New Rifle-First Groups-Not Good

[IDHUNTER]

I got a chance to take my new rifle to the range for the first time and the groups are....not great.

Rifle: Sauer S100 in 7mm Rem Mag
Scope: Nightforce NXS 5.5-22x56
Rings: Seekins
Rail: Nightforce
Ammo: Norma Whitetail 150 Gr.

I personally installed everything and am 100% confident that all screws are torqued to spec. Shooting off a concrete bench off of a bipod with rear sand bags.

As you can see the result are pretty erratic and groups ranges from about 1.5"-3.5" @ 100 yards. I understand that rifles have preferred ammo, but I wasn't expecting the results to be this bad.

Is it possible that a simple change in ammo would shrink groups to under 1" which is what the rifle manufacturer guarantees? Or does this seem like something else is going on with the gun?

I know that I am capable of shooting way better than this but just to be sure, my buddy who had just shot a .5" group with his gun shot the last 3 rounds in the bottom left of the target so it's not just me lol.

Thoughts?

 

[Antares]

Did you clean the barrel throughly first or just shoot it right out of the box?

 

[Runningwater]

I'd check on the screw torques if you are only 10% confident they are to spec! Sorry - sure that was a typo on your part. Tough call, my first guess's would have been the actions screws or the mount (which you've checked). Have you tried the scope on a different rifle just to rule that out?

 

[IDHUNTER]

Did you clean the barrel throughly first or just shoot it right out of the box?

Cleaned it very thoroughly. Owners manual made no mention of a break in procedure so I did not do any of that.

 

[IDHUNTER]

I'd check on the screw torques if you are only 10% confident they are to spec! Sorry - sure that was a typo on your part. Tough call, my first guess's would have been the actions screws or the mount (which you've checked). Have you tried the scope on a different rifle just to rule that out?

LOL, oops, fixed now, thanks! No, I haven't tried it on another gun. I'll probably try other ammo before I go changing scopes.

 

[Mountainrancher]

check the action screws and check the barrel is free floating all the way especially when it’s on the bipod. If that doesn’t help try a different load that could very well be what it is

 

[TxLite]

Try different ammo. My 9.5tw bergara does not like 150gr, but shoots 162-168 extremely well.

Edit to add- as stated above check your action screw torque as well

 

[Ryan Avery]

Change ammo

That Norma WT ammo is shit, IME.

 

[Chad717]

One thing I always do that you might try is I always test reloads or ammo on sandbags. I always zero my gun once I find the load on my Bipods because they will shoot different on them and I am shooting off bipods in the field but I find that I can always shoot a little bit better off of sandbags or something with a front rest. I do think you have more going on than just that like others have said action screws or bedding. Did you try any federal premium ammo? Or Hornady Superformance? I generally reload everything but in the past I have had good luck with that.

 

[TNKnoxville]

My Bergara and Browning XBolt shot Hornady ELDX, Federal Terminal Ascent, Federal Fusion and Barnes ammo well less than 1 inch. They did not like Browning or HSM ammo. 6 to 8 inch groups!

 

[Gila]

I bought that same ammo (150 gr) to break in my Tikka barrel. I used it because it was the cheapest I could find. I boresighted at 50 yards and just shot a few to get it on paper. Then went out to 100 yards to get close, not really trying for the tightest groups. The ammo fouled the barrel terribly until the 16th round then it settled out to just some fouling. As I recall the groups were crap but after the 16th round, I cleaned and switched to the ammo I wanted to use which was the Nosler Trophy shooting accubonds. Big difference in group size.

Tikka barrels are cold hammer forged and supposedly don’t need “barrel breakin” but what I have seen with my rifles is the barrel needs some rounds through it to smooth the bore out and you will then notice a change in the amount of fouling and the vibrations. But with factory ammo you never really know how it will shoot in your rifle until you try it. With my .270, I had to go through 4 different brands of ammo before I found a factory load that would shoot one inch. You will get a thousand different opinions on here because everyone does things differently doing what has worked for them. But I believe it is the ammo.

 

[huntsman22]

If I was shooting off a concrete bench, the first thing I'd do is get a bench height bipod. like a 6-9"......

 

[MallardSX2]

Trade your buddy rifles.

Or

Borrow some different ammo.

 

[Mr Drysdale]

I have a Tikka T3 SL in 7RM that refuses to group 140 or 150 grain very well but will group the 160’s sub MOA. I shoot the Barnes 160 grain TSX ammo.

 

[JFK]

Did you remove the bottom metal, make sure it’s seated in the stock correctly and torque the hex nut?

I’d ensure that’s done, try another type of ammo to rule that out, and if still doesn’t shoot get in touch with Sauer’s US office.

 

[DangerRanger]

the only norma whitetail I used was in a rock creek that shoots incredibly, but it shot great. I’d still try different ammo first.

Precision bunter

Federal hybrid berger

 

[Mike 338]

Not sure if you shot off the bipod but the first time out, I'd just be shooting off bags (no bipod). Bipods are often not all they're cracked up to be. I'd remove the entire bipod off the stock and try that first (the manufacturer doesn't accuracy test them with a bipod). Yes, double check action screws to be sure they aren't loose. Definitely try different ammo. Some guns like heavier stuff, some like lighter. The quality stuff (more expensive) usually performs better. That'll cost you some money but there's no way around it. The difference can be night and day and it's always premature to settle in on an option of a rifle without trying different ammo. If it's still not going well, I'd save 4 or 5 rounds of the best performing ammo and put another good shooter behind the gun just to see what happens. The problem probably isn't you but you don't know until you know. I've even seen guys ask the Range Master to pop off a few rounds on a target for this very reason. I'd clean the barrel after each trip to the range. You can use some lesser performing ammo to fire a fouling shot on a clean barrel.

If you've tried several "quality" ammo's and nothing does well, I'd get ahold of the manufacturer and send it in if that's an option. Sometimes it actually is the gun. It's also a way to flesh out the quality of the gun maker themselves. Struggling with a problem gun can cost months and massive cash on a problem that can't be solved by tinkering, only to hear the guy on the other end of the phone say, "why'd you wait so long".

 

[FOS373]

been there with a different manufacturer. I screwed around with scopes and different ammo. Nothing changed and spent a lot of time chasing they issue.

I sent it back to the manufacturer and they fixed it.

If it happened again, I would just send it back right away.

 

[IDHUNTER]

Thanks for all the replies. I just got some Barnes Vortex 150s and I'll give them a try this weekend and report back.

 

[Seeknelk]

I'd certainly try it on sandbags and no bipod first. Certain bipod/rifle combos can be jumpy on such a hard surface.
But I'd also try other ammo too, often the middle of the road ammo shoots best when I use factory ammo. Hornady precision has worked well in several rifles. You just never know, it may LOVE Remington core loc or something.