Son, Thanks for your rely.

I don't use the sling. Lately I've been shooting off of three sandbags. I'm going to take your and Peter's advise about warming it up first with 5 shots and I'm then going to hold consistently on the same spot no matter what. I've got some rounds made up using RE 15 and the Sierra 180 SP which has a flat base and I'm going to make up some more using lighter loads of IMR 4895, 38 and 39 grains in new Prvi brass, same bullet. I'm also going to take Thunderbox's advise about adjusting the lower band screw tension to see if this makes any difference. What about the screw under the nosecap? That one seems to be spring loaded too.

Was a rifle test fired as part of an FTR?

I'm sure there is some simple answer to this problem. As you point out about your rifle, these guns have a reputation for quality and accuracy. I noticed an old posting from Smellie who also indicated he had a Lithgowicon that shot groups which were 1 inch horizontal wide and 14 inches high vertically! He took the gun apart and found the stock was cracked. He repaired the crack and bedded the rifle and it then shot under 1 inch. Unfortunately I'm not capable of that sort of thing!