| Getting The Most Accuracy Out Of Your Rifle |
| by Brad Blaine |
| Rifle accuracy is something that should concern us all, both as hunters and marksman. In hunting, accuracy requirements are a lot less than those required of competitive shooters where $1,000's of dollars are at stake. Realistically in hunting you simply need to be able to hit the vital area of your quarry 100% of the time. Usually, this is much larger than the competition targets. In hunting we're talking a scale of inches where in competition we're talking thousandths of an inch. What this translates to in deer hunting is that you must be able to hit 6 inches (the vital organ area). So how do we go about doing this? Practice! Practice at all the different ranges you expect to see deer AND where your caliber has enough knockdown power (1000 ft. lbs for deer is a good measure). If practice shows that you can't get your rifle to do what you want then there are some things that you can do. The proper set up is important. Starting with a factory rifle, brand new, never shot, the first thing we should do is break in the barrel. There are many schools of thought on this but I think that hand-lapping the barrel is best. Hand-lapping means to take a grease-like compound and run it through the barrel many times to smooth out microscopic rough edges in the rifling. Usually, a gunsmith has to do it and it can be expensive. An alternative to this is to fire-lap the barrel. In this process, bullets are coated with varying grits and then fired through the barrel to smooth out the rifling. Bullet kits are available through various outlets, check with Brad to give you an idea where to get them. If you opt not to lap your barrel, the next best thing you can do is to clean after every shot or every other shot for about the first 50 rounds. Again, opinions vary but this is perhaps the simplest. Setting up your scope is equally important. Steel, not aluminum scope rings are best for a couple reasons. First, they are stronger and can be custom aligned. Using one-piece bases are best and the very best are competitive bases which can run up to $150.00 for such brands as Nightforce and other tactical competitve brands. When the scope rings are installed they should be checked for alignment. A special tool is required where two pointed rods are placed in each ring. If the two points don't match up then the scope rings are lapped with a lapping compound and tool to remove the excess metal and match the rods up. Then the scope is mounted properly. If you opt against this, like I always have, there are still a few things you can do. One thing you can do to properly mount your scope is to make sure that the screw holes where you mount your scope bases are clean by running a screw all the way in and all the way out to remove any packing grease, followed by a Q-Tip cleanup of solvent. By doing this you ensure a clean fit. Always add some clear nail polish or Loc-Tite to keep the bases snug. As for the scope rings, just torque them in succession - one full turn of a screw on one side and then the other side. It takes a little more time but gives you a consistent clamp on your scope on all sides. Most factory set triggers are too stiff, requiring as much as 10 pounds of pressure to pull the trigger. 3 pounds is about as light as you should go for hunting and ensure that there isn't too much travel in the trigger. A good gunsmith can measure and adjust this for you, and if there are any snags in the pull, he can polish them up with a hard arkansas stone. Finally is the stock. if hunting with either wood, laminate or synthetic, you may be able to squeeze some more accuracy out of your rifle by having it glass bedded. This ensures a custom fit of your barrel and action in the stock. Although many guys, including myself, don't see the need to do it on a laminate or synthetic stock, it can add some accuracy to your rifle. Other options for squeezing accuracy out of your rifle are usually only available through a qualified gunsmith. One thing that can be done is called truing the action. In this process, a gunsmith ensures that the barrel and the receiver are in perfect alignment with one another. The factory threads the barrel into the receiver and though in-line it can be improved. Another option is to have the bolt-face trued. Here the bolt is squared to ensure that the cartridge sits perfectly aligned on the face of the bolt so that it is in-line with the receiver and the barrel. Another process that goes along with this is lapping the locking lugs. In a bolt action rifle, the two lugs of metal that hold the bolt in the receiver when the bolt is closed can be out of square. A gunsmith can square both lugs up perfectly as well as the metal parts within the receiver where the lugs rest against. Finally, there is the recoil lug. Basically this is a plate of steel where the barrel and receiver meet. Most rifle manufacturers install a relatively thin one. What this does is allow flex and harsher recoil. A qualified gunsmith can install a thicker one that allows more uniform distribution of recoil as well as lessen the recoil. These are all things that can be done to a factory rifle to improve accuracy. Again, so long as you can hit the vital area of your quarry 100% of the time with sufficient energy, you don't need to improve the accuracy of your rifle. However, for those interested in long range shooting (500 yards and beyond) these are the options available. Before going to all these lengths, I'd try reloading. Have a buddy load you up some custom made ammo. You might just be surprised what your rifle can do without all these modifications. Good shooting! |
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