Looking for a .308 reloader to verify bad Rem 700 issue-advice needed

[DaveC]

First of all more prayers sent up for Chew & his surgery later today & for full recovery.
With so many fighting tough life issues it makes my itty bitty problems seem unspeakable.


But... I need advice & come to the best for some quick pointers.

Here is the deal-
Last year I purchased a New Remington 700sps Varmint in .308.

This rifle has a 26” bull barrel and new “X-trigger”.

I topped it with Burris signature rings & a Burris Signature Series 4x16x44mm scope.

This gun should have shot decent groups, but the best I could pull was right over 1” with match grade ammo. (black hills 168)
In an attempt to pull a rabbit out of the hat I replaced the factory stock with an HS precision w/ aluminum pillar bedding. (this is where the 1” came from)

I dumped a small bucket of money in ammo trying to find what it wanted to eat.
Different brands & different weights, no dice.

Then I get a call from the coworker I had been giving my brass to (he reloads .308 for his extra long range gun) - he said the barrel is bad, brass won’t reload- has a bulge in the case & the neck. I’m not into reloading, but he claims the bulge in the case looks like it was shot through a semi-auto.

I took some of the brass to work and with a micrometer verified the case does have a rise in it.

I called Remington & they want me to pull the scope & ship the gun back to them. (on my dime) and see if it is worthy of warranty work.

What I would like is a second opinion on the brass before I go through the hassle of pulling my scope & base & shipping this gun back.
I hate the thought of setting it up once again, but will do so if that is what’s needed.

The coworker says I should take the opportunity to replace the barrel with a custom barrel (~$500 total) , but right now I’d rather just cut my losses and start over with something else.

In the end, shipping cost, reset up time & more ammo cost isn’t too big of a deal; I just don’t want to do it without knowing what the gun needs up front- a leg to stand on with Remington if you will.

Any gun advice or someone willing to look the brass over for a second opinion? I can mail out asap.

Thanks,
DaveC

[bentstk]

Call Remington back and see if they have an authorised warranty rep. in your area. You might even call Carter's, I think they are, but Rem can tell you for sure. If the brass wont fit through a re-sizing die then the chamber was over reamed unless your guy is loading then too hot. Look at the primer, if it's flattened out the load is too hot. Some rifles don't like hot loads and that could also be your patterning problem. What kind of speed are you loading for?

[Artos]

Dave,

1. Bedding the HS can really help. My vssf swift went from good to great on this alone.

2. Does your scope have an AO & are you correctly removing the parallax (do not rely on the bell markings for this)...very important in shrinking groups.

Would need to see the cases before I could say for sure there was a problem with the chamber. If it is obvious and not denting up from the ejector dinking it.....you may want to see if remmy will view the fired rounds b4 sending in the gun.

[SCOUT1]

Not sure where your at but my advise would be to take it to Hill Country Customs in New Braunsfels and have him bore scope it. He can tell you in 2 seconds if the chamber is bad. If it is, he can fix it for you. I shoot a lot of 308's and they all shoot very very good so yours may infact have a problem like your buddy is saying.

Have you tried Federal Premium Gold Medal Match ammo?

[Devin]

Dave, I bought a new Rem 750 Woodsmaster last year and had jamming issues. I sent it back to them and was impressed with their willingness to work on it and quick turn around. I was a little ticked that I had to pay to return it, but in the end was happy overall.

I'd recommend sending it back to them with samples of the cases. If these cases are as bad as you're saying with factory loads, then it'll be evident that somethings wrong with the bore.

Can you post any close up pics of some brass?

[SCOUT1]

one more thing, the parallax won't have anything to do with your group size!

[muzzlebrake]

Sometimes a scope just won't hold zero and only a new piece of glass can fix that. Abnormal case swelling can mean the chamber is off but it can still be within SAMI spec and if so they won't warranty it. As suggested, take it to a gunsmith and have it looked at. He can sink the chamber and throat, true the bolt face if need and tighten it up. BTW how does it shoot with el cheapo Remington PSP ammo?

[Cajun Blake]

Dave

tons of ways to fix the problem as this would be my suggestion

if you don't want a new match grade barrel installed, have a smith borescope the chamber and barrel

if it looks good, then perhaps some quality proven reloads should shrink your groups in 1/2 (Lapua brass, Vitavhouri powder, Berger bullets, Fed 210M primers, etc....)

if i lived closer i would do all of this for you for free to help out a brother

skim bedding the stock to barreled-action will also help

you may also consider having a competent gunsmith setting back the barrel a few threads and cutting a new chamber with a quality reamer ..... this should make all the difference the world

i would also consider cutting the barrel to 24" and having a new target crown cut

JMO and hope it helps

PM me if you have any Q's

[SCOUT1]

I agree with Cajun Blake, except i would go a little further and have it cut to 20"! Both of my 308's are 20" and they are exceptionally accurate and very handy to hunt with! Matt at Hill Country Customs can turn that barrel in for you and rechamber it with a "match grade" reamer which will give you a tighter tolerance.

[DaveC]

First off I’d like to clarify that I was shooting factory loads & the coworker was attempting to reload my brass for his personal use.

Sorry for the delayed reply - I’m working nights & am still not caught up.

Thanks for all the replies; it gives me something to work with.

Bentstk, If I get a chance I may call Carters tomorrow. It would sure be nice to know what I’m dealing with before handing it over to UPS.

Dave,

1. Bedding the HS can really help. My vssf swift went from good to great on this alone.

2. Does your scope have an AO & are you correctly removing the parallax (do not rely on the bell markings for this)...very important in shrinking groups.

Would need to see the cases before I could say for sure there was a problem with the chamber. If it is obvious and not denting up from the ejector dinking it.....you may want to see if remmy will view the fired rounds b4 sending in the gun.

2. Yes it does, but I was relying on the bell markings.

I’ll post pics of the brass, but I didn’t see anything wrong with them using my untrained eye.

Not sure where your at but my advise would be to take it to Hill Country Customs in New Braunsfels and have him bore scope it. He can tell you in 2 seconds if the chamber is bad. If it is, he can fix it for you. I shoot a lot of 308's and they all shoot very very good so yours may infact have a problem like your buddy is saying.

Have you tried Federal Premium Gold Medal Match ammo?

I wish I was closer to NB. A quick, yep it’s bad & this is what needs to happen to fix it would sure help me make a decision.

Dave, I bought a new Rem 750 Woodsmaster last year and had jamming issues. I sent it back to them and was impressed with their willingness to work on it and quick turn around. I was a little ticked that I had to pay to return it, but in the end was happy overall.

I'd recommend sending it back to them with samples of the cases. If these cases are as bad as you're saying with factory loads, then it'll be evident that somethings wrong with the bore.
Can you post any close up pics of some brass?

This is the third gun w/ issues I know of purchased from Remington in 2008.
Are we seeing a trend?

Great to hear the took care of you. Makes me feel better about shipping it to them if that is what I decide.

Sometimes a scope just won't hold zero and only a new piece of glass can fix that. Abnormal case swelling can mean the chamber is off but it can still be within SAMI spec and if so they won't warranty it. As suggested, take it to a gunsmith and have it looked at. He can sink the chamber and throat, true the bolt face if need and tighten it up. BTW how does it shoot with el cheapo Remington PSP ammo?

Good to know & that is my fear, I'll go through the joy of pulling the scope & swapping stocks back out only to have them tell me all is well.

The rem 150 sps is what I've been shooting most.
After the stock swap the only day at the range was windy & was getting some fliers so I put it up & wrote it off to the wind. So to be truthful, 2 would touch & one would be on the outskirts of 1 to 1.25".

I've been wanting to plan another day at the range to see what I've got, but when the brass issue came up I figured I had better get the gun right first.

Dave

tons of ways to fix the problem as this would be my suggestion

if you don't want a new match grade barrel installed, have a smith borescope the chamber and barrel

if it looks good, then perhaps some quality proven reloads should shrink your groups in 1/2 (Lapua brass, Vitavhouri powder, Berger bullets, Fed 210M primers, etc....)

if i lived closer i would do all of this for you for free to help out a brother

skim bedding the stock to barreled-action will also help

you may also consider having a competent gunsmith setting back the barrel a few threads and cutting a new chamber with a quality reamer ..... this should make all the difference the world

i would also consider cutting the barrel to 24" and having a new target crown cut
JMO and hope it helps

PM me if you have any Q's

Now we're talking.
The one thing I dislike about this gun is the goose barrel.
I thought I could make do with it, but if it was in the cards cutting some off would sure make it more pleasurable to use.
Do you have the equipment to do this?
I'm not looking for free, just don't want to get taken for a ride going to a smith I don't know (because that is how many I know- 0)

I agree with Cajun Blake, except i would go a little further and have it cut to 20"! Both of my 308's are 20" and they are exceptionally accurate and very handy to hunt with! Matt at Hill Country Customs can turn that barrel in for you and rechamber it with a "match grade" reamer which will give you a tighter tolerance.

Any Idea on the cost?
20" sounds stand friendly, but seems rather short.
Is 22" an option?

I can ship it to him instead of Remington if we're not talking too much dinero.

Here are the brass, some remmy & winchester BT brass-

Bear with me, I'm working on better pics......

[DaveC]

They all have the same 1/2 burned spot on the neck that only goes halfway around. To eyeball the brass I could see nothing wrong with my untrained eye. they all have the same scratchmarks along the case from when they were cycled.
the micrometer showed a bulge in the case.


[ATTACH]109120[/ATTACH]

[Osceola]

Is the brass hard to eject?

[Kiowa Scout]

I can get you in touch with a very good gunsmith in Waco that could do the work for you. He's my uncle through marriage. My F-I-L lives in College Station so you two might meet up and he could take it to him, if you like.

[DaveC]

Is the brass hard to eject?

Nope, smooth as butter.

I'd have never known that there was an inside issue ifn I hadn't given the brass away.

[DaveC]

I can get you in touch with a very good gunsmith in Waco that could do the work for you. He's my uncle through marriage. My F-I-L lives in College Station so you two might meet up and he could take it to him, if you like.

Thanks for the info, I'll keep him in mind.