Author Topic: barrel heat impact shift  (Read 470 times)

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Offline bja105

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barrel heat impact shift
« on: April 14, 2006, 04:27:50 PM »
I started working on my wife's 243 again.  I've decided it does best with light loads, one grain over start.  At middle loads it starts flattening primers and opening the action (which realy stretches brass.)

last week, at 100 yards I shot a 3 shot string, 1 minute apart.  The 3 shots hit in a vertical line, each 2 inches lower.  After a 20 minute cool down, the fourth shot hit near the first.  Five minutes later, the fifth shot hit 2 inches below the cool barrel impact.

Fro my wife to hunt with, I can deal with that.  But its no fun for me to shoot it at the range.  I can shoot one shot, then shoot a few other rifles, and hope I get the handi into the bags the same way.

Why is point of impact dropping with barrel heat?  I wonder if the chamber area of the barrel is heating and expanding unevenly, lifting the front of the scope.  Or maybe changing forestock pressure?

Has anybody found any accurizing tips to stop this?  Maybe the techniques in "accurizing the factory rifle" that one of the members sent me?

If I'm stuck with a rifle that can only shoot mild loads every 20 minutes, I can live with it, but it would be more fun to shoot it like my other rifles.

Offline quickdtoo

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barrel heat impact shift
« Reply #1 on: April 14, 2006, 04:43:56 PM »
Read the Barrel fitting and Accurizing links in the FAQ and Help sticky, there's a bunch of stuff to check that may help you figure out what's wrong, it seems to me that there's more than one issue, specifically, latch engagement, forend pressure and barrel to breech fit and/or a case resizing issue.

Tim
"Always do right, this will gratify some and astonish the rest" -  Mark Twain

Offline bja105

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barrel heat impact shift
« Reply #2 on: April 14, 2006, 05:03:49 PM »
That's funny.  While you were responding, I was reading the barrel fitting articals by you and Fred.  I Think you may be right.  I guess I'll get some feeler gauges and start from there.    Thanks


If it is a lockup issue, I wish they would have fixed it completely the first time I sent it for warranty repair.

Offline Mac11700

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barrel heat impact shift
« Reply #3 on: April 15, 2006, 05:18:23 AM »
NEF has a max spec they consider acceptable..If the guns functions with the factory ammo they use..it gets shipped.I don't know what brand they use..but I do know if you tell them on the phone and also in a note when you ship the gun to them..they will usually take care of the problem. The newer barrels seem to me to be fitted tighter and the trigger pulls are getting exceptional..

Mac
You can cry me a river... but...build me a bridge and then get over it...

Offline bja105

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barrel heat impact shift
« Reply #4 on: April 17, 2006, 04:50:25 PM »
Do you guys think the moving point of impact is caused by the lockup problem?  That is my primary concern for now.  I will get feeler gages soon, too.

Offline bluebayou

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barrel heat impact shift
« Reply #5 on: April 17, 2006, 07:54:16 PM »
I never had a lockup problem, but my 223 barrel did have a walking POI.  It turned out to be the lug pushing on the hole in the forearm.  A little reshaping of the bolt hole on the forearm with a Dremel tool and some poly on the exposed wood solved the problem.