Help for a 6.5x55 Sweede

[WW1]

I need some help for my day...he has a short barreled 6.5x55 and has had it some 30 years..made a custon stock from Herter's years ago trying to get Mom to hunt..he still has the military stock also...has been thinking for some time now he would like to carry it hunting as at the age of 81 the 10# 06 he has carried for years is to heavy...ok here is the problem....he worked with it last year with a red dot sight and no luck for groups...I lent him a compact Burris 2x7 to try...he mounted it up and he and my brother took it to the range, and one shot would be 1 inch high then the next was I believe 2 inches high, the 1 inch low, then 6inches high...get the picture?...my first thought is beding as several others have tried it with the same results..they had handloads using 120 gr, 129 gr, and 140 grain...used several different powders and different loads, including some that guys who have the 6.5x55 and NO LUCK...he has put it back in the military stock and same problem...in the custom stock it is all glass bedded and free floated...weird thing is back when he bought it, he used to have excellent accuracy with open sights, and military ammo... also a strange thing is this rifle has been in a gun safe for years and only been to the range a couple of times, and now it wont shoot...I keep hearing how accurate the 6.5x55 is but it sure isnt doing its thing right now...I just swapped barrels on my old 243 and went with a 260 Rem but am almost afraid to try it....hahaha...any ideas, sugestions?... the only thing we havent tried that I know of is putting a shim under the barrel to put some pressure on it...he even bought new brass hopping that the problem had been when he uniformed the primer pockets and flash holes, and no luck...maybe it is the weaver mounts and rings the smith put on but it seems he tried wiht open sights also...anyway help me.....WW1

[Brithunter]

Hi There,

    Clean the barrel, and I mean really clean it :wink:  use copper solvent and folow the instructions. Once it's clean re-test it. You may be plesently surprised. :eek:

[Mikey]

WWI - the only thing you changed on that rifle was the scope.  The sporter stock sounds ok - those things don't usually go bad once they are bedded.  

I would really clean the barrel as Brithunter suggested, but I would also look to the scope and mounts to make certain they are tight.

The problem you describe does not sound like a 'load' problem, it sounds like a scope problem and the scope could be 'goin' south'.  You wouldn't have been able to get decent groups with the 'dot sight', they are condusive to target work, but the 2-7 power might not be as good as it once was.  You didn't say if he cranked up the magnification when he tried sighting it in but the differences in bullet impact sound like a similar problem I had with another rifle that just wouldn't stabalize the scope set-up well enough for good groups.  You may wish to try another scope.  HTH.  Mikey.

[WW1]

now an extreme cleaning of the barrel hadnt crossed my mind yet, so we will give that a try...as for the scope thing, you may be right.....I sent a second one over for him to try so we will see...the mounts and rings are my main point to ponder...I know others like the weave setup, but ihave had enough problems over the years, to stay clear of them...am wondering if maybe he has the rings to tight..I had quite a time getting that right on my 06 as after shooting a few rounds I would find the mount has moved...if I had been with him when he had the system put on I would have talked him into something different...anyway we will keep trying...the Burris scope came off a Remington model 600 in 308 and seemed to be working fine when I removed it a few years back... thanks again for the sugestions.....WW1

[fish280]

sounds like mounts to me. could be they never were drilled and tapped correctly, and alignment is askew. could just be loose mount screws. if it's still got sights, yank the stinkin' scope and shoot it off bags at 50 yards with a known load. betcha it shoots like a top. one other thing: double check the crown. could be it got knicked in intervening years.