should I be surprised?

[sansone]

working up loads for my new deer rifle(savage.243) I was happy to see <moa groups right away. after about 9 shots they started scattering around on the paper. I assumed the scope had come loose, snugged everything and NO BETTER! what happened to my beautiful tight groups? decided to brush and swab the bore...BINGO groups at 75yds can be covered with a dime. my 223(with a few hundred rds fired) is not so sensitive to fouling. can it be that the new barrel in 243 needs a break-in? is it the button rifling making it sensitive to fouling? how many shots between cleaning is normal for a new 243? / thanks fellow shooters

 

[sansone]

no rifle heads reading right now??

 

[Smokey Joe]

Hmmmm...

Sanson1--Random thoughts: From yr description of the problem, it would seem that a break-in procedure would indeed be in order.
You know the drill: Fire one, clean bore, repeat 5x,
Fire 3, clean bore, repeat 5x,
Fire 5, clean bore, repeat 5x, that should about do it.

David Tubb makes a "fire-lapping" system, bullets embedded with finer and finer abrasives, which is supposed to be great to smooth out a rough bore. No first-hand knowledge. Sold thru Midway, I believe, among other sources.

Anyhow, as to break-in, that'd come under the "Can't hurt, might help" category. Fire-lapping might be the next step.

This is a brand-new rifle, right--Not just new to you? No obvious crown damage?

Have you contacted Savage about this--What do they say--They SHOULD know how that bbl wants to be treated. Mebbe contact Savage as a FIRST step.

Now, having said all that, the .243Win has a reputation as a "fussy" cartridge for handloading. Mebbe what you're experiencing is a manifestation of that--Have you tried more than one load/bullet weight in it? (Personally, the 2 .243's for which I have loaded were happy with just about anything I fed them, but the reputation remains. And N=2 is not a "statistically valid" sample.)

Guess I'd start by asking Savage about it. Generally Savage rifles have a reputation for no-nonsense accuracy. What model is yours?

Anyhow, good luck and keep us posted.

 

[hoghunting]

When working on loads for my rifles, I clean the barrel between groups. When shooting groups, don't shoot so fast that your barrel heats up. Wait a minute or two between shots. After I've developed a load, I'll clean when accuracy begins to fall off.

 

[sansone]

yes it is factory new and when I brush and swab the bore the groups are impressive. savage claims barrel break-in is a matter of choice and not critical. by my experiences today with a NIB savage a good break-in procedure would benefit someone in search of the "tightest group". savage claims they do not cut costs regarding barrel accuracy. they do admit to keeping prices down regarding time spent hand-working the bolt-to-reciever fit which explains why my bolt seems slightly snug fitting out of the box. I like the gun, and will brush the bore every 6-9 shots until the barrel breaks-in. also the bolt's sliding action is getting better every few shots. I would recomend this rifle to anyone willing to spend a little time polishing the action and break-in the barrel properly. I opened the box and started firing and for a perfectionist this was a slight dissapointment.

 

[sansone]

I think I was too quick going through my various loads. not cleaning the bore enough, and yes the barrel got quite warm. my ruger m77 in 223 which I purchased used did not give me such finicky results. I think I'll work on the tractor for a while and let the new savage rest

 

[ZeSpectre]

My dad had a Remington 760 that was a serious tack driver but I remember that it seems to require regular swabbing or it'd start to wander. that gun was stolen some years back (darnit!) but every time I see this topic come up I wonder if a good polishing with some J-B Non-Embedding Bore Cleaning Compound would have sweetened things up some.

 

[sansone]

HEY--- someone makes a bore polish??? smokey joe mentioned polishing the bore with special bullets. he also explained a shooting procedure for new barrels that savage mentioned, but also said was not needed. heck this barrel would have benefitted greatly from a good conservative polishing. it must be on the tight side, is that good or bad? think I'll go work on that tractor like I said

 

[Firehand]

Sounds like the bore has just enough microscopic roughness that it's fouling quickly and badly.

JB Bore Cleaner and Bore Finish are available, the latter being a finer grade. Might be worth using it to clean/polish the bore, see if that helps.

 

[Wheeler44]

Back in the '70's my Mom had a Husquvarna .243 that would shoot 1/2" groups at 100 yds. But only for the first 4 shots. After that it would throw one about 2"-3" off. It was fine for hunting, but when she shot in the local turkey shoots she would open the bolt and blow through the barrel and quickly swab it with some oil, then fire her last shot. She won a lot of turkeys with that rifle.

 

[sansone]

I wonder if 243 is a finicky caliber? I almost bought the same rifle in 308 for the cheap once-fired military brass. the ballistics for 243 are very impressive but maybe it's too picky about everything. I told a friend the 243 is 223 on steroids / these posts have been very helpful, as I expected my faceless rifle buddies have come through. I'll polish or break-in the bore. looking down the barrel it's beautiful, but as firehand said maybe there's some microscopic roughness that needs to be polished out.

 

[rockstar.esq]

Fire Lapping is a waste of time that does little more than erode the throat.

Bore lapping is a fine idea, follow Zespectre's advice. That JB paste is good stuff.

 

[jlmurphy]

The type and brand of bullet can also make a difference. Harder jacketed match bullets seem to foul less than varmint bullets that are designed to disintegrate. The .243 is also pushing those bullets much faster down the barrel than the .223, and most copper fouling occurs closer to the muzzle. My son had a .243 that fouled very quickly and accuracy suffered, I also had a .223 that did the same.. If it is any consolation, the fouling will improve as the barrel is lapped by the bullets. There was a thread on the Benchrest forum about using suspended graphite as a bore treatment ( Lockeze from Napa, or colloidal suspended graphite from Kroil). These treatments would slow the copper buildup.