Rem. 700 Sendero Accuracy

[meander]

I recently purchased a Remington 700 Sendero SFII chambered for the 7mm Remington Mag. With the exception of adjusting the factory trigger down to 2.5 pounds there have been no modifications made to the rifle. I carefully cleaned the barrel after each shot for the first ten shots fired through the rifle. I then carefully cleaned the barrel after each five shots for the next ten shots fired through the rifle. Since then I have used multiple combinations of bullets, powders and primers to find a load this rifle likes. Bullets: Nosler 140 grain Ballistic Tips, Nosler 160 grain Accubonds, Hornady 139 grain Interbond, Hornady 162 grain SSTs, Barnes 160 Grain TSXs, and Berger 168 grain VLDs. Powder: RL22, H1000, Retumbo. Primers: Fed GM215M and Rem 9 1/2M. To date I have yet to achieve a 100 yard bench rest group under 4 inches with this rifle. I hate the huge palm swell on the HS Precision stock but in no way feel this is causing the accuracy problem. The scope is a VX2 3-9 with a target dot reticle.

What was this rifle manufactured to shoot? Does Remington have a specific factory load this rifle was meant to shoot with? If so what is it? As you can appreciate I spent a little extra money for this super duper "long range tack driver" and so far I'm very dissapointed. :confused:

[André]

Strange as I never heard of a Sendero not delivering accuracy. Mine is a SS .300 Win Mag and one of the few rifles I didn't tinker with (apart from trigger adjustment) as it shot sub MOA out of the box with most loads. With its Sierra 180 PH petload it averages .5 MOA.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/Othello041990/GroupementSendero.jpg
I would advise a check by a competent riflesmith to look after a possible bedding or muzzle crown problem.

[30-338]

First thing I look at is scope maybe change it to another and I'd want to make sure all the screw are tight plus check action screws.

What I do is buy a box of Rem factory ammo if that doesn't shoot call the factory.

I wouldn't spend any money on bedding etc that rifle should shoot as it.

[southtexas]

I agree with the others. Maybe put another scope on it and make sure all the screws are tight, including the action screws. But if that doesn't work, ship it back to Remington. Sounds like you have already expended quite a bit of $$ in time and components. That rifle dang sure oughta shoot better than that!

Keep us posted.

[Badger]

meander,

Welcome to the Forum; I see this is your first post.

It is a bummer to only get 4 inch groups at 100 yards. I would like to know how you worked up your reloads. As a control, perhaps you should buy a box of factory 140 grain loads and see if that does better than 4 inches at 100 yards.

Again, welcome to this site.

Badger

[meander]

I'm headed out to buy a box of factory ammo to shoot through it. I'll report on my findings. How would I go about sending it back to Remington if I can't get it to shoot?

[DancesWithKnives]

Call Remington and ask them for their preferred procedure. You might also speak with the dealer, who may be willing to help facilitate warranty service.

I agree with trying the factory ammo and checking the scope mounts first, then swapping the scope.

DWK

[Badger]

meander,

As a retired Postal Inspector who wrote the regs, a long arm is MAILABLE matter provided it is unloaded and properly packaged. If the postal clerk gives you problems, refer him/her to the Domestic Mail Manual (DMM). You can mail it back to Remington for repair/replacement legally under the Gun Control Act of 1968.

Any other questions?

Badger

[AK-49]

Meander, with a factory rifle you never know what you are going to get. I was going to get an HS Precision but for a little more money I can get a custom rifle by well known riflesmith.

[meander]

Okay. Went back to the hills today with a box of factory Winchester 150 grain Power-Point loads, and a few of my own reloads with Berger 168 grain VLDs. The setup was a portable bench with sand bags. Pretty stable overall. Shooting 100 yards. 0-1 mile an hour wind. Huskemaw 5-20 scope. The red dots on the target are one inch circles, and the target grid squares are also one inch. I'm shooting a little better than four inch groups this time, but I'm still very dissatisfied. Take a look-see and let me know what you think is happening.

This top pic is the target shot by the Winchester factory loads. Five shots at each dot, except for the top left and top right dots where there is six shot at the left dot and four at the right dot.
http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/medium/100_5054.jpg

This pic is of the target shot by my 168 grain Berger VLD reloads. Four shot at each dot.
http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/medium/100_5055.jpg

[AK-49]

What are you using for scope mounts? can you throw a leupold scope on that rifle and try it out?

[meander]

With the Huskemaw scope I use the one piece Tally base and rings. With the Leupold scope I use Leupold bases and rings. Same results regardless of setup.

[swamp]

With the Huskemaw scope I use the one piece Tally base and rings. With the Leupold scope I use Leupold bases and rings. Same results regardless of setup.

Have you tried the leupold scope with the talley rings?

what is your bench rest setup like..?

how much time are you waiting between shots?

Is the barrel bedded or free floated?

[kenjs1]

First thing I would check -as with most Remingtons, is the front pressure on the barrel. I would remove the barreled action from the stock and make sure it has only been touching on the contact points. Put it back together making sure the actions screws were in firmly - I know you should use a torqu e setting but I just tighten them almost as tight as I can get them with one hand. Give that a whirl - won't hurt nothing. I normally just end up free floating but it makes sense to see what you can get out of it first.

[skb2706]

I think you can't read a tape measure. I think operator error. Remington Senderos had no pressure pad and are free floated from the box. With all the other possibilities why would it just have to be the gun. Crappy ammo, poor scope/mount set up, poor shooting, bad rest, wind and .........all can contribute to poor groups.

[Hi Ball]

Generally speaking, I have never seen a Remington BDL or Sendero shoot poor groups! My 6mm Remington a forerunner of the Sendero shot under a 1/2 MOA 24/7. My friend across the creek purchased a 700 Remington Sendero a couple years ago and put a 4 x 12 Leupold scope on the rifle.

It shot 1.25 groups for 5 shots using factory ammo and then shot .765 MOA with my handloads. The caliber was a .300 Win mag using 180 grain bullets. However, as was mentioned, there can be several things that need tweaking on that rifle in order to shoot 1-MOA or better.:)