Thread: Accuracy problem with new browning bar 7mm08

Contact Belmont ammunition and see if they have back in stock their 308 130 gr Speer hollow point load. It shoots extremely good in all my 308s and many guys on the forum like that load. A friend in South Island tried that same bullet in a bar with a terrible barrel, and could not believe that he was getting 1" 3 shots group or just under despite trying other stuff inside.

Hi everyone, thanks for the replies. When I say im a newby I can shoot ok. I have shot a couple of deer, am a member of a range. The same scope/ring package on my ruger american I could shoot under an inch. Everything is lock tighted and torqued. At this stage I think my next move will be to go down in weight to the 120g range as all so far have been 139-140g.
Yes I have done alot of cleaning during the run in process, as instructed by a smith. The last 12 rounds were not cleaned and I have copper starting to show. All 3 brands of ammo were all similar in performance, sometimes I would get a 2 touching and then the 3rd would be off(in any direction). No pattern in grouping at all. I will try and figure out how to add a photo of the crown.

Realistically 2" is at the outer edge of being acceptable accuracy for hunting up to about 250 metres but a new BAR should do 1" to 1-1/2" with loads that suit it. Definitely try other bullet weights, and stop cleaning it all the time. 50 rounds is way more than any barrel needs to settle down. Every time you clean the rifle it will take 3 or 4 rounds to foul the barrel to a consistent level that gives good accuracy. Only clean your rifle when you have finished using it and intend to put it away. If you can't get better results with other bullet weights then borrow another proven accurate scope to try as a cross-check on your one. Make sure the butt stock has no movement and the fore-end screw is nipped up. If you are shooting off a bench then make sure the fore-end is in your hand and not resting directly on any surface.

I like Huntsika have 2 BAR Shorttracs in the safe in 243 and 308. What he is saying is on point wth troubleshooting them.

2 inches with factory ammo isn't that bad if the rifle doesn't like it, however when you find a load that they like you can screw it down to sub minute quite easily. Initially we had problems getting them to group and tracked it back to the way we were shooting and the projectiles/ammo.

At the end of the day the 308 still shoots better using federal vital shok than reloads, whereas the 243 is the opposite and like reloads so its horses for courses.

I would recommend firing 4-5 shot groups just because you can identify if it actually is your shooting sending the flyer or if its the rifle i.e cold bore shots.

Just had a cleaning session...
BeforeAfter20 or so patches!What I was shooting

Tasco scope?

The top pic doesn't show the copper too well. Seemed to be quite abit in there that the picture isn't showing. Even after an hour of cleaning, there was still some visible. Does that seem excessive? I've never cleaned a barrel that much before. Maybe it was fouled early on while i was setting the scope up to hit paper?

Its a konus scope with an etched glass reticle. Super clear and I've used them in the past with good results at the range.

My mistake I thought you had a 308. Just realised it is a 7-08. Forget about what I said

I had a similar problem recently...spent a small fortune on different factory ammo trying to find a brand and projectile my new Tikka liked. Turned out to be the crown. Had it re-crowned and I'm shooting consistently under MOA. Still not totally satisfied, but much better than it was.
However, I've got no experience with Konus scopes and if you honestly believe you're capable of good shooting, then I'd start with having a friend who is a proven good shot send a few rounds down range, and if it won't shoot straight, try a different well-known scope brand.
With modern engineering practices, I don't accept that ANY rifle made these days shouldn't easily shoot sub-MOA out of the box. If it won't, it should be returned to the retailer and the manufacturer told where to stick it. More often, the blame for poor grouping will lie with the scope, mounts, ammo choice or the shooter.
Good luck with your process of elimination


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk