Well, its always nice to get a new barrel.
Problem is those machining marks have been there from day one and you stated the gun shot fine.
My quarentee is there will be another learning expierience coming in your future
Thats OK. Thats half the fun.

If that crack you found intersects the rear pillar it will definately cause problems. That is the weak spot in Savage action/stock design. I've fixed a couple wood stocks that split there. Never would have thought a plastic stock would split. The only plastic stock I have is a Sav LE-10 cheapo. It t...

What exactly are you shooting out of it? Factory Ammo? Reloads? Powder? It makes a big difference ;) Your predator should have a plastic/nylon whatever type stock. Never heard of one of them cracking but........ Did you remove the action from the stock or retorque the screws? Theres a specific metho...

I started with Wipe Out. Product worked very well but it is messy. When Patch Out hit the market I tried that. Works just as well with less mess although mess is'nt a large concern for me. A concrete floor with solvent spots is a happy floor. Both products work best on copper fouling. Not quite as g...

Motodog For some reason I got the impression you were just beginning to reload. My apologies if I seemed to be talking down to you. Dan's right the VLD chamfer tool is a must have at my bench. I use it on everything from milsurp battle rifles to full blown BenchRest guns. The 34gn dogtowns are The h...

CCI-400's are quite thin for the 204R. Try CCI-450, Rem 7.5 or similar thick walled primers. If you can find some Federal 205 Match primers they'll tell you if the rifle is at fault without masking any issues. They're just thick enough to handle any sane 204R pressures but thin enough to show proble...

Well, don't be dicouraged. Cleaning after every round means every round is a fouling shot. Even the Lord cannot predict where they'll go. Tac is a tad slow on the burn rate for what your asking in accuracy. Slightly slow ball powders really like to be pushed hard before accuracy appears. Not the bes...

Assuming that group was not shot from a clean barrel you should try increasing your COL in .005" increments.
That vertical should quickly disappear.

Yeah you have some nasty burrs in the chamber would be my quess also. Don't let this get you down. While I've never owned one I give full credit to TC for being the first to produce a factory rifle in the correct twist. If I were ever in the market to buy an entire factory rifle in 204R my allegianc...

Ahh Yup, been using wipe out then Patch Out for at least five years. Would'nt think of using them high content ammonia concoctions anymore. Have em send you some of thier Royal case lube wax. Just recently got a tub of that stuff and I'll probably never buy another Imperial Wax again. Stuff smells s...

close range is typically known as 100-300 yds. I'll grant the low BC of the 35 Berg will allow the wind to play more havoc with them especially out at 300yds. By the same token if your not paying attention to the wind your gonna lose anyway. Ever wonder why short range BR is dominated by low BC bull...

I've never seen one lot of 39bk's that could outshoot any lot of 35 Bergers at close range.

Ol` Joe wrote:Much too slow IMHO.

Actually its MUCH MUCH MUCH too slow

You would get no velocity, no sustainable accuracy and a whole lot of black sludge in the barrel.
Probably turn the action black from blowby also.

I once tried W-760 and thats much too slow.

Good God dyslexia strikes again. Was it 26.8 or 28.6 that once showed extreme promise with the 35's?????? Fairly certain it was 28.6. Either way save yourself some money, barrel life and heartbreak. N-135 although a perfect burn rate and excellent fouling characteristics will not work long term in a...

If you saw the video I once saw from a guy in Texas getting them cherry red hot and tipping them into water,,,,, DON'T EVER DO THAT!!! Fool should be in jail for posting such a video. Get some scrap brass from the range. Collect as much as you can from varying lots and SEGREGATE. No two cartridges, ...