270 to ?

[Raifuru]

I have a 270 WSM Sako 85 that does not shoot that well. It also kills brass. The chamber seems to be slightly smaller than any of the dies I use and I have Forster, Reading and Hornady dies. As buying and selling guns seems to be the easiest way to lose money I know of, I am thinking of rebarelling or rebarreling and rechambering for either another WSM be it 30 or 7mm or 7mm SAUM. I bought the gun used, with an unknown shot count, and I assume WSMs are hard on barrels.

 

At present, I can get the odd sub MOA group, but it is not consistent. So far Barnes 110s or Sierra 135s with RL 17 or IMR 4350 are the best combos.

 

Questions are

Should a 270 WSM generally give reasonable groups? If so, I would probably rebarrel.

Would a 30 or 7mm give me a better chance of accuracy?

Is the SAUM a better bet?

Can Sako 85 actions benefit from a blueprint?

[Ronin]

It may be the barrel has had more shot than you think, WSM's are usually good for 1500 in target rifles (im talking sub hal MOA accuracy here) so should be good for half as much again in a deer rifle where MOA is acceptable.

 

 

The 270 is limited by bullet choice - you may not have found a bullet the barrel "likes"

 

Personally, I would re-barrel to 7mm WSM or 30 WSM to allow for a more varied bullet choice.

 

Theres no reason why an 85 wont shoot well, providing its not in that synthetic factory stock.....

 

Blueprinting,,its very rare that any Tikka , Sako etc will require anything other than bolt lug lapping when re-barrelling.