Rifle Help

[coachschaller]

Any ideas why my .303 British Enfield bolt action is not holding a pattern?

Here is the info:
Last year tried sighting it in and it failed miserably. I was sighting in at 50 yards on a shooting bench on a sled. Adjusting the crosshairs on my Nikon scope did not correlate to getting closer to the bullseye. Once I kept the clip in the rifle, it got better, but still no really recognizable pattern.
Got frustrated, thought, "maybe it is the operator." Grabbed my 30-06 and was putting bullet holes touching each other...

So, in order to figure it out, had my Brother-in-law switch the scopes on my two rifles (he has the tools to do it properly-I do not).

This time at the range, same system: 50 yards, little wind, bench and sled. 30-06 is hitting within 4 MOA right where is should.
.303 responded to scope adjustments, but no discernable pattern within 6 inches of the bullseye (I believe that makes it 12 MOA).
The barrel is free floating.
The only idea I have yet to try is switching ammo.
Any other ideas?

[CrescentCityRazors]

Any ideas why my .303 British Enfield bolt action is not holding a pattern?

Here is the info:
Last year tried sighting it in and it failed miserably. I was sighting in at 50 yards on a shooting bench on a sled. Adjusting the crosshairs on my Nikon scope did not correlate to getting closer to the bullseye. Once I kept the clip in the rifle, it got better, but still no really recognizable pattern.
Got frustrated, thought, "maybe it is the operator." Grabbed my 30-06 and was putting bullet holes touching each other...

So, in order to figure it out, had my Brother-in-law switch the scopes on my two rifles (he has the tools to do it properly-I do not).

This time at the range, same system: 50 yards, little wind, bench and sled. 30-06 is hitting within 4 MOA right where is should.
.303 responded to scope adjustments, but no discernable pattern within 6 inches of the bullseye (I believe that makes it 12 MOA).
The barrel is free floating.
The only idea I have yet to try is switching ammo.
Any other ideas?

Has it been like that since the first time you fired it? Barrel might be shot out. Is this mil surplus? What does the muzzle look like? Do you like what you see when you look down the bore? Is there any fouling or erosion? Ammo can effect accuracy but not as much as you are seeing. You may have to relegate that piece to a non shooting display. Your local gunsmith could tell you a lot more than what I can guess from long distance.

[coachschaller]

It has been able to get sighted in before. Sometimes it took several rounds, but I have shot a few deer with it. I looked down the barrel and still saw some rifling, but I wasn't looking for flaws at that point. Not sure about the provenance of the rifle. It was a gift from an uncle a couple decades back and I know he had it for a few decades before that. It might become a display piece, but I want to make sure before relegating it to display/home defense. The Uncle is still alive but is getting worse with old age crankiness.

I am open to hearing about what I should be looking for in the muzzle/barrel. It is another learning experience!

[Jnatcat]

I would clean the barrel with like Butches Bore shine and inspect the rifling and also look at the crown for possible damage

[coachschaller]

Just read up on copper fouling and cleaning it out. I do not think that thorough of a cleaning has ever been done on the rifle...

[CrescentCityRazors]

It has been able to get sighted in before. Sometimes it took several rounds, but I have shot a few deer with it. I looked down the barrel and still saw some rifling, but I wasn't looking for flaws at that point. Not sure about the provenance of the rifle. It was a gift from an uncle a couple decades back and I know he had it for a few decades before that. It might become a display piece, but I want to make sure before relegating it to display/home defense. The Uncle is still alive but is getting worse with old age crankiness.

I am open to hearing about what I should be looking for in the muzzle/barrel. It is another learning experience!

At the muzzle, look for dings, cracks, chips, corrosion, etc. It could well be that you need to have the barrel crowned and prices for that are all over the chart, could be pretty reasonable, though, and less cost than the rifle is worth. The damage or wear would likely be visually noticeable to give you the accuracy issues that you have. I am voting for bore erosion or fouling. But the bedding of the action is somewhat critical, too and that could be the issue. You switched scopes so that's not the problem but that doesn't mean that maybe your scope mounting isn't at fault somehow.Try shooting through the iron sights and see what you get.

Give that bore a super good cleaning and punch a few more holes in the paper and see what you get. If it still won't shoot worth a darn, take it to a gunsmith and let him look it over. Cost should be minimal to just look it over and mike the barrel. Be aware that you will probably have to fill out BATF form number whatever-I-forgot to get your rifle back so if you have felonies, etc maybe skip the gunsmith.

[coachschaller]

At the muzzle, look for dings, cracks, chips, corrosion, etc. It could well be that you need to have the barrel crowned and prices for that are all over the chart, could be pretty reasonable, though, and less cost than the rifle is worth. The damage or wear would likely be visually noticeable to give you the accuracy issues that you have. I am voting for bore erosion or fouling. But the bedding of the action is somewhat critical, too and that could be the issue. You switched scopes so that's not the problem but that doesn't mean that maybe your scope mounting isn't at fault somehow.Try shooting through the iron sights and see what you get.

Give that bore a super good cleaning and punch a few more holes in the paper and see what you get. If it still won't shoot worth a darn, take it to a gunsmith and let him look it over. Cost should be minimal to just look it over and mike the barrel. Be aware that you will probably have to fill out BATF form number whatever-I-forgot to get your rifle back so if you have felonies, etc maybe skip the gunsmith.

NO more iron sights The peep had to be taken off to mount the scope (done professionally)
But if cleaning it doesn't work, perhaps taking it back to the gun smith is in order. They are just really behind and I have no felonies yet to be worried about. I still have other shooting options though

[coachschaller]

Thanks fellas,
I appreciate the suggestions. I don't know a ton of this stuff yet. Just what the Old man, and uncle have taught me. And that is just enough to hit a deer at 100 yards or so. I have never been a great shot, but I have not had trouble hitting my targets.

[Euclid440]

Cost me $150 (for background check and “fees”) and a year, to get back a pistol I had loan my dad 40 years ago. It was still registered to me. A nice 5 screw S/W 6” revolver.

My dad passed 2 years ago, my slime ball sister stole the gun from his house.

She turned it in to the police after, I threatened to file a police report and name her as the suspect, which I did. Of course, they did nothing but take a report.

Does not matter that the gun was stolen, still had to pay and wait and wait, they lost the paper work, but cashed the check. California…

[bouschie]

May sound stupid but. Any cracks in stock? Any loose screws. Is scope tight? Is there a dollar bill space between barrel and stock? If not stock may be too tight on barrel and as barrel heats up it changes point of aim. Remove the bolt and place on sandbags and sight in target thru barrel. Now look thru scope, are they the same? Finally are your crosshairs broken. I had that happen on a shotgun. It was dead on. Then every shot was different. Under close inspection crosshairs broke in two places.