defective barrel?

[bladerunner]

First of all,let me start out by saying ,from what i've read you are a bunch of friendly knowledgable people  :grin: .I've got the super light handi in .243 and love the looks and feel of the rifle,but it groups VERY poorly,as in 5 inch groups at 30 yards and who knows WHERE it hits at 150 yards.I bought the gun for a 200 yard and under gun,i live in georgia and hunt whitetails.I've had 2 scopes on it and it shoots bad with either.the grooves in the rifling appear to be a little shallow towards the tip,is this a common defect?If not that,where can i start looking?
    btw,I'm not a crackshot,but i can put my winchester featherweight model 70 .308 bullet within 3 inches of the black at 150 yds
                                   thank you all,
                                                   Matt

[tom barthel]

Hi Matt

First, I woiuld ask a friend to shoot the rifle.  Thats to make sure it's the rifle and not you.  No offense intended.  If the rifle does the same with another shooter then something is wrong.  Call or e-mail the company customer service department.  The barrel may need to be sent back to be repaired or replaced.  At this point you have nothing to lose.  These rifles are usualy  capable of incredable accuracy.  The company has responded quickly to any of my e-mail questions.  I hope the problem is quickly resolved.

Good luck and God bless.

Tom

[cheatermk3]

Hi Matt

Welcome to the forum--come often and stay late.

Also, welcome to the society of deranged single shot shooters (handiholics for short).

I'm a bit uncertain about your post.  When you state that the rifling appears a bit shallow towards the tip, do you mean towards the muzzle?

A rifle bore that is larger inside at the muzzle end than it is at the chamber end is definately a recipe for poor accuracy.  The only way to determine this that I can think of at the moment would be to slug the bore. for instance using the fishing sinker method; push a slug of soft lead through the barrel from the chamber end and feel if it gets noticeably easier towards the muzzle.  You could also start a slug at the muzzle(gotta be careful that you don't damage the crown) and then push it out after an inch or so, and do another one at the chamber end, and then measure the two to see what if any difference you come up with.


You should also check the crown by first cleaning it up real good with solvent and a patch, just wipe all the fouling off until you can see the blued metal, then dry it with another patch or rag.  Then, take a q-tip or cotton ball and using your finger trace the edge of the hole in the muzzle.  You're feeling for tiny burrs or snags. Also look to see if any cotton material has stuck to the metal in this area.  There should be no snagging or roughness here. Then, shoot the rifle a few times, 10 should do it; then inspect the crown visually.  You should find a star-shaped "shadow" of fouling deposited on the surface of the muzzle.  This fouling pattern should be evenly deposited and centered on the hole.  If not, this indicates a problem with the crown.  

You should also read the stickies at the top of this forum, about the FAQ and accuracy and all.
 
The easiest thing to do, would be to take Tom's advice and send it back to the factory if it does turn out to be the gun and not the shooter.  If you check out the crown first, and find a problem there, this knowlege will give you a starting point when you talk to customer service; if you do wind up sending it to the factory any info you can give them about what may be wrong with it will help.

Good luck!

[Brett]

Hi Matt;

Welcome to the forum.  Cheater and Tom have already given you about all the advise that I could offer.  I have read that the Ultra light barrels tend to be somewhat less accurate than the sporter or bull barrels but should not be any where near as bad as what your experiencing.  

It was not clear in your post whether you purchased this gun new or second hand and if you are shooting off hand or from a rest.  Nor do you mention what ammo you have tried. Though no factory load  should yield groups as bad as 5+ inches at 30yrds, the .243's can be particular about ammo they like.  

So start out by following Cheater's advise and check the condition of the crown.  If the crown looks suspect and you bought the gun new send it back to H&R to fix or replace it.   Then study the Stickies as Tom suggested.  Use the search feature to look up specific info. on the .243 and general Handi shooting and tuning tips.

 Your hold, how you rest these guns on a bag and being sure to following threw on the trigger pull can have a profound effect on the accuracy of Handi-Rifles.  But don't get discouraged, once you've figured out the quirks and secrets of these guns there accuracy can rival guns costing several times more money.  

Good luck to you.

[quickdtoo]

Welcome aboard, Matt!!  What they said!! In the FAQ, you'll see a post toward the end by Perklo and what he did with his Superlite .243 to get it to shoot good.

Have fun!!

[bladerunner]

well,I guess i left out some important info.....I've been hunting all day (with my .308 winchester model 70 featherweight) and just got to look at the forum.yes,it gets shallower at the muzzle,not "tip",i shot it off a deck,but had a friend try it too,I bought the gun new,not used.any other info that'll help just ask.I don't want to appear stupid,but where are the FAQ's?
     I'm calling NEF monday morning and see if they'll check it out,get the trigger done while it's there   :grin:
    overall,I love the gun,and i know it has the ability to do what i want it to do (5" groups or better at 200yds...DEER VITALS  :wink: ) so i'm not giving up on it or anything,it's just frustrating.
            thank you all so much for the info and friendly welcomes.

[quickdtoo]

There are several "Stickys" near the top of this forum list, the FAQs is one of em, be sure to check em all out, there's a bunch of info there that will help you out.

[bladerunner]

OK,i got a decent rest,and the gun will now hit at 30 yards pretty well(3 shot group can be covered by a nickel) ,but still hits God knows where at 150 yds.I shot my .308 model 70 off the same rest and 3 of the bullets touched with one 2 inches off to the left.my cousins husband had the same luck with both. soooo,it's gotta be the barrel,i'm calling NEF in the morning
     Are all the 7mm-08 barrels superlight?looks like it on the accessory barrel page but i could be wrong
                                    thanks for the input,
                                                     Matt


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[myarmor]

Your not posting high at 30yards are you? If so your shots are going to be way off at 100 and even more so farther out there. NEF/H&R barrels are actually very good quality, though like all manufactors a couple can slip through. Like was mentioned the Super Light rifles have been seen as picky, though a couple of our Members have had good sucess with them.  Howard from NZ just bought a 243 in super light not to long ago and has done well with it. As have others.

[Zeak]

The 7mm-08 barrel should be a standard barrel. I ordered one a while back and was told by CS that it was a missprint on thier part. They may have the 7mm in light weight now?  Zeak

[Haywire Haywood]

If you're covering the group with a nickel at 30yds, I don't see why it wouldn't do at least a half dollar group at 100.  I'm taking your comment of "God knows where it's hitting" as you're not on paper at all at 150 (and so don't know if it's grouping or not).  Shoot it at 75 yds with a decent sized backing board so if you're off paper you at least know where the group is.  Adjust it back on the paper close to the middle and move out again.  
I've lost groups like this before... had to move the target back in, find them again, adjust, and then go back out.

good luck,
Ian

[Norseman112]

I would read all the stickys and also when you go to the range make sure the barrel don't get hot. I would give it a few minutes between shots.

Good Luck,

Norse

[coop2564]

I had same type problem with my superlight 243. I found with my forend off I had side to side play, with it on it felt tight. Sent to factory they put a new barrel on at no charge. This one locks up tight and shoots great groups.

[bladerunner]

Haywire,I'm sorry to mislead you,i've seen where SOME of the bullets are hitting,but they are all over the place(high 8 inches one shot,low and to the right 10 inches,that sort of thing)i'm guessing that the shallow rifling that i was describing isn't spinning the bullet enough to sustain accuracy after a certain distance,maybe it starts to tumble or something.
    Coop,i'm gonna send mine back to NEF also and see if they can correct the problem,thank you all for the advice
                                      Matt

[Haywire Haywood]

ah... if that's the case then yea.. call CS and they'll make it right.

Ian

[bladerunner]

Well,I sent the rifle off yesterday,I'll let you all know how it is when i get it back.I asked that if it turned out that they had to replace the barrel could they put a 7mm-08 on it instead of the superlight .243....I doubt they'll do it,but it was worth a shot,lol

[bladerunner]

P.S.,I also requested a trigger job,I'll report the outcome of that as well,
                  Matt