Bad shaving in barrel

[Klem]

This, to me, is the interesting question.

I'm curious too.

Who organised this group buy?

How does the barrel shoot?

[Hollis]

This, to me, is the interesting question.

How do we find out? This is the barrel I bought from you. Could this be another optical illusion?

[Hollis]

I'm curious too.

Who organised this group buy?

How does the barrel shoot?

I bought this from one of Blunt Force's group buys. I have had great groups, great shots at 500 yards, but also some inconsistencies I am trying to troubleshoot. With my new loads I plan to shoot in next weekend I should have more data. In general, I really enjoy my setup but am trying to get most out of the barrel.

[BluntForceTrauma]

How do we find out? This is the barrel I bought from you. Could this be another optical illusion?

Theoretically, a photo from a bore scope would show what the bore looks like, including the lands and grooves. I suppose you could take another, more crisp and in-focus photo of the bore and also a photo of a different barrel you have and compare them to see whether an optical illusion is at play.

[Hollis]

I have an update after shooting out to 500 yards last weekend. I shot two 3 shot groups at 100 yards with 0.55 and 0.6 MOA. But I also shot two 5 shot groups that exhibit the problem I am trying to fix. The first group had first shot flyer (and I don't think it was cold bore) and the other 4 very tight (0.6 MOA) dead center on tiny target with a total of 0.9 MOA all together. I then had another 5 shot group with 3 shots tight and 2 shots tight but in different spots spreading to another slightly sub MOA group. When going out to distance (500 yards) I was unable to hit 4 inch center target after 5 tries. I also had some really horrible flyers when shooting at 450 yards but realized it was due to bent rail that was connected to my bipod as a result of me overloading bipod trying to steady reticle. I was extremely uncomfortable and I am placing blame on the inability to get comfortable as the most likely cause of my inconsistencies with the Grendel. I bought a higher mount to try out since I have a very long face and really was having to twist my neck to get clear reticle view. Let me try out new mount as see how that goes.

I was shooting great with my 243 and 6.5 Creedmoor rifles which are very comfortable and getting very tight groups at 100 yards and dead center bullseyes out to 500 yards (see video). So, I have the ability as a shooter to shoot straight and steady. Let me try to mount and report back.

But it seems pretty certain the problem is not due to a gigantic burr in the barrel and that was just the gas port.

Here's video of target I as shooting at out at distance. Grendel was disappointing but this is video of 6.5 C at 444 yards and followed by nearly identical placement on next shot at 500 yards. These were both first shots at that distance which is what I'm trying to perfect with all my long distance guns - to be able to go out to distance and know exact scope settings/hold overs to hit dead center first try. Making progress but still have a ways to go.

https://youtu.be/cHz793UYfSU

[biodsl]

Hollis...try single loading, hand feeding every shot on a few five shot groups and seeing what you get. I have a Lilja barrel that will shot five rounds touching when singled loaded but prints two distinct groups when loading from the right and left sides of a magazine. I don't pretend to understand why. I only know it's a function of the auto-loading function.

Second note: expecting a $130 barrel to shoot 4 inches at 500 yards might not be realistic.

[LR1955]

I have an update after shooting out to 500 yards last weekend. I shot two 3 shot groups at 100 yards with 0.55 and 0.6 MOA. But I also shot two 5 shot groups that exhibit the problem I am trying to fix. The first group had first shot flyer (and I don't think it was cold bore) and the other 4 very tight (0.6 MOA) dead center on tiny target with a total of 0.9 MOA all together. I then had another 5 shot group with 3 shots tight and 2 shots tight but in different spots spreading to another slightly sub MOA group. When going out to distance (500 yards) I was unable to hit 4 inch center target after 5 tries. I also had some really horrible flyers when shooting at 450 yards but realized it was due to bent rail that was connected to my bipod as a result of me overloading bipod trying to steady reticle. I was extremely uncomfortable and I am placing blame on the inability to get comfortable as the most likely cause of my inconsistencies with the Grendel. I bought a higher mount to try out since I have a very long face and really was having to twist my neck to get clear reticle view. Let me try out new mount as see how that goes.

I was shooting great with my 243 and 6.5 Creedmoor rifles which are very comfortable and getting very tight groups at 100 yards and dead center bullseyes out to 500 yards (see video). So, I have the ability as a shooter to shoot straight and steady. Let me try to mount and report back.

But it seems pretty certain the problem is not due to a gigantic burr in the barrel and that was just the gas port.

Here's video of target I as shooting at out at distance. Grendel was disappointing but this is video of 6.5 C at 444 yards and followed by nearly identical placement on next shot at 500 yards. These were both first shots at that distance which is what I'm trying to perfect with all my long distance guns - to be able to go out to distance and know exact scope settings/hold overs to hit dead center first try. Making progress but still have a ways to go.

https://youtu.be/cHz793UYfSU

Hollis:

A guy can shoot well in a slightly uncomfortable position. Sounds like yours was way more than 'slightly' but downright painful. Not much wonder your performance was poor.

Ditch the bipod, get the gear you need for a solid and comfortable position and try it again.

LR-55

[Hollis]

Hollis...try single loading, hand feeding every shot on a few five shot groups and seeing what you get. I have a Lilja barrel that will shot five rounds touching when singled loaded but prints two distinct groups when loading from the right and left sides of a magazine. I don't pretend to understand why. I only know it's a function of the auto-loading function.

Second note: expecting a $130 barrel to shoot 4 inches at 500 yards might not be realistic.

I'll give it a try.

Yes, I do need to set realistic expectations, but my 6.5 Creedmoor is a <$300 TC Compass and with the right handloads, I have no problem hitting that target very consistently. When I was first starting off, I was buying low-end stuff not thinking I would get as serious about this as I now am. I know that I'm going to need to save up to get a rifle with expensive barrel, but I still am doing pretty good with my cheap stuff and want to see how good I can get until I save up enough for a really nice barrel. But with the price of ammo and components nowadays, it might save money to buy that barrel now and quit wasting money trying to troubleshoot problems with lower end barrels.

[Hollis]

Hollis:

A guy can shoot well in a slightly uncomfortable position. Sounds like yours was way more than 'slightly' but downright painful. Not much wonder your performance was poor.

Ditch the bipod, get the gear you need for a solid and comfortable position and try it again.

LR-55

Yep. I was struggling, so fixing that issue has top priority on troubleshooting list. I was also fighting this with my 6.5 Creedmoor reading how it is best to have a very low profile scope mount on bolt action rifles, but if I can't shoot it comfortably, that is not a recommendation that will work for me. I replaced the mount with higher profile type and it made a huge difference. I shoot extremely consistently with it. I'm going to do the same now with my Grendel and hope to see an improvement.

[grendelnubi]

What is your load combination? In my way of thinking, if the issue you found with the barrel is the problem, your issue would be skater gun patterns vs flyers. I would look at the load. I have found for example, CFE223 results in very near to what you are seeing in my barrels, flyers... Moving to a different powder may change the results.