Savage 220. Terrible groups.

[glen]

I know this has been talked about a lot. But.
I got a new 220 and the only ammo I could find. Hornady 2 3/4” and federal 3”. I’m getting 8” groups at 100y.
so $1600 and this is what I get.
yes everything is tight. Yes I let it cool.
might as well throw a rock at a deer

[dean.f]

I've had that problem with 2 rifles, caused by flinching on the trigger pull and I had no idea I was even doing it. Would shoot maybe 2 on target then they were all over the place.

Just a suggestion.

[glen]

I bagged it front and back so it wasn’t able to move much and I was seeing 8” on the vertical.
I might send it back to savage.

[rick_iles]

I’ve heard guys say their 220’s like Remington AccuTip sabots much better than Hornady. My 870, 20g is the opposite. I couldn’t get a good group with Remingtons, but the Hornady 2 3/4 inch grouped very good. The 3 inch didn’t group well either. Trying to find rounds is the next battle….
Edit: Easthill Outdoors site has Hornadys in stock…
Canadas Gun Store site has Remington AccuTip in stock…

[glen]

I’ve got hornady sst 2 3/4. 250gr
And federal trophy copper 3. 275gr.
$350 worth.
It seems odd that these rounds are terrible but the accu tips might work perfect.
(On a rifle good ammo is 1” and bad is 2.5”. )
You would think another ammo manufacturer would tap the 220 market with something that works.
The way it is right now it’s not huntable for me. It’s a joke.

[gbk]

I bagged it front and back so it wasn’t able to move much and I was seeing 8” on the vertical.
I might send it back to savage.

Not bashing your shooting skills-just sharing my thought.
Bags will help You side ways-if all is set up right.Slugs and bags may not work hand in hand for verical stringing.Just saying.

One thing You may want to try is-press the gun down with Your left hand(if right handed)in the front on the scope.While pulling the trigger.
That may(may not)solve your vertical issue. Always on the same spot-always same pressure.Worth trying.
Only issue you may generate (if vertical stringing is minimized with this pressing down the gun to alleviate muzzle jump)that in the field ,you may start to shoot high while free handing the gun.If works-you may need to compensate for this then in Your scope set up.

Sending back the gun to Savage can be done even after this trial..........Try few rounds and let us know.

[glen]

It wasn’t just vertical spread. The groups were typical of bad ammo./gun. (All over the place)
I was only talking about the vertical because no way should it do that.
I’m very aware of muzzle jump. Especially in a slow moving bullet.
I’m shocked at how crappy it is. I’m looking at other guns now. Lol.
Thanks for your thoughts so far.

[spcamno]

All my slug guns (total of 5) won't shoot SST well some is just terrible and I am not surprise you got 8 inched group because one of my gun was not even on paper @ 100s (huge fliers)

Try shoot some Accutips and report back.

Also, due to the nature of the plastic fouling from the sabots you should scrub the barrel every 5 shots for optimal accuracy

[trimmer21]

Good ear protection helps immensely,too. Flinch is usually caused more by loudness from the report than by recoil.....believe it or not.

[sharps4570]

The frustration is understandable.

Based on personal experience with the Savage 220, Hornady SST generally doesn't perform well. I had bought mine in 2014 (non-accustock version).

Shot six inch group at 100m with Hornady 2 3/4in (vertical string too). Federal trophy copper grouped around 2 inch. Rem 2 3/4in Accutips the same. However, 3in Accutips were sub-MOA.

I will need to look that up again, but if memory serves, the Savage manual recommended using Rem Accutips or Federal Trophy Copper for best performance.

Even with Accutips, or any other ammo for that matter, group may (will) open up after a number of boxes down range - scrubbing out the plastic deposit will bring the accuracy back.

I hadn't shot the slug gun over the past few years since I more prefer to use an in-line ML. However, due to present scarcity of BH209 powder, I had recently taken out the Savage to revalidate zero and had the following experience (from a clean bbl, mine always shot MOA or better with Accutips).

All of that to press home the point - don't give up on the slug gun yet!

https://www.oodmag.com/community/sho...s-Torque-Specs