now what?

[.270]

I worked up a load for my 270 shooting just under moa. I took my gun out in the fall one shot dead deer . I was happy as could be cleaned my gun up and put it away. I get it back out again when warm weather comes to do a little shooting. Its now shooting a 6'' group at 100. My first thought was the cheap tasco scope thats been on it for the last 15 years went bad. I go out and pay $400 for a new scope but the same results. I look the gun over and find the stock is now rubbing on the barrel. The next stop is the gunsmith to have the thing cleaned, bedded and a trigger job I've been wanting to get done for sometime. I get it back and Im still shooting a 6'' group. I have tried my old factory loads they are doing the same as my reloads. Where do I go from here?

[.22-5-40]

Hello, .270.  I was going to ask if you had worked up hunting load in cooler weather, but I see the fac. loads don't group as well.  Have you looked at the muzzle/crown under magnification?

[gman628]

Two years ago my brother went through the same thing, turned out his scope mount loosened up, we put it back on with a little blue lock-tite and hasn't been an issue since.  It might help if everyone knew what kind of gun you have, bolt, semi, single shot, etc...

Gary

[.270]

This is out of a savage110. the crown looks fine but I have not looked at it under magnification. The scopemount was checked out when the new scope was mounted. Im thinking I may takethe scope back off and remount it. It cant hardly get any worse.

[Bigeasy]

I would re-mount the scope from scratch, then check the bedding.  Run a dollar bill from the front, under the barrel.  Does it touch anywhere?  May still be uneven pressure on the barrel.  Are the action screws properly tightened?  Try giving the barrel a good cleaning with foul out - copper deposits can be hard to see, and make a big difference.  Another trick I would try is placing a credit card between the stock and barrel about two inches back.  Sometimes a pressure point like that shrinks groups quite a bit.

Larry

[revbc]

Said you cleaned it up.  Did you clean the barrel?  If so, inspect the crown good for damage.  If there is no damage, it may need to be shot some to foul the barrel and return to previous POI.

Just some thoughts.

[Land_Owner]

I am a "270 Guy" myself.  Take a few of your loads apart.  Weigh the components.  See if there is some deviation in the ammo.  Any case lube get in there and inert some of the powder?

I like the rest of the posts too.  My money was also on the scope mount being loose.  Before you start taking off wood from the stock, give the credit card trick a try.  With it "stuck" in there you won't be apt to go buy another 270.

Don't be discouraged.  The next season isn't for another 7 months!

[Lloyd Smale]

A few things are possible here. First how many times did it shoot a moa group. If it did it once and you called it good you might have just got lucky. Like was also said some powders are temp sensitive and if you worked up loads say in 80 degree temps and tried them again in 30 degree weather it can make a differnce. Another is contamination. Is it possible you got oil or some other chemicals on your primers. they could be deadening some. Also is it possible this ammo got wet? I was just given some 264 mag rem corelocks that a guy said wouldnt shoot in his gun. He said they were stored indoors and were only bought 2 years ago. I knew something was up when i pulled a couple out of the box and they had grean on them on the bullets. I pulled the bullets, a job that wasnt easy because the corrosion had about welded them to the case necks, and found the powder inside was just a hard clump in many of them. I cant beleive they even went off for him. another possiblity is your scope mounts or rings are not mounted square to each other and it has your scope in a bind. Are you shooting the exact same way, same rest bags ect? What do the groups look like are they a small group with a flyer or two or just a random 6 inch group. Is the group moving around on the target? Is there any chance your gun was dropped? even when you werent around. Kids have a tendency to keep there mouths shut tightly. I guess if it were me my first attempe would be to load up some fresh ammo with the load that shot well. Problem is that after bedding and floating the load the gun likes could be completely differnt, it shouldnt make the differnce is moa and 6 inch groups but the group size could easily have doubled. anymore i dont even shoot a new rilfle until ive floated and bedded it.

[bilmac]

If both factory and good handloads shoot that bad then the problem has to be the rifle, right. 6" from a bolt gun is horrible, I would be looking for something unusual, is the barrel loosening up or is there a crack in the stock. The little things we do to tighten a group don't apply when we are talking 6" groups. If I couldn't find the problem I guess I would start taking it to gunsmiths and challenging them to find the problem with a $50 dollar prize for the guy who can figure it out. 

Another idea, have you had somebody else shoot it, can you still shoot good groups with other rifles, maybe you have some new glasses that are screwing you up.

[.270]

I'm only having the problem with this gun. I haven't  had time to mess with it yet. I had trouble finding aload for that gun to start with. The change from 56gr to 56.3gr made all the difference in the world. this gun shot sub MOA 5-6 different times in the summer and fall. I love that gun but I was forced to use my 12ga slug gun this last year because we could not figure it out. I like the slug gun to but a $3 a shot that is for the shot gun only area.

[DANNY-L]

Does the rifle have open sights,if so try them. My guess though is with temp.change throughout the winter the wood has put pressure on the barrel.

[crab cake]

Maybe she does her best shooting when she's a little dirty? How clean was the barrel while you worked up the loads?
I never clean a barrel til the season is over once I get a load worked up.