I have a M70 Supergrade in 338 WM. It has an above average piece of wood on it, and I find it a dream to shoot. A magic combination of weight and stock design allows me to shoot a full box of cartridges at one sitting from the bench without discomfort.

Unfortunately, it is not the most accurate of guns. I have one load, that I can get about an inch with, and otherwise I am looking at 1 1/2 to 2 inches at 100 yards with hand loads, and even more with most factory ammo. This is somewhat less than I like to get from a big game rifle.

My question is this - would re-barrelling the rifle with a quality barrel significantly improve accuracy (an inch or less) with a variety of loads?

Have you tried the Barnes Triple Shocks? I had a rifle that I couldn't get to shoot better than 2-3 inches no matter what the load and I was just about to get rid of it. Then the TSX came out and it shoots these into an inch or slightly under. That's a lot cheaper than a rebarrel and all the attendant work that goes with it.

If the barrel has seen some good use and is becoming 'shot out' then yes you might consider a rebarrel.

I had a guy recently with a heavy barrel Rem 700 in 22-250 that even with some decent handload tweaking would never really shoot like it should. IIRC he was getting just under an inch on a good day.
He then tried firelapping I believe with a Tubbs Kit and his groups shrank instantly to somewheres between half inch and 3/4 at 100 yards, very nice.

I don't know if I would ever really consider doing this to my stuff, but in his case it was more of a last resort before he got it rebarreled.

The gun he bought used but it was in nice shape. The previous owner probably sold it after a couple hundred rounds or so.

Just an idea.

-Spencer

Have you taken a chamber cast to see how the throat is? Have you tried seating bullets out to the lands, loading single shot if you have to?

And the usual stuff- check action screws, scope mount, swap scope out with another.

How do the groups look? Are they stringing in a certain direction or all over like a shotgun, or are they tight with a flyer or two?

If you like the gun, go ahead and put a new barrel on but just be aware that there are other factors involved with accuracy.

Oh, and my favorite- The jerk on the trigger! Hey I can laugh too since I realized that a cup of coffee can have more influence on group size than barrel bedding!

What sort of accuracy are you after? You said you have a 1" load.. is that a good bullet weight for you?

Do your larger groups actually look like a shotgun pattern, or are 10 shots actaully looking like 3 3shot groups?

Do you keep a close eye on both your OAL and your ogive to base length? That is, have you determined the max OAL for each bullet and then subtracted .0275 forst conventionals, and .065 from barnes x bullets?

I am certain you have a good scope.. if it is lower power, use the cross hairs to BRACKETT the bullseye, not center it... that is, the top right quad of your crosshairs makes an L ... the left side of the bullseye should touch the rightside of the Upright and the up of the horizontal crosshairs,

jeffe

We really have no way of telling you.
You have to deliver it to a gunsmith and have him check it out. Could be tension in your scope/mount, bedding, worn out barrel, fouled barrel, etc.etc.

Is it clean?
Where does the forearm contact the barrel? Is there one spot just back from the forend tip, many spots along the length of the barrel or is it free floated?
How well does the action sit in the stock? If you pull the stockbolts does the action sit flush or can you rock it back and forth or side to side?

Check the wear on the back of the bolt lugs, they should have shiny wear patches of somewhat equal size on both lugs. If not, lap the lugs. Check that the bolt handle or side of the barrel is not touching the stock. Scrape away contact points. Loosen receiver screws, rear and front one at a time and feel for barrel movement at the stock foreend tip as each screw is loosened and tightened. Epoxy bedding is needed if either screw is forcing the metal down into the stock. Check barrel crown with a magnifier and light-copper rub marks should be seen on the rifling lands all the way to the end, all around the barrel. If irregular, recrown deeper. These are the usual suspects-many more possible.

Thanks for all the great tips! This is exactly the information I was looking for. To answer some of you questions; yes the barrel is clean, and the action has been carefully bedded. Many of your other suggestions have not been tried, and I will consider trying them. I have not paid the attention to overall cartridge length that I should have, and I think I will tinker with that for sure, before doing anything drastic.

Don't let me stop the flow of good ideas. Please keep posting!

it's very unlikely that you're "spent" the barrel.

Far more likely that you need some work done.

Much has already been mentioned....but I'd see a smith that has a reputation for accurizing.....glass bedding and floating barrels is a good start.....

IMO NO...I doubt that you're in for any benefit in rebarreling.

yup - just what vapodog said

quote:

Originally posted by Wooly ESS:
... I have not paid the attention to overall cartridge length that I should have, and I think I will tinker with that for sure, before doing anything drastic.

Don't let me stop the flow of good ideas. Please keep posting!

in the words of an old whaler captain..

thahre she blows...

you oal is probably the single most critical and controlable aspect of reloading

jeffe

If you haven't done so a quality trigger job is one of the best bang for the buck procedures you can have done to your rifle. Some of of the newer M70's may need to have the safety timed in conjunction with a trigger job to get the most out of the work done. Then again, many factory barrels are destined to forever be 1-1.5" barrels.

quote:

My question is this - would re-barrelling the rifle with a quality barrel significantly improve accuracy (an inch or less) with a variety of loads?

Well, I think we're saying...

we don't know!

1-3" @ hundred yards with a .338 oughta be good enough...unless you're hunting REALLY teeny tiny elephants!

I would just shoot the load that shoots "about an inch" and forget the rest..end of story.

If the barrel is free-floated, it may need a pressure point. Put a folded up piece of index card between the stock and the barrel, about 1-1/2" back from the forend, and shoot your most accurate loads. If there is improvement, leave the card there. If groups get worse, take it out.
A simple fix, but sometimes very effective.

Also, how many rounds do you have through it? I have the same rifle and it has become one of my favorites. Mine really settled in after about 100 rounds through it. Another thing I've found is mine shoots better fouled than clean so you might try not cleaning it and see how it behaves.

Jeff

Wooley

I am just curious as to what the particular load is that you get an inch group with?

64 gr of 4350 behind a Hornady 225gr SP. I don't have a chronograph, but the manuals indicate about 2600 fps. I would like to get a little more velocity with a premium bullet or the same velocity with a 250 gr bullet.

Call me crazy, but I'm never satisfied.

When you clean the barrel, do you use a cleaner that removes the jacket metal, like a CR-10 or Wipe-Out? I just thought I was getting the barrel clean until I started using these products - and groups improved.