Help. What am I doing wrong

Hi, I have just got my new axis in 7mm-08 and have reloaded 110 grain Speer TNT with varying amounts of powder from min to max and varied seating depth from 20 thou off lands to 80 off and can barely hit the broad side of a barn. Can't get groups under 3 1/2". Tried some fed powershok and can only get a 2 1/2" groups. I seem to be wandering my shots high and right. Is it flinching or should I start again with my reloading?
I shoot a 22.250 and have no trouble. But it's a heavier rifle too.
Thanks
Tack

Well.....


You left out a lot of info. How far away are the shots? Are you on a bench, or free hand? Is there any signs of high pressure in the fired cartridge? What powder, and weight?


Also... by any chance... did you measure the bullets? (maybe they are undersized) What kind of bullets are they? (I have a rifle that refuses to shoot boat tails well)

Rifle:
Trigger pull weight?
Scope?
Rings?

Ammo:
Powder?
Primer?
Dies/Case Prep?



I have had good luck with the 140 class bullet and a R-15 load. I think powders in that vicinity should work well possibly faster for that light bullet. 4064, 4895 etc...

Sorry, 100 yards, on a bench on a bag, from 34.5- 37 gn adi2208 in .5 increments and Speer 110 TNT not boat tails.
Savage axis youth, 20 inch sporter barrel, egw one peice rail, 3-9 x 40 tasco world class(18 years old), leupold rings, shooting due south with small black Shetland pony looking over my shoulder. (But only for the first shot)
New nosler brass resized and weighed into .3 grain variance groups,
cci lr primers.
Trigger weight: under three pounds

LOL, Good form. That is Varget yes? My sierra book puts varget as high as 43 grains. I am going to look up nosler.

http://adi-powders.com.au/handloader...m-08+Remington

You are on the short end brother

Sorry that should read 44.5-47. My bad.

Try working up from 42? Or a faster powder?

Thanks Stang, I might try heavier projectiles first and then a faster powder. I have had a little experience and can shoot okay. All with 22-250 and smaller. Consistent inch groups at 100. I'm not a bench shooter, just a farmer controlling foxes and other undesirables. Bought this rifle for pigs, goats and deer but scared to take it out at the moment due to its MOBD (minute of barn door). I'm just not confident of clean kills.
Tack

There are some cheap fixes for a heavy trigger on the web as well. A tight trigger hand on a heavy trigger weight has ruined a few groups for me.... Good Luck from the land up yonder.

Every thing Stang said goes double for me...

Also, I found my 7-08 didn't like anything under 120gr.
120 - 140gr, especially Nosler BT's did outstanding. 139's did the best. I also used IMR 4895 & 4064 with excellent results.

Never got the 110gr bullet to shoot. Go with a 120 Nosler and Varget or IMR 4064 for starters.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wbm

Never got the 110gr bullet to shoot. Go with a 120 Nosler and Varget or IMR 4064 for starters.

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Me neither. I would have been better off throwing the bullet & save the powder. 120's were OK but I went thru a lot of trouble fine tuning the powder.

Went to big smoke today and got some WIN 760. Loaded with 45.5 gr 760 and 120 hornady BT for a result of 1 3/4 group. Yay. Feel like I'm getting some where. Loaded Speer 145 GS with 45.5 gr W760 for a group of 3 1/4 inches. Bit of a way to go there. Should I go up in 1/2 gr increments or out to a full one?

I use .5gr on the bigger cases (30.06, .270, 25.06) & .4gr on the smaller cases - like the 7-08. When I get near the sweet spot, I go to 2/10gr increments.
Have fun...

I had an Edge in 7-08 I never could get to shoot. I put a lot of effort into it with a trigger job and countless factory loads, handloads and combos. Some folks see it as a challenge, I got tired of fooling with it and sold mine. I used the cash to buy a used model 10 and got back to the old familiar :)

Quick update, pulled rifle out of gun bag the other day by the scope. Noticed quite a lot of play in front ring. Someone must have loosened the screws on me as I'm sure that they were tight... Still getting over shoulder injury so will get back to it soon and see if I can't get some better results. Thanks for your input.
Tack

SO....
You're gonna go with the 'ol "loose scope" excuse. eh?

Boy that like to drive me crazy on a .270 I was shooting last year. The only reason I found the loose scope was because I was doing a barrel swap.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fgw_in_fla

SO....
You're gonna go with the 'ol "loose scope" excuse. eh?

Boy that like to drive me crazy on a .270 I was shooting last year. The only reason I found the loose scope was because I was doing a barrel swap.

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That happens to those of use that can't leave well enough alone.... I have never done anything like that.

Yes. The old loose scope...and bought some new bags to shoot off so will start the process again tomorrow. Might start back at 50 yards to get my confidence back.

Got a new trigger installed in my axis today and first group of three measured up at .527 of an inch at a hundred yards. I knew it could shoot, but now I know I can shoot it. (And the scope was tightened)

I don't know..... This rifle has given you a lot of trouble & will probably continue to give you trouble. You might as well save yourself the aggravation & send it to me. You won't be bothered by it any longer.....

By the way, if you decide to keep it because it shoots OK now, you'll be required to put up a few photos of the gun & targets.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stangfish

That happens to those of use that can't leave well enough alone.... I have never done anything like that.

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I think someone sneaked into my house & loosened the scope on me. Probably the "Midnight Scope Loosener"...... I hear he's on the loose again.

Thanks fgw for the offer to take it off my hands but I don't think it would get through customs at either end and then neither of us would have it. Another question, I have reloaded 48 gr of W760 behind 140gr Barnes TSX and when I shake loaded case, I can't hear the powder move. Is this what's considered a compressed load and is it safe? It's within load data but I'm a bit uneasy.
Tack

The Hodgdon site shows 43.5 to 46.0 of W760 used with a 140gr bullet. My Lyman manual doesn't list a 140gr but under the 139gr it shows 43.0 to 48.0 for W760.

I'm not a big fan of compressed loads. I try not to use more powder than what's necessary for accuracy. I do occasionally find long bullets will not allow the powder to move when shaken. The 180gr / .308 Nosler BT's I use sit pretty deep into the case. With the powder charge well under maximum, it still slightly "compresses" the powder. But it's not considered a compressed load.
Depending on which manual you use, it could be compressed. Either way, it looks to be near maximum according to the 2 manuals I listed.

Most manuals will show where the load becomes compressed. Which one are you using?

I'm going out of the 'Nick Harvey's practical reloading manual' . It's an Aussie Bloke who's probably the closest thing we have to Chuck Hawks. It says from 42.5 to 49 gr with Win 760 for a max of 2900 fps. So my load is under that but still makes me nervous. I've only got twelve of these projectiles so I don't want to waste them.

I can understand being a bit nervous. That's running right at maximum. Makes it a little rough on the brass. Whatever you decide, be careful. Don't forget your eye protection, ear protection..... Maybe a suit of armor?..... Stand behind a concrete block wall & pull the trigger with a string?....

Oh... I was going to wear a shirt but the rest is going a bit to far...although, I have started using ear protection. The ringing makes it hard to sleep. A good change from the voices though. And I've found that getting the bags up to a comfortable height so that the butt seats nice into my shoulder makes a difference too. 7-08 is not like a rimfire that you can position anywhere and not feel recoil.