Need some help with a barrel

[MDP]

I've got my father in laws NEF 243 Heavy barrel rifle. started sighting it in for him  and its terrible. I may not be the best shot but I can shoot. But this one I cant hit a pie  plate at a 100 yds  twice in a row. I had one of these rifles a few  years back that was the same way , 243  heavy barrel  wouldn't shoot. ,,,, I know that they both cant be that  bad. My daughter has a  NEF handi rifle in  243 that  shoots the lights out. So what is the  secrect to the heavey barrel?. I tried 5 different  factory loads , and hand loads that  my daughter shoots. Leupole scope and a good sandbag rest.  Surely  I didnt get  2 bad barrels   years apart? Any help would be great .

[bucmeister]

Is the twist rate in all barrels are the same? 

The way your report is worded I get the impression that maybe the barrel contour of your daughter's gun is not as heavy as the ones you were having trouble with since you denote that both of the problem guns were heavy barreled but you don't mention the barrel when referring to your daughter's gun.   So is the rate of twist the same for the .243 no matter what the barrel contour happens to be?

[trotterlg]

You don't say where they are going.  I guess if you can't hit a pie plate you may not know.  Could be thay are all in a half inch group that is 13 inches high.  Larry

[mechanic]

MDP, have you read through the accuracy tips in the FAQ's?  They are in the stickies at the top of this forum. 
 
That bad a problem usually indicates a scope mount moving or some such.  The scope rails come mounted, but it's usually best to take them off, bed them with Loctite and reassemble. 
 
Make sure the latch and shelf are dry.  I carry alchohol wipes in my kit to wipe the oil off when I go to the range.
 
Try shooting with the fore end off, but I doubt this would account for that bad accuracy.
 
If all else fails, contact H&R, they guarantee 2" at 100 yds. with factory ammo.
 
Best of luck, and don't let it whip ya!
 
Ben

[MDP]

Thanks I just read the FAQ and stickies. I"ll try to  remount the scope base and try again. The shots are all over the place ,no group at all, could be  forearm pressure so I"ll try the forearm off to.  My daughter gun is the regular or  sporter weight , lighter , love the way it shoots. I just cant figure it out yet but I'll keep hammering at it till I  run out of reloads again anyway. I would have  thought the  heavier  barrel would shoot better , which  would be hard to do, than the lighter one.  It's got to be some lil thing in  the rig.   Not even I shoot that bad ..

[OldSchoolRanger]

I've got my father in laws NEF 243 Heavy barrel rifle. started sighting it in for him  and its terrible. I may not be the best shot but I can shoot. But this one I cant hit a pie  plate at a 100 yds  twice in a row. I had one of these rifles a few  years back that was the same way , 243  heavy barrel  wouldn't shoot. ,,,, I know that they both cant be that  bad. My daughter has a  NEF handi rifle in  243 that  shoots the lights out. So what is the  secrect to the heavey barrel?. I tried 5 different  factory loads , and hand loads that  my daughter shoots. Leupole scope and a good sandbag rest.  Surely  I didnt get  2 bad barrels   years apart? Any help would be great .

What they said.  I do have a question tho, I know you tried 5 different factory loads and your daughters hand loads.  Are they all the same bullet weight?  I have one .243 barrel, that absolutely hates 100 grain bullets, for some reason it loves the 80 grain Remington PSP bullet.  After rechecking the scope rails, bases, rings, and making sure the scope is working properly (even Leupolds have been known to go bad).  Try different bullet weights.