Gents: I have a 300 Win Mag that I had some stock work done. Before the work, the rifle used to be a tackdriver, I'm talking one ragged hole with 3 shots and handloads. After I got the rifle back, my loads tend to shoot two tight plus one flyer high, or a vertical string going from high to low. I've heard that if the forward sling stud hangs on the shooting sandbags, verical stringing can occur. Since the rifle is a pre-64 Model 70, it has that barrel band screw halfway up the forend, so free floating is not an option? Any ideas please?jorge

Try shooting it with your left hand under the forend and on top of the sandbag, so the pressure on the forend is the same as it will be when you shoot offhand or from a kneeling or sitting position. I do this with my Ruger No. 1's, because they are very sensitive to changes in forend pressure. I zero the No. 1's this way, so they hit the same spot when hunting with them.

Shooting it this way should give you some idea of whether it is the swivel or the work you had done which is responsible for the stringing, even though you may not be able to hold the rifle quite as still as if it were on the bag.

The rifle shot great before the stock work? What stock work did you have done, and, why?

Malm

Full length bedding may help. Less stress, but then what was the stock work?

I had this same problem. I took mine apart just to make sure everything was good to go on a elk hunt. After I put it back together it strung the same as yours. If I shot 6 shots it looked like I had two different points of aim.
Some one here told me to loosen the band screw a half of a turn then shoot three shots. After I loosened it 1 1/2" it was back to shooting perfect.
I still didn't like that so I got a BC stock. I made sure the barrel was floated the way I wanted it, and bedded the action. Then I put a new Leupold scope on it and new rings and bases. This gun shoots like a dream. I wanted the new stock because of late season elk hunts. It was a good chang over, and I kept the stock to put it all back if I wanted to. Ron