Just wanted to share something with the Forum. As a disclaimer, I am not a handloader, long range shooter, etc. I hunt and just want to make sure my rifles shoot better than I am capable of shooting so that I can take a 300-350 yard shot if I have a good rest.

I have a TC ProHunter and have multiple barrels. One barrel is a SS 30-06 and I was having a heck of a time getting the barrel to shoot tight groups. I tried different loads, read about having the barrel cut down, lapping the barrel because TC doesn't have great barrel quality control, etc. So I more or less gave up on the barrel and set it aside last season.

As attempt to try a simple fix (and address the possibility that the harmonics of the barrel were the issue) I purchased a Limbsaver Sharpshooter X-Ring. See Link below

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/1945158009/limbsaver-sharpshooter-x-ring-standard-barrel-rubber

I put it on the barrel about an hour ago and fired 7 shots ...first shot (out of a clean barrel) was about an inch low, next 5 of them were all touching each other (one big hole) about an 1 1/2 above the bullseye, last one was in the bullseyes..and I think that was me rushing it. AS an FYI I was using Hornady Superperformance 150gr SST ammo.

I have a hunt coming up so I will be shooting groups from my Remington 270 Mountain Rifle and the TC ProHunter 30-06 almost every day to see which rifle I am the most confident with. That said, I was very pleased with what the Limbsaver product did to the groups.....so just thought I'd pass it on.

It acts as a barrel tuner and harmonics reducer. If you play with it by moving it up and down the barrel when shooting groups, it can help dial in the ammo. This helps tune the barrel to the given ammo you are shooting. When working up a load, you are tuning the ammo to the rifle/barrel.

Tony,

You may already know, if you do this is for onlookers.

Doing that much testing before a hunt is something I really commend you for. Take notes. Where does the first shot land on a clean barrel, where does the first shot land on a fouled barrel, where does shot 2, and 3 land? You will find if your rifle likes to be clean or fouled. And you will know where your cold bore zero is. That first shot of the day is the most important one in my book, that is the hunting shot. Every week I pay close attention to where my CBS, Cold Bore Zero lands. Be it at 100 yards or 800 yards. I kill more coyotes a year than anything else, and I want to be successful at killing and not educating them.

I believe you were the one who advised me to not clean the barrel until the rifle "tells" me. So based on that I typically clean my rifles after the season is over and I am storing them away. When I first shoot the rifle I typically discount the first shot or two out a clean barrel and shoot the rifle with a fouled barrel. That's how I treat the .270 Mountain Rifle and my first shot out of a cold "fouled" barrel is right where I want it to be.....and the next few shots are there as well (as long as I don't let the barrel get too hot).

So my plan for the 30-06 barrel is to not clean this barrel prior to the hunt. 1 1/2" high at 65 yards (my backyard target) should correspond to a 200 yard zero. I will obviously take it to the range to verify. But I can shoot every day in the backyard which is a plus.

Exactly, that's what they tell you to do in the instructions and the positioning is very different for free-floated barrels. I was impressed at how well it worked in my case. I ended up about 3/4" to 1" from the end of the stock.