Vertical stringing fix?

S

spfld

Guest
I have a Howa in 22-250 with sporter weight barrel that strings shots vertically. Action is bedded. When the barrel is free floating three shots land about 1" apart for a 3" total vertical separation. With moderate to heavy forend pressure applied the stringing is reduced but still is in the 1" range. Probably many reasons for this problem. Being a used gun I have no real idea of it's history but the bore looks great with clean sharp rifling. Would re-cutting the muzzle be of any help even though I see no damage to it. Beginning to wonder if this is simply a bad barrel.
 
Still sounds a bit like bedding to me. Are the action screws torqued properly? Howa has very good customer service, or they did the last time I spoke with them. I had a 22-250 varminter that shot horribly. I went through the gun carefully and saw nothing to cause it but suspected the barrel. I called them up, and they had me send it to them...got a call in a couple of weeks saying a new gun would be shipped out. Worth the call. The replacement was a good shooting rifle. Re-crowning is a cheap and easy enough fix if it takes care of it, but will likely void the warranty.
 
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Odds are that you have a bedding problem. I suggest trying a pillar bed job.
 
With a sporter weight barrel in a .22-250 I'd be willing to bet that the barrel is bending slightly as it heats up, and a .22-250 will heat up a light barrel very easily. I had a friend who had a Sako in .284 that did the same thing. He installed a heavier barrel on it, still sporter weight but heavier, and it shot very well for him.

If as others have said you should check the easy stuff like bedding and action screws, and Howa's customer service and nothing helps it's likely the barrel. Most factory barrels are "straightened", and tend to want to resume their pre-straightened shape when they get warm.

Another thing to check is the bearing of the locking lugs. Apply magic marker to the rear of each lug, drop a fired case into the chamber, and close the bolt. Open the bolt and examine the rear surfaces of the locking lugs. If one is making good contact, and the other isn't making contact or barely making contact that could be the problem too.

The reason this rifle has a good looking bore and seems to be in great shape may be that the original owner couldn't get it to shoot either.
 
Thanks for all the tips. To answer some suggestions, the lugs have been lapped. I gave thought to one of the bedding block stocks but decided against it being this rifle is just a low end model and it would be an expensive gamble. As a last resort I probably will get a pillar bedding kit and see if that helps. Otherwise that barrel is coming off. I really like the Howa action so it will possibly come back as a .308 varmint weight rifle as I have a Douglas XX 27" blank.
I'm not sure that Howa would honor a warranty on a non original owner rifle plus the fact the lugs have been lapped (should they notice) would be a definite no-no for the warranty.
Finally, yes I tend to agree this barrel was probably a bummer right from new and the PO traded it off.
 
spfld said:
Thanks for all the tips. To answer some suggestions, the lugs have been lapped. I gave thought to one of the bedding block stocks but decided against it being this rifle is just a low end model and it would be an expensive gamble. As a last resort I probably will get a pillar bedding kit and see if that helps. Otherwise that barrel is coming off. I really like the Howa action so it will possibly come back as a .308 varmint weight rifle as I have a Douglas XX 27" blank.
I'm not sure that Howa would honor a warranty on a non original owner rifle plus the fact the lugs have been lapped (should they notice) would be a definite no-no for the warranty.
Finally, yes I tend to agree this barrel was probably a bummer right from new and the PO traded it off.
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FWIW, I thought about warranty issues when I read that it was bedded, not knowing if it was done at the factory or later. You didn't mention the lugs had been lapped until now, but maybe they will notice that it was done, properly or improperly. Either way, they would have the option on how it is dealt with and I wouldn't assume that they wouldn't be helpful. The rifle that I mentioned was bought new. It came with a piece of paper that screamed, in big red letters, that the gun had no warranty, expressed or implied. Reason being liability assumed with a warranty on a product. That didn't change the fact that they were most helpful in my case. Maybe someone should have called them earlier, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's too late. A warranty is only as good as the people behind it and denying warranty because the lugs were lapped(properly) would simply be a scapegoat for getting out of taking care of their customer. If their cs is good, and the person that inspects it knows anything about guns, it's very easy to determine if the lugs were lapped to the point of doing damage. If so, they'd have every right to deny the warranty claim. Another FWIW...there is no proper way to lap lugs. Lapping lugs should only be done to check the contact, not fix it.
So, my experience with them was very good. The person that I spoke with was very knowledgeable and happy to take care of a problem with one of their guns. YMMV.
 
Lugs were lapped with a Brownells kit though I did have to make a thread sleeve to fit the metric threads of the Howa receiver because Brownells does not offer one for it. Easy enough to do useing the ones supplied with the kit for all other dimensions. Only lapped until both lugs were bearing equally which is, after all, the purpose of lapping. Reinstalled barrel and headspace was nearly unchanged, all gauges checked out good. As an afterthought one thing I didnt check was chamber alignment with the bore. Oh well, when the original barrel comes off for replacement I can check it. As for warranty I do believe my rifle has been "messed with" too much and would be a waste of postage and time. I already have the stock set up in my Bridgeport vertical mill and have begun opening up the action screw holes for pillars, which when done will be a plus even if I rebarrel it.
 
With the front action screw in the bottom of the lug, and that at the front of the action, even with a good bedding job, tightening my stress the action, due to lack of support in front of the screw. Try bedding an inch of barrel to compensate.
 
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