Free Floating 1500 270.

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I have a S&W 1500 270 caliber. It was made in Japan so that would make it a Howa I believe. Can someone tell me if it is worth getting it free floated or getting a new stock.

Thanks for the information.
 
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Are you having significant accuracy problems? This is a hunting rifle, not a bench rest gun. 3- 4" groups at 100 yards are 'minute of deer' and acceptable.

Realize that if you restock it, you won't be adding value.

If it isn't broken, don't fix it.
 
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Are you having significant accuracy problems? This is a hunting rifle, not a bench rest gun. 3- 4" groups at 100 yards are 'minute of deer' and acceptable.

Realize that if you restock it, you won't be adding value.

If it isn't broken, don't fix it.

Yes it is a hunting rifle. I will get a round over 4 inches out of the group on occasion. I just want to tinker with it to make it as accurate as possible.
 
Any decent bolt action should group better than 4 inches at 100 yards. Fliers are often shooter error. You have to be really steady and consistant to get those 1 inch groups everyone likes to see.

Scoped, I assume? Check all the scope mounting screws, make sure they are tight. If you have another scope available, it wouldn't hurt to try it so as to eliminate the original scope being the issue.

Buy a can of Outers Foamy Foul Out, and use it to clean the bore. Copper fouling can make a big difference in accuracy, and is sometimes hard to spot.

Make sure the action screws are tight. Run a piece of paper under the barrel, and slide it from the front to the rear. Check for spots where the stock is pushing against the barrel, creating uneven pressure. Eliminate these with a fine scraper, or by sanding.

Free floating a barrel is not hard. Some guns like total free float, some like a little upwards pressure on the barrel near the forend. Experiment. Forend pressure on the barrel can be created with a business card or two, and made permanent with a little bedding epoxy.

Try several different factory loads to see what the rifle likes.

Shoot from a bench rest, using sand bags, with the forend and butt of the gun supported. If you see movement of the cross hairs while you are shooting, the gun is not properly supported. Wait a minute or two between shots to keep barrel temp. consistent.

Most bolt actions can be made to shoot with these basic techniques. Howa made rifles are known for their good quality and accuracy.

Larry
 
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Have someone who knows how to check the scope for parallax.
 
Brownells sells a selection of scrapers that can make free floating an easy exercise. Don't go hog wild, if a dollar bill slides through the channel freely, you're good. Remember after you've floated it to reseal the wood in the barrel channel to keep moisture from getting in there and letting the stock warp. While the action is out of the stock, look at all the inletting and seal it, to include the checkering if that cuts through the finish. MinWax makes several poly finishes that will work fine.
 
Any decent bolt action should group better than 4 inches at 100 yards.

^^^^^^This^^^^^^

Any modern bolt action rifle in my possession only capable of 3-4 MOA goes down the road PDQ. In recent history even rifles of marginal quality can do 2 1/2 MOA with ammo it likes.

If the action screws and scope mount screws are correctly tightened I would first make sure that the scope is not twisted in misaligned scope rings. If that checks out A-OK, I would then try free-floating the barrel and glass or pillar bedding the action. If the rifle is mechanically straight, this should provide 1 1/4 MOA accuracy or less. If it doesn't, there may be no remedy financially viable for a rifle at this one's price point.

I personally own a .30-06 Weatherby Vanguard (Howa manufactured) stainless/synthetic which is a 1 MOA rifle. All I did to it is replace the OEM trigger with a Timney. Same action as your S&W 1500.

Bruce
 
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Personally I think you should just leave it as is. I recently purchased a model 1500 in 7mm mag. I cleaned it up as Cabela's didn't think it was necessary prior to selling it to me. I purchased 2 boxes of over the counter stuff, Hornady I think. I shot it without a scope because my model had iron sights. It was pretty accurate with just the irons.

I started reloading for it and ended up with a load that I was able to put 2 rounds in the same hole at 100 yrds. The third shot was about a pencil eraser distance from the first 2.

I also reload for 270 WCF and 30-06. The one thing that I have learned is that you can walk the aim all over the target just by changing the amount of powder and the C.O.L. I have seen one load hit low and to the left and then a different load puts it at a different place altogether. Try different hand loads to see if you can tighten up the accuracy before you alter what should already be a very accurate rifle.

If you are unable to find a good load that will give you sub-moa then you can work on floating the barrel or getting a new stock. It could also be your barrel. On my other post where I asked about a font sight hood one of the other members gave me the info of a gun in Texas. He also has barrels. I am sure he would love to sell you a new barrel.
 
I have one of these in 30-06 it's accuracy varies quite a bit depending upon the ammo and how the idiot who owns it is shooting it. I have gotten groups that 5 shots are easily covered with a half dollar (Winchester power point 180 grains) and with 165 grain Remington core lockt I have only gotten 3 inch groups. This is at 100 yards from a rest and a 3x9 scope. I think you should try it with multiple types of ammo before you do anything.
 
I think you should try it with multiple types of ammo before you do anything.

It should pretty much be a given that this must be done before making the determination that the rifle is not accurate. Ditto for checking for scope mounting issues. It's amazing how many inaccurate rifles improve dramatically after scope related issues are resolved.

Bruce
 
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30 years ago I bought my son a S&W 1500 in 270 Win. I mounted a cheap Tasco 3x9x40mm scope on it and out of the box it shot slightly less then 2 inches at 100 yards. He's hunted with it and killed everything he aimed it at with nothing else done to it.
 
Any groups over 1 1/2" @ 100 yards is unacceptable.

My '94 rem 700 in 338win mag will put two bullets through the same hole at 100yards. using new Winchester super X 225gr ammo.

My '72 mossberg 30-06 will shoot nickel sized groups to this day with my 180gr reloads. But I shot many rounds looking for accuracy. I even shot military FMJ to break the barrel in.

My point is it's accept the accuracy for what it is with new ammo or reload.

I use all bullet drop compisation scopes so the more accurate it is at 100yds the better.
 
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