Stevens 200 stringing

[backstrap]

I shot my steven 200 in 243 today and it virtical sting the bullets about inch to a inch and a half apart? whats causeing this does any 1 know,i am shooting reloads,if the loads are 2 hot will this cause this to happen, the load was 85gr hp bt over 39 grains of h380, but the 100 gr bt spiter groups about a inch to a inch and a half all together not virtical like the lighter bullets,  let me know what u think it is

[mjbgalt]

is the stock touching the barrel anywhere? are your scope mounts and rings down tight? has this scope shot fine on other rifles before? or is it new too and untested?

are you shooting off a hard surface or soft?

[rickyp]

the vertical stringing is more to do with the way you are shooting or something touching the barrel.

[oldandslow]

Are the action screws tight? If your stock is like mine you can't squeeze the barrel and stock together. It gives new meaning to "free floated barrel".

[backstrap]

I was shooting of sand bags,every thing is tight and the scope is fine, whats weird is the 100gr serria bt spitzer shot fairlly well , but the 85 gr serria hpbt did the stringing

[backstrap]

If the action screws are to tight will it do this also?

[Bearcat 74]

Have you floated the tang?  A friend did that and it helped his shoot much better.

[LaOtto222]

Some times vertical stringing can be cured with a powder increase or decrease. Load some up in increments of .5 grains. Start low and work your way up. You may find that the vertical stinging is cured when you find a sweet spot. If you have a chronograph see if your SD is large and velocity has a wide variation. You did not mention if the bullets walked vertically (one shot over the next over the next) or were random (real high, real low, then some thing in between). If the gun and rest are taken out of the equation, and I shoot vertically, I look at loads, if horizontal, I look at me or a stiff cross wind. Of course that is just a general rule of thumb and can not apply to every situation. Shotgun patterns usually means something is amiss with the gun/scope - generally. Like I said that is not a hard fast rule, but some thing to consider. It can be a challenge sometimes to find the sweet spot, but I like the load development phase. Good Luck and Good Shooting

[Slowpoke Slim]

What LaOtto said,

You have one load stringing and one load not stringing. My 223 Stevens strung vertically, until I found it's "sweet" load. You should run a "ladder test" on your loads with that 85 gr bullet. Start with a grain or two under where you are now, say at 37 grs, and work your way up in either .5 or .2 gr increments. At least in my rifles, when they start vertically stringing like that, I usually find that backing off the powder charge will shrink the vertical. If the resultant "good" group is too slow a velocity for what I'm looking for, then I try all over again with a different powder/primer combo. It may end up being that your particular rifle doesn't like that bullet combined with that powder/primer. It happens sometimes...

[backstrap]

Laotto, it laddered first shot was low next shot was above it about a in and the 3rd shot above it an inch

[trotterlg]

Lots fo things can make for vertical stringing.  Bad stock to action fit, loads that have inconsistant ignition, how you hold the rifle on the bags, the list goes on an on.  If the stock fit is bad, tightening the action screws may help.  You would need to chronograph the velocity to tell about inconsistant ignition, but the faster rounds will hit lower ont he target than the slow ones, I know it sounds strange but it is so.  If you are adjusting the poi by pulling the rifle down into the front bags then that could cause it.  You will get it sorted out, just a matter of figureing out the cause by eleminating as many as you can.  Below is a picture of my vertical stringing problem with a 17 Remington Savage 10 at 100 yards, I am still sorting it out.  Larry

[Spanky]

I only count 4 hits and a clipped edge on that dime Larry... I thought you said your 17 was a shooter.



Spanky

[backstrap]

I loaded some 65gr v-max with h380 at 43grains and 44grains and all bullets holes where touching,3 shot group.Whats the gun telling my it dont like the heavyer bullets or the heavyer bullet powder combo,Do i need to try diffrant powder and diffrant make of bullet, i bought this rifle for deer hunting and after deer season is over, resight it in for predators with diffrant bullet weight

[Slowpoke Slim]

It could be that your barrel doesn't like that 85 gr bullet at all, or just not with that powder combo. Sounds like the 65 gr bullet may be the way to go. Or, you could try a different 85 gr bullet if you want more weight. When my 22-250 BVSS still had the factory bbl on it, it wouldn't shoot the 50 gr Nosler bt's at all. But it would shoot the 50 gr Vmax with the same powder charge into a one hole group. The only thing that changed was the bullet brand, same powder charge and primers (happened to be H-380 also).

That's handloading for you...

Now the same rifle wears a McGowen bbl and shoots that same Nosler bullet to slightly better groups than the Vmax. Go figure.

If the 65 gr's will work for your application, it sounds like your "done" with load development. What kind of predators, and are you saving pelts, or just blasting varmints?

[backstrap]

coyote's I will be blowing big holes in them i hope with the 65gr v max ,and i will not be saveing the pelts

[p15camborne]

Here's an article by a guy who bought a Savage .243 for his grandsons.  He noticed some vertical stringing in his reloads, but figured for hunting would be a fine rifle.

http://www.castbullet.com/shooting/sav10.htm

[backstrap]

I dont think it is the barrel heating up because i am only shooting 3 shot groups.When i fill the barrel with my hand after the 3 shot its warm not hot,I just think the heavyer bullets dont like the powder, going to try a diffrant powder and see what happens

[Bearcat 74]

My Savage shot best with 85gr bullets and IMR4895 or h4895.  H414 showed promise but I never could get it dialed in like either of the 4895's.


Mine absolutely did not like 100gr bullets with any powder.


Shoots the best with 70gr Sierra BlitzKings, but they would not be my choice for deer.

[Saloon slug]

coyote's I will be blowing big holes in them i hope with the 65gr v max ,and i will not be saveing the pelts

If not saving pelts load the bullet regardless of weight that shoots best in the rifle. Buddy of mine uses 180gr in his 30-06 for coyotes simple because they shot the best groups out of his gun.

[backstrap]

Yes i know to load the best load the 65gr v max.But i bought the rifle for deer hunting shooting 100 gr bullets,But i might have to use it for just predator hunting.

[helotaxi]

Try some different deer appropriate bullets before you give up.  The Barnes 85gn TSX is a totally different bullet that the Sierra even though the weights are the same.  One of the best loads in my Savage .243 is 100gn Core-Loct factory loads.  Usually 3 in a hole with a single flier total group around .75".  For a deer rifle only the first round matters anyway.  Shoot a 5 round group waiting 10-15 min between shots and see what it does.  If they are all to point of aim, rock on.

[PawPaw]

That article linked above is mine.  I like the Savage 10 for a whole lot of reasons, but I understand that it (and the Stevens 200) are entry-level rifles.  That tupperware stock is plenty soft and there are a couple of things you can do to make it shoot.

First of all, make sure the action screws are tight.  Not tight enough that sweat pops out of your forehead when you tighten them, but tight enough that the action doesn't move in the stock.  Second, float the tang.  Savage rifles mount differently than a lot of bolt actions.  Lots of common bolt action rifles have the rear action bolt going into the tang.  Savage rifles don't.  The rear action bolt goes through the front triggerguard screw.  If the tang isn't floated, your stock might be putting pressure on the rear of the action.

When you're shooting off bags, put the front bag as close to the trigger guard as you can manage.  Those stocks are plenty flexible and I've noticed, with mine that it's easy to flex the stock until it touches the barrel.    That's one thing I intend to fix on my rifle, stiffening the forearm of the stock.

I've settled on a load that uses Reloder 22 and a 100 grain bullet for that rifle.  I got the idea from the 6mmbr.com website where they talk about the .243 Winchester.  I've found a load that shoots into 0.5 MOA with that powder and I'm plenty happy with it.

Enjoy your Stevens.  They're great little rifles.

[264fan]

I only count 4 hits and a clipped edge on that dime Larry... I thought you said your 17 was a shooter.



Spanky

I count 5! Unless the dime was already dinged at the top.