[sansone]

hello fellas, been reading your opinions for a while & finally joined today. Reason being I want to share with you something you may already know..

my best shooting buddy told me to buy one of these cheap X rifles before remington ruins them (maybe too late).. anyway we both reload and his 7mm08 has always shot great but my new 243 shoots 2" groups, best I can do with different loads. Really saddened by this because My other cheap rifle is a handi 243 and it shoots 1-1.5 all day. I checked the scope mount and rings, bore, etc.

My buddy suggested we swap stocks just as a test (his 7mm08 has same stock)..
Holy goodness gracious my groups instantly shrunk to an honest 1" with same loads!! He demanded his stock back immediately lest we accidently get confused about which is who's..

The motto here is simple: If you eliminate the obvious causes for bad groups (loose scope, hot brrl, etc.)
please remember the cheap plastic stock can very likely be the culprit. Many members here wiser than myself have threads regarding stock mods.. heed the advice, and thank you all for sharing

 

[grout-scout]

Glad you found the problem.

 

[jbs04]

good to hear you found your problem pretty easily..now I guess your next step in mind is getting that stock fixed or replaced, hope you get it squared away soon

 

[LJLKRL]

I wonder how his rifle shot with your stock on it? Did you test it?

 

[.DIRTY-.THIRTY]

Welcome to Marlinowners!!

Glad to hear your Marlin is shooting more to its kind. My XS7 with factory stock shot an inch with my first handloads, I was plenty happy with that, now I've added a Boyds laminate stock that free floats the barrel, and have just got done installing a new scope and rings, gonna load up some .308w and give her a try, would be something to shoot under an 1" consistently. Looking forward to hearing more about your Marlin. .DT

 

[WYcoyote]

This helps prove my theory on the variables of the pressure point bedding system and is why I glass bed and free float all my bolt action rifles.
(And yes, I know alot of you have good shooting X guns right out of the box, if it ain't broke etc, etc.)

 

[sansone]

I wonder how his rifle shot with your stock on it? Did you test it?

great question but no we didn't bother to test my stock on his rifle. His had shot good right out of the box and I'm very lucky to have had a quick and easy test like that. I would not have thought the same exact factory stock could cut the groups in HALF like that.

 

[sansone]

This helps prove my theory on the variables of the pressure point bedding system and is why I glass bed and free float all my bolt action rifles.
(And yes, I know alot of you have good shooting X guns right out of the box, if it ain't broke etc, etc.)

yote- I am now a believer buddy! Sure if the gun shoots leave it alone, but something is wrong with my stock and now I need to choose between a project or a new woody. Kinda fond of the woodies 'cause I'm old.

just wanna add: My buddy and I have been reloading for 25+ years and we only decided to swap stocks after exhausting all other variables. I am certain the pressure point system works fine most of the time.

 

[grout-scout]

Out of curosity, were your screws tight or loose when you took them off? If they were loose then I think you need to retry your stock with them tightened up. If they were tight then never mind. ;D

 

[sansone]

screws were tight, we inspected everything when stock was removed. maybe the stock is warped or more pressure applied to one side. I might free-float with this factory stock before buying a boyds

 

[sansone]

today using ignition feeler gauges to adjust forward pressure points..

When dragging the thin steel gauge through the tightened stock, one side definitely is pushing harder than the other. Also one side of the stock along side the barrel is pushing against the barrel. Only the two pressure points at the end are supposed to apply pressure.
I'm sanding the pressure point that exerts more force and using the dragging feeler gauge routine to judge equal pressure.
will post results tonight, I did not consider returning the defective stock because if this routine doesn't work I'll either free-float/glassbed OR buy new Boyds pepper laminate thumbhole. My stainless action/brrl should look real purty with the pepper laminate

 

[Sub95]

if the left side is touching the barrel, you will have to sand down the left side too.

My stock had a twist in it, so the pressure points and left side got sanded down, then i epoxyed 2, 1/4" round fiberglass rods in the front stock to stiffen it up, as i use a bi pod or shooting sticks. with out them in there the stock would touch the barrel. yea i could of sanded down the stock some more but didnt want a huge gap.

 

[sansone]

thanks for reply..
I got the stock repaired (no big deal) now I need to see if it will shoot. It did real well with my buddies stock