I bought some factory Hornady 154 grain 7mm Weatherby magnum ammo a year or so ago and I could barely keep it on the paper. That rifle shot Weatherby ammo into less than an inch!

Several of my hunting buddies have had the same experience with Hornady factory ammo. All crap for accuracy. Go buy yourself some decent ammunition like Remington 150 grain Core-Lokts and have someone check your scope mounts and rings. If thhat doesn't fix it, there's always the next gun show.

From your post you say you have tried just about every brand of ammo so I suspect the problem is not in the ammo. I would look at the scope mounting system and the scope first. If the scope base and rings are solid I would try another scope. I reload so I would have tried probably 30 or more loads by this time. If the scope is good I would find a new home for the rifle.

Got a Tasco?

The VTR is magna ported it dosen't have a muzzlebrake. The only experience is with a .223 and it shot very well. I still suspect the scope or mounting system.

there are a multitude of issues it could be, not just the ammo, scope, or scope mounts...are the action screws adjusted to the right torque, does the action need to be bedded....and i dont think lighter bullets are the answer, typically heavier grain bullets shoot better through rifles. something to do with more surface area of the longer bullet gripping the rifling.

hengst pretty much outlined all the issues i can think of as well.

Oh man sorry to hear that. I agree with everyone perhaps you have a scop or mounting issue. I have a remington tlr and boy does she shoot. I would start by making sure the barrel is free floating. Check the screws and torque to spec call remington for the values. Make sure the bore isnt copper fouled. Every fifth cleaning use sweets 7.62 IN A WELL VENTILATED AREA! that stuff can get u real sick. Other than that its the scope rings or mount. I absolutly love burris signature zee rings the inserts hold the scope perfectly. Make sure you have a good base too spend a 150 on a good single piece one. Mine is a 20 moa from ggg tactical out of arizona. Im betting its the scope however.

As long as all screws are tight and you have a good scope, the next most likely cause of the problem is the bullet velocity. The vibration characteristics of each rifle are different and you have to find a harmonic velocity/bullet for each rifle. Some of my best rifles shoot 2 1/2 inch groups with the wrong bullets and sometimes those bullets are only 50 fps different than my best. Do that by stepping reloads. It can be expensive to do with factory ammo and you may never find a harmonic factory load. It is best to reload and use an accurate powder like Varget or H335.

If you reload, I suggest starting with Sierra Pro Hunter or Hornady Interlock flat based bullets. The top slotted muzzle brake exerts unbalanced force on the bullet as it passes the slots. This could more severely affect boat tail bullets so you might try flat base bullets first and concentrate your shooting on 100 yard targets.

If you get a an accurate flat based bullet grouping well, then test a great long range boat tail bullet like a 168g Berger or a Sierra Match King. They might not be quite as accurate as the flat base at 100 yards but they might still be better at 500 yards because they might straighten out consistently as they fly.

If that doesn't work, more drastic action may be necessary. The 700 VTR is poorly bedded and the barrel may wander from shot to shot because of the triangular barrel and it's less than ideal heat dissipation. The forearm provides pressure on the barrel to compensate for these.

I suggest glass/pillar bedding the action and free floating the barrel. Sand out the ridge in the forearm so you can slide a dollar bill all the way down the barrel channel. You can do this yourself pretty easily with a $35 bedding kit, a dremmel and some sandpaper. If it doesn't help or it gets worse, you can always add epoxy back to the forend.

The VTR is a rifle whose design revolves around the funky triangular barrel with a slotted "non-brake". If all else fails, put a good varmint or heavy contour Krieger barrel on that nice Rem 700 action and shoot lights out.

I had one of those back before I joined the Corps. I had the same issue, and when I checked to see whether the barrel was truly free floated, there are these little rabbit ears under the barrel on the stock that touch the barrel. Shave those off (use a dremel drill) and try Winchester 150 grain PP's. Mine shot quarter groups once I got rid of those rabbit ears touching the barrel with Wal-Mart Winchester PP 150 grain

I have a 700vtr in .308 as I have been breaking it in I have been zeroing it at 25 yard increments and so far it easily overlaps holes on paper. I initially broke the barely in with 23 rounds with a complete cool down and thorough cleaning between each shot. this rifle has been a gem to me and it is also my first rifle ever. i spent hours mounting the scope: because I'm new to scoped weapons and wanted it to be perfect. I want to be the issues not the rifle/optics. I have been using hornady steel match throughout the process and have had absolutely no issues.

hengst gave you some excellent things to check. In addition, research reveals that the .308 VTR comes with a 1 in 12" twist, and the optimum bullet weight for 1 in 12" is 168 gr. Also, I have owned several Remington 700's and to date, every one of them needed the barrel floated in order to obtain good groups. You might look into floating the barrel, I would do that before considering a bedding job. Regards

Well one of the many things I learned from the military about marksmenship is know your firearm and learn from it. Usaully when rating a grain amout for a round that is the max effective range which means thats the max range it will hit a target just hit not very much grouping. So if it says 165 grains that the max it should fire. So dont be afraid to go with a lower grain and remember not every ammo manufactor uses the same chemical mixture. Say you by a Winchester 308 165 grain and buy remington 308 155 grain you may get the same range but the remington may have better grouping at the same range because of a strong chemical accelerate charge of powder. Basically you shouldnt have to do anything to the rifle just read your manual and play with your ammo it takes time to figure out what works best for you and your rifle and keep a log of the weather conditions you are shooting in that makes a hugh differeince with temp, wettness, dryness and wind a lot of things factor so sit back relax and enjoy firing your rifle. Semper Fi.

I would check all mentioned and if it will not group after that... go to ebay and buy a take off replacement Barrel for under $100 in 308 Win, 7mm 08, 300 WSM, 270 WSM, etc... Then some cash to the gunsmith for a barrel change and action true. DNZ scope mounts are a step up from the 2 piece sets for some low coin.

Better yet, buy a Tikka and forget about Remington. After owning several 700's, doing the trigger job tuning, HS Precision stocks, torque settings, etc and then Good Glass, Nikon / Burris / Vortex Viper being the low - $400 end and Leupold being a good $1000 high end. Endstate a custom rifle build minus custom barrel for $1500 to $2000 after the build and work. Shoots 1/2 MOA zone. Or, Tikka that shoots MOA with factory ammo and if handloading- 1/2 MOA out of the box for $660. Remington better get with the program with it's cheap stocks and inconsistent triggers. They will be hurting in the next 10 years the way the market is going toward Tikka's T3 stainless. Tikka did it right. I would rather Remington spend the time and did a deal with Bell and Carlson selling it at $700 then the cheapie flex stocks it mounts it 700 actions on. They are failing in the market.