Remington 700 BDL 243. Patterns all over the place

[Nutfarmer]

No keyholes just a wide spread. When time permits I plan on taking a chamber cast to start with. Then glass bed the action and see if that helps. Last resort is to rebarrel the gun.

 

[pontiac428]

I've never cast a chamber because I don't shoot or collect antiques that need that sort of attention. Measuring the leade with a COL gauge, pin gauging the neck, headspace gauging, bore scoping the throat, and inspecting the crown pretty much covers all you need to know to load for and shoot the barrel. If the chamber is somehow out of print, neck size only on the brass will negate any issues without resorting to attempting to measure a cast slug by hand (it's a comparator job). The neck on factory barrels is usually at the max, and box ammo is usually near the min, so that has an effect on how tight you can group, but won't be the sole cause of shotgun pattern groups. If it doesn't shoot a 75 grain bullet with the COL within -.015/+.005 of the lands, and you know the crown is good, then do the rebarrel. There isn't much more to it in my opinion. Bottom line simplified is there is a mechanical problem (action screws, bedding, scope assy) going on, the barrel is shot out (throat), or there is a pretty big ammo mismatch. If it doesn't have loose screws or a smooth throat as acquired, my money is on the ammo. Factory barrels aren't premium match barrels, but they're not total junk and can shoot well when set up right, usually. Ok, let me qualify that- I feel pride and satisfaction when bringing a factory barrel in consistently under a minute of angle, maybe even content at .75 (5-shot). But I feel giddy as a schoolgirl and run around with a stupid grin just breaking in a new Krieger. So it's a spectrum.

 

[Rick Leslie]

I'm pretty sure that I worked on a few that had a small screw behind the mag but in front of the trigger guard.

 

[Rick Leslie]

There is no middle screw on a Remington 700.

#11 above.

 

[pontiac428]

The ADL has a small screw, also used for some BDL mag boxes. It's smaller and not an action screw exactly (low torque). So you're both right.

 

[wildcatter]

One of the most common problems i have run into is faulty scopes. I would suggest swapping on a KNOWN good scope.

 

[Harry Knutz]

The ADL has a small screw, also used for some BDL mag boxes. It's smaller and not an action screw exactly (low torque). So you're both right.

Yes the ADL has the screw for the trigger guard, But it is not an action screw. It also has a small screw that holds the mag box to the action but has nothing to do with bedding or torquing the action screws.

 

[Rick Leslie]

It made a difference on some of the ones I worked on. I haven't had a 700 in the shop in many years, but I do recall several that when the screws were properly seated and retorqued, the groups tightened with no other changes. My use of the term 'action' screws was general, since they all are in the general area.
My main point was that it may be a simple fix. Generally when groups are random, there's a loose or improperly seated component involved. When troubleshooting, I always start with the easiest and/or cheapest fix first.