I've got a new Rem 700 CDL SF 270 win with a a Leupold VXIII. I've tried Hornady Am Whitetail and Federal Fusions and it's shooting 2-3" groups. Any ideas on why it's not shooting better or how I can get tighter groups?

Are you sure your scope mounts are tight?

mine like the Winchester Ballistic Silver tips 130 gain, at 100yd it's 1/2 to 3/4". Make sure scope mounts are tight?

Oh and deer don't like the Silver tips, every deer i've shoot with them either drop in spot or make it 25 yds at most.

Remove the pressure point under the barrel.

Bamabart,
Please clarify. I checked to see if it was free floated, and I could only slide a dollar bill a couple inches down barrel from end of stock

What are the groups doing/look like? Couple pix of the groups would be very helpful.

String up and down, maybe stock under bbl is riding on the stock and bouncing as it shoots/heats up.

Stringing left to right, basically same. Bbl may be bouncing off left of right side of stock.

Bbl free floating MAY fix the above problems, and usually has for me. But some rifles like a free floated bbl with a ~1" pressure point at the fore end.

Other issues can be loose scope bases/mounts, action screws are too tight/binding the action, recoil lug not bedded properly and bolt handle hitting the stock

There is also a possibility that your shooting form is causing the grouping problem.

there's your issue.
remington used to mold a bump in the front of their plastic stock forearms to provide slight award pressure on the barrel when the receiver is torqued into the stock (don't know about the wood stocks). silly idea. i used to mess with remington ADLs; always removed the bump, then bedded the receiver; free-floated barrel; voila, accuracy.
could be your forearm is pushing your barrel one way or the other. put some chalk or something else on your barrel that will mark when you torque the receiver back into the stock. pull it, then look at where the chalk is smeared. that will show you where undue pressure is coming from. carefully sand this raised area until it no longer touches your barrel. of course, this assumes your receiver is bedded properly ...

Did you clean the bore before your range session?

Ive never had a 700 group poorly.

Check your scope mounts as suggested. I have not free floated any of mine. They didn't need it.

Also, how is the trigger?

This^^^^^^^^


God Bless,
David B.

Every gun on the internet is a "tack driving" 1/2 MOA rifle. The reality is that very few folks can consistently do that. Before I started messing with bedding and free floating, here's what I'd do:
1) make sure you're using a solid bench with a solid rest
2) make sure it isn't you, let someone who shoots regularly shoot it
3) clean bore of all copper (dedicated copper solvent needed)
4) pull and remount scope
5) make sure action screws are torqued to manufacturers specs
6) check different types of ammo, some rifles are picky
7) only after I've eliminated the above would I start messing with bedding, floating etc.

Simple fix-sell it and buy another one. Problem solved.

I would recommend shoot off sand bags and do not use a lead sled or any other recoil reducing device. And my remmy loved hornady sst and Winchester silver tips but hated federal ammo.

well, it ain't gonna group right after you clean it. it will need a few fouling shots to settle in. oh, and wait at least 1 minute or more between shots so the barrel does not get hot. hot barrel=wandering zero ...

Why would a gun company make a rifle that needs to be "tweaked"?
I don't mean tinkering to get less than 1" moa, I mean just to make the thing decent.

This is EXCELLENT advice. Don't overlook number 5. I had a model seven that was shooting just OK. Changed the torque and it was spitting sub moa groups. If it was used, clean it good.

My late father n laws BAR was shooting 2 inch groups. I used a copper solvent and changed to leupold mounts. Now it shoots MOA all day.

They shouldn't globe. As I stated, my 700 rifles I have all shoot at least MOA with factory ammo. Any modern rifle should give you 1.5 or better without breaking a sweat.

Seems to be a common thread with 700 owners. They all love them for their accuracy...after they spend several hundred dollars to get them to shoot worth a damn. I don't get it either.

Man they are cranking out these rifles by the thousands. They don't take time to make sure of anything. If it needs fixing it's up to you.