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jbohio
Posts: 5,619 Senior Member
What to do, what to do?
jbohio
Posts: 5,619 Senior Member
I need some advice, guys.
It's a 3 weeks to the elk hunt, and my new to me Howa 1500, 338WM isn't happy.
This is to be my back up rifle, as such, I don't need anything fancy, or expensive, just dependable. A MOA shooter is fine.
Load work with 3 different bullets, and it's consistently inconsistent. It's shot a few really nice groups, but several dozen really bad ones. A few groups had 2 holes touching, with the third a couple inches right. Mostly, it shoots patterns. 5-6" patterns. I'm working with 225 gr bullets.
I never shot it hot, 5-6 shots max before a complete cool down.
It has a Hogue stock. That may be the culprit. The fore arm is super soft, it takes very little pressure to make the stock hit the barrel. I can pinch it between my thumb and first finger, and make it flex enough to contact the barrel.
It has also been ported, and not ported well. That may be the culprit.
Here's the porting.
I mounted the scope and rings, I'm confident that's not the issue.
With the limited amount of time, I've pretty much got one shot at a fix. Otherwise, I'll have to take my bone stock 450 Marlin, or borrow a rifle from my FIL.
Bell and Carlson stocks seem to be scarce for the Howa/Weatherby. I've found 1 carbelite, and one medalist, both of them on the high side of the price range. Although, if it's the porting, all the money in the world spent on stocks won't help it.
I just don't know.
The other option is, there is a really nice Ruger (not sure what model) .338WM at the LGS. Again, it's used, but wearing Leupold glass.
For the price of a new stock, I could trade the Howa in and grab the Ruger. Start over with load work, but I pretty much have to do that either way.
Whatever I decide, I gotta do it quick. I've only got three weekends of range time left.
What would you do?
It's a 3 weeks to the elk hunt, and my new to me Howa 1500, 338WM isn't happy.
This is to be my back up rifle, as such, I don't need anything fancy, or expensive, just dependable. A MOA shooter is fine.
Load work with 3 different bullets, and it's consistently inconsistent. It's shot a few really nice groups, but several dozen really bad ones. A few groups had 2 holes touching, with the third a couple inches right. Mostly, it shoots patterns. 5-6" patterns. I'm working with 225 gr bullets.
I never shot it hot, 5-6 shots max before a complete cool down.
It has a Hogue stock. That may be the culprit. The fore arm is super soft, it takes very little pressure to make the stock hit the barrel. I can pinch it between my thumb and first finger, and make it flex enough to contact the barrel.
It has also been ported, and not ported well. That may be the culprit.
Here's the porting.
I mounted the scope and rings, I'm confident that's not the issue.
With the limited amount of time, I've pretty much got one shot at a fix. Otherwise, I'll have to take my bone stock 450 Marlin, or borrow a rifle from my FIL.
Bell and Carlson stocks seem to be scarce for the Howa/Weatherby. I've found 1 carbelite, and one medalist, both of them on the high side of the price range. Although, if it's the porting, all the money in the world spent on stocks won't help it.
I just don't know.
The other option is, there is a really nice Ruger (not sure what model) .338WM at the LGS. Again, it's used, but wearing Leupold glass.
For the price of a new stock, I could trade the Howa in and grab the Ruger. Start over with load work, but I pretty much have to do that either way.
Whatever I decide, I gotta do it quick. I've only got three weekends of range time left.
What would you do?
Replies
You'd have to chop off a couple inches of barrel to fix that abomination of a porting job. Thus hamstringing the cartridge. Get while the getting is good and start fresh with the Ruger.
Rugers can be hit and miss at times, but I think it's a better option than the MISS on that Howa.
― Douglas Adams
"The Un-Tactical"
I did that. There was one port that had a tiny burr, that would just snag the fiber on a q-tip. I carefully filed it off. Not that it makes it any better.
All you guys just reaffirmed my suspicions.
You are an experienced enough gun owner and shooter to know a lemon after you have squeezed it. If good reloads and factory ammo cannot product a sub 3 MOA group in a bolt gun it's not you it is the gun. Even my Remington 742, known for not so great accuracy produced a 3 MOA group at 100 yards in 30-06.
It sucks, but it is the truth.
D
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.... now who's bringing the hot wings? :jester:
Agreed, but I'd look at rebarreling after the hunt, instead of a brake. Recover the last few inches.
-Mikhail Kalashnikov
Okay. Here's the deal with that burr you found. If the ports weren't properly milled, there will be displaced metal along the inner edges of the ports. Whether that is true or not is kind of out of the means you probably have at your disposal to check. A borescope would be ideal to check the condition of the ports.
If there is a gunsmith locally that can cut and recrown the barrel behind the last ports, then do so. You will lose little velocity as those ports bleed significant pressure once the bullet passes them. If it then shoots with acceptable accuracy, have a brake installed after the hunt. If cutting and recrowning don't work, options are to rebarrel, or trade for another rifle in same chambering.
― Douglas Adams
There's a Ruger m77 tang safety, factory adj. trigger, 338WM sitting where the Howa used to be. Gotta find a new trigger spring somewhere, 5lb is as low as it goes.
I let them keep the Luepold VariX Compact 3-9 that was on it, I kept my Burris.
I decided that if I was gonna have a rifle that didn't shoot, and I was gonna dump money in it, I'd rather have an American rifle.
Jerry
That will solve your problems. I put one in my M77 and it took the trigger down to just over a pound.
I've got all the creep and overtravel out of the adj. trigger, but the pull weight spring is just too heavy. Even with the screw removed, it's 5lb.
I was thinking about digging around in all the left overs from my Wolff and Wilson spring kits for revolvers, see if maybe I can find a suitable replacement spring. There don't seem to be any out there.
Cool. I looked at that, wasn't sure how it would work. Thanks! Does yours have the adj. trigger?
I think porting, OTOH, is about the dumbest idea to ever hit the market. Any market.
Mike
N454casull
I'm with 'ya. One of these days, all of my rifles will have brakes.
Was it stuck at 5 lb?
:that:
I think it was at 3-4 pounds prior to the new sear.
Well, one could be just because. Another could be because it works better.
I've killed elk with a .270 and a .30-06. The .30-06 was more effective. So, I'm pretty sure the .338 WM would be the same.
Yes, there is shot placement. But, there is also increased penetration and angle options with the bigger/more powerful cartridge.
A bow can kill an elk. But a centerfire cartridge can do it further and from increased angle. Same thing goes for cartridge ability.
I don't mind bow hunting, if the hunter is a good shot and knows his limitations. But now if you notice they're shooting at them at longer and longer ranges. I saw a guy shoot at one at 60 yards the other day on a show and it ran off, not telling how far before it died, if it indeed really died. This is getting irresponsible.
Because I wanted a 338! Beside that, my main elk rifle is a 300 RUM. Doesn't make much sense to take a back up rifle with less capability.
Shot placement is all well and good, elk hunts are expensive. If a huge bull is 300+ yards out and quartering towards or away from you, with a 30-06 you have to wait, and HOPE he turns broadside. With a RUM or WM, I'm pulling the trigger.
At 300 yards with a 30-06 and a good bullet "I'M pulling the trigger, quartering or straight away. However, I'm no longer at a disadvantage gun wise. I went from recoil shy to BRING IT ON and from No Mag to PLENTY of Mags. So the 30-06 probably isn't going to make the trip in the first place.
Sounds like you're pretty out of touch with bow hunting. All my bows have been sighted in to 60 yards, and I wouldn't hesitate to take a laser ranged shot at an elk or deer at 60-65 yards. Not for one second. I can pound arrows into a 6" circle all day long at 60 yards. With practice, and the proper equipment, there's no reason not to.
I don't know a whole lot about killing elk, but there are a lot of writers that do. This article is pretty much sums up the conventional wisdom. Going by his theories, a 30-06 is out of gas at 275 yards.