loads before you start working on the rifle.
With that being said, one can invest quite a bit of money into a Rem700 and have quite a tack driver.

Will try to answer some of the questions:

Looking to hit the furry hogs, not steel ones. Have a good place where the fields extend out about 450 yards.

The 700P comes with a free floating barrel, and the HS Precision stock, I believe. Anyway, it does have an aluminum bedding block that extends under the action and into the forearm, I've been told.

Have tried many powders. 4064, Varget, 4895, 8208, 846, H322, H335. The latter powder, suggested by a forum member, does the best using 26.9 grains. It produces about 3400 FPS with 53 gr. Sierra HP. This seems a little hot and may need to be reduced a little.

The real problem is that with the right powder the gun will sometimes put 3 shots into nearly the same hole, while the 4th will be off by about 1/2 inch. The same day, that same load shoots erratic. I really think the bolt is not true in the action as the firing pin is hitting the primers a little low and the front side of the bolt is bottoming out on the recess in the barrel at the 7 o'clock position. There are definite signs of rubbing when chambering a fire-formed case. The lugs are probably in need of lapping also.

Was having trouble getting H335 to flow because of static on the plastic. You probably know this, but a shot of Static Guard will dissipate the static and the powder will flow thru the plastic funnels and plastic drop tubes much easier.

There is a lot of knowledge on these forums. Thanks for all the input.
Ron

Remington 700 factory bolts are off center, I don't think I have heard of one that wasn't. For peak accuracy, you need a blueprint job also known as truing. There are a myriad of gunsmiths out there that specialize in blueprinting Rem700s. Score High has good information Here on the subject. Price will run you about $150 to $250. My first target rifle was a blueprinted 700 in 6.5-284, shot in the 2s when I did my part.

The link was very helpful in understanding the truing or blueprinting. Thanks DanD. This is just what I need to clean up the bolt head contacting the barrel recess.

The Remington Custom Shop is supposed to "go thru" the gun and install another barrel with the right twist (1-9). Would it be presumptious to assume they would true the action also? Anyone had experiences (good or bad) with Remingtons's Custom Shop?
Ron