Grouping problems with a Model 70 Win .270

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I have a model 70 Winchester featherweight .270 that I have hunted with since the 90's. It fits me like a glove. 3 years ago my son (now serving in the Army) ask if he could clean some of our guns. I agreed. He removed the stock and cleaned basically the whole rifle and I thought he did a great job. But since then I cannot get the rifle to group better then 2.5-3". I have taken the rifle to three gun smiths and the only explanation is my son may have damaged the bore with the cleaning rod. So we looked at the rifling with a light and it looked like one of the rifling might not be as good as the others. So I had the smith cut 1" off the barrel and recrown it. It did not help at all. I have tried the same load I shot for years as well as others but the accuracy if awful. I loaded some yesterday and shot them from my model 70 as well as my sons model 700 Rem and the 700 as usual was super with all three loads but the model 70 was awful.
My first question is, is there anything else I should try with this rifle? Should I look into getting a new barrel? Where can I buy a new barrel or who should I send it to? What twist for a 130 gr bullet?
One gunsmith recomended that I dump this rifle and buy a new on as it could cost more to put on a new barrel then the gun is worth. I could not agree with this statement as the new model 70 featherweights are around $1000.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks
 
Maybe for starters ya could check that the action screws are not over tight and also check the scope mount and rings to ensure they are not loose. Before I put money into it I would also put on a different scope and try that. The scope may have gone bad.
 
You should have tore it all down and re tourqed before cutting the barrel down. What did he use to clean it? Did he defoul or just oil and scrub? If he just wiped them down then he proabally just over tightened it. Maybe take it and have it bedded so that won't happen again. If he used a de copper like sweets762. You can chew a barrel up by leaving it in to long. I'd ask him what all he did to it before going further.
 
Originally Posted By: DANNY-LMaybe for starters ya could check that the action screws are not over tight and also check the scope mount and rings to ensure they are not loose. Before I put money into it I would also put on a different scope and try that. The scope may have gone bad.

"Over tight action screws" will not effect accuracy. They can be as tight as you can make them, without striping them.
 
Originally Posted By: nastynatesfishYou should have tore it all down and re tourqed before cutting the barrel down. What did he use to clean it? Did he defoul or just oil and scrub? If he just wiped them down then he proabally just over tightened it. Maybe take it and have it bedded so that won't happen again. If he used a de copper like sweets762. You can chew a barrel up by leaving it in to long. I'd ask him what all he did to it before going further.
I belive he may have damaged the bore with the ramrod while cleaning the barrel.
 
I would verify the scope is good, new barrel/install would run you $500-$550a and having it bedded would be a good idea. I wouldn't be to happy about a smith cutting my barrel without other things being verified first and would look into another for further work.
 
Doubt that his one cleaning job ruined the bore. Hopefully he cleaned it from the chamber end. If he cleaned it from the bore end, he could have dinged a land or the crown. Easy fix. About $80 to cut and recrown a barrel. The real possibility, is that the action may be positioned slightly different than before cleaning. Take it out and reseat it. Bedding can make a big difference and will keep that from happening again. There is also the possibility that your rifle likes to have a fouled bore. Have seen that a time or two.
 
Originally Posted By: 1badshee I wouldn't be to happy about a smith cutting my barrel without other things being verified first and would look into another for further work.
Yip, I agree. For other reasions I have since come to the conclusion that this particuler smith is not qulified for even the simpelist of jobs. We do not have many options in this area.
 
Originally Posted By: MGYSGTDoubt that his one cleaning job ruined the bore. Hopefully he cleaned it from the chamber end. If he cleaned it from the bore end, he could have dinged a land or the crown. Easy fix. About $80 to cut and recrown a barrel. The real possibility, is that the action may be positioned slightly different than before cleaning. Take it out and reseat it. Bedding can make a big difference and will keep that from happening again. There is also the possibility that your rifle likes to have a fouled bore. Have seen that a time or two.
He did clean it from the bore end and I did have the barrel cut and recrowned. As I mentioned, when we looked at the bore it apeared that 1 of the rifelings was wore down. I thought he may have pushed the rod to one side several times and damaged it.
 
Was the rifle barrel free floated before the cleaning job? If not it maybe the pressure points and the amount of pressure on the barrel are different now which may be your problem.

Have you checked if the barrel is touching the stock now If it had been free floated before the cleaning?

Just tossing it out for added conjecture.

Some like to just float enough to get a dollar bill to clear.
Myself I like more clearance.
 
I would seriously doubt that cleaning the rifle one time damaged it in any way. I would be more inclined to believe that the rifle is sitting in the stock differently than it was before. The main reason for glass bedding is to make sure the action doesn't shift in the stock. May also be the scope has gone T.U.
 
Thanks. I do have two boxes of Acuglass I could float the barrel I just wanted to make sure before I did. Maybe I should take it off the action and reinstall. Whatever happened, happened overnight all at once when he cleaned it.
 
Just a comment - on the 3 screw CRF actions, many guys report a sweet spot in action screw tightening with the front one "tight", the rear one a bit less so, and the middle one tightened last to "just snug". Really technical, I know - a search may show actual ft-lbs working for these guys or recommended. Seems laying with the middle screw tension affects these the most - less so if thoroughly bedded. Rugers and Winchesters mostly here.
 
if it is in a wood stock that could be your problem.you already recrowned it and cut an in. off that could mean you need to change the load the harmonics of the barrel are now changed.try changing the load a tenth of a grain each way.
 
If the magazine box is cocked on an edge putting upwards pressure on the action, it will ruin the accuracy.

Over torqe on the center screw will pull the center of the action down, putting a lot of stress on the action.

I hope that your son did not use a stainless steel brush on the bore, if he did, your barrel is ruined.

One cleaning will not ruin the bore if the rod is rubbing the bore.

Your magazine box should be loose between the floor plate and the action, may take a bit of filing.

Sounds like there is a bind and the action is not sitting flush in the stock and perhaps the recoil lug is not seated flush against the stock.

I'm just guessing here since I don't have the rifle in my hands.

Good luck!
 
Originally Posted By: nastynatesfishSince he's serving, that mean he's old enough to beat and not have child protective services called if nothing else lol.
LOL, I could try but he is one tough cookie at 6'3" and strong as a ox.
 


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