I did indeed make it out, but I think there is some issue with the side mount. Tried all three brands of ammo from my above post, and for the most part, could not get 5 rounds of any of it into 4+ inches. I thought maybe the old burris had kicked the bucket, so I rescoped with a 3-9x40 kahles from one of my brothers rifles and went back sunday. There was no repeatability at all. The smallest grouping I had put 4 rounds into 1.25 inch with a flyer (could have been me or the rifle) opening it to 2.5. The remaining groups shot into anywhere from 4-7 inches. I did not take photos of the targets, as after five 5 round groups on one target, it really just looked like somebody had hosed the target. I was shooting over sandbags front and rear, and even used a metal frame rest that supported fore & butt stock (some friendly dude offered its use when he saw my frustration).
What leads me to believe the mount may be the issue is the fact that while shooting over irons at an approx. 16" diameter "bullseye" target, still at 100m, I was shooting just as well as with the scope (a feat with my lousy eyes) With the mount and scope on the rifle, the mount seems solid with no play that I can discern. I tried tightening the lever on the mount one more revolution before sliding onto the rail, but it ends up being too tight to slide the full length of the receiver rail. I am quite disappointed, as I was hoping this would end up being a slick little coyote rig...
I am more than willing to accept any suggestions!
Cheers