303 issue

jdawg

jdawg

Regular
Rating - 100%
8   0   0
today after a week of deer hunting i came across a buck in the perfect position for me to shoot. as would be expected i took the shot... and missed so i shot again miss he started running bang miss too short bang this time i aim above still to low wtf. right now i am mad because i never miss I've been shooting competitively in one discipline or another for ten years.

now i realize one discipline does not always lead to excellence in all disciplines, especially hunting but i figured it must be the gun, since i have moved three times since i last shot the rifle i thought maybe the sight might be off , not that it should be as the rifle has always been cased while moving and great care taken of it.

that being said i immediately stopped hunting and headed to the range to check it out. i set up a target at 100y and proceeded to sight in, shoot adjust, shoot adjust... i finally had the shot where i was happy and because it would be dark before i got to the deer anyways i decided to set out a target at 200y. fist shot proper elevation a few inches to the left, second shot few inches lower, third even lower like a foot low and i know its not me.

the rifle is a parker hale 303 with the beautiful monte carlo walnut stock (from what i understand parker hale picked the best of the 303's for their guns.but I'm not sure)it likes hornady ammunition.
as a scope it is wearing a tasco pronghorn 3-9x40.


so what do you guys think is it the rifle, is it the scope? what should i do?

i have another scope it is a bushnell trophy 3-9x40 it came with the house i just moved into (previous tenants were evicted because they skipped town and left tons of garbage and stuff in the house landlord said i could have it.) it has some black paint on it that is kind of patchy and gross.
how can i tell if this scope is any good? should i just blindly install this scope, should i buy a new scope?

i would love to buy a new rifle and scope but it turns out you have to pay for weddings.

thanks for listening hopefully i can salvage the rest of the season.
 
Once my grandfather told me after I recounted a miss that I thought I should have made, and couldn't explain my failure, that: "If you ain't never missed, you ain't done much shooting."

Sometimes you just miss. Now there MAY be some equipment failure, or other "logical" explanation, but don't rule out the idea that you may have just missed. You need to scientifically examine all the possible explanations.
 
Sounds like the scope is loose or pooched. Try the Bushnell & see what happens. make sure everything is tight. Once you get it sighted in & shooting consistently ...... then go hunting.
 
jdawg said:
but i figured it must be the gun, since i have moved three times since i last shot the rifle i thought maybe the sight might be off , not that it should be as the rifle has always been cased while moving and great care taken of it.
Click to expand...
I think a few pre-season shoots might have uncovered this problem and avoided this. I try to shoot my hunting rifles several times throughout the summer and early fall before the season. Builds confidence and confirms performance.

jdawg said:
that being said i immediately stopped hunting and headed to the range to check it out. i set up a target at 100y and proceeded to sight in, shoot adjust, shoot adjust... i finally had the shot where i was happy and because it would be dark before i got to the deer anyways i decided to set out a target at 200y. fist shot proper elevation a few inches to the left, second shot few inches lower, third even lower like a foot low and i know its not me.
Click to expand...
Sounds like a scope or mounts problem. Check the mounts for function & tightness and see if the problem persists. Tasco scopes are cheap. Cheap scopes are disappointing. A used Leupold or Bushnell 3200 is easy to find on the EE and will give good service w/o too much expense.

.
 
Where are you? I'm sure that you could find someone to loan you a known-good scope to try.

Either that or a bore sighter... Check your alignment with the bore sighter, fire a shot, re-check... did it move? Fire again, how was the group? Check with the bore sighter...
See where I'm going?

I love my magnetic Bushnell bore sighter. Sight the rifle in, stick-on the bore sighter, make a note of the picture. Weeks later, get the gun out of the truck after a long trip down a rough road... stick on the bore sighter and check the picture... Trip over my own feet and tumble down an embankment, have the sling break while I'm on my motorcycle... stick the bore sighter on, and confirm that everything is Ok... or not.
 
wow!! You moved 3 times, didn't confirm your zero from last year, and have a cheap scope. I am a cheap bast@rd and still won't use a Tasco scope!
You indicate that you shoot competitively for the past 10 yrs but it doesn't occur to you to your zero after moving 3 times and not using the rifle since last season.
You indicate that you shoot competitively but have a Tasco Scope on your hunting rifle and your next one to try is a Bushnell Trophy. I, myself would use one of the high quality scopes mounted on my competition rifles, since I would know they are good and are much better quality than my spare Bushnell or the junk Tasco.

Your trouble, Sir, is that you ventured into the woods unprepared and luckily only missed the shot completely.
As SuperCub said, a couple of pre-season shots would have fixed this for you. As he does, so do I. I pick my hunting area in June. Select my fields of fire, choose the rifle I will hunt with, and then proceed to the range to fire 30 or 40 rounds from it in the various position I figure I will have to adopt while hunting.
As I was taught by a grizzled old Sargent-Major, "Time on the ground is NEVER wasted."
You failed to do due diligence and only had your pride hurt, you didn't lose an wounded animal. Count yourself lucky and start over.
 
I will guess it is the scope gone internally.
And, in spite of all you've been told;
1) Tasco can be a reliable hunting scope.
2) Any brand scope can come loose inside. I've had a Redfield and a Bushnell 3200 Elite go, plus I think I now have another 3200 Elite gone. Just have to prove it.
You can check the scope by putting it on an accurate rifle, or check the rifle by putting a known good scope on the 303.
 
rookie wildcat said:
wow!! You moved 3 times, didn't confirm your zero from last year, and have a cheap scope. I am a cheap bast@rd and still won't use a Tasco scope!
You indicate that you shoot competitively for the past 10 yrs but it doesn't occur to you to your zero after moving 3 times and not using the rifle since last season.
You indicate that you shoot competitively but have a Tasco Scope on your hunting rifle and your next one to try is a Bushnell Trophy. I, myself would use one of the high quality scopes mounted on my competition rifles, since I would know they are good and are much better quality than my spare Bushnell or the junk Tasco.

Your trouble, Sir, is that you ventured into the woods unprepared and luckily only missed the shot completely.
As SuperCub said, a couple of pre-season shots would have fixed this for you. As he does, so do I. I pick my hunting area in June. Select my fields of fire, choose the rifle I will hunt with, and then proceed to the range to fire 30 or 40 rounds from it in the various position I figure I will have to adopt while hunting.
As I was taught by a grizzled old Sargent-Major, "Time on the ground is NEVER wasted."
You failed to do due diligence and only had your pride hurt, you didn't lose an wounded animal. Count yourself lucky and start over.
Click to expand...

x100000000000
 
rookie wildcat said:
wow!! You moved 3 times, didn't confirm your zero from last year, and have a cheap scope. I am a cheap bast@rd and still won't use a Tasco scope!
You indicate that you shoot competitively for the past 10 yrs but it doesn't occur to you to your zero after moving 3 times and not using the rifle since last season.
You indicate that you shoot competitively but have a Tasco Scope on your hunting rifle and your next one to try is a Bushnell Trophy. I, myself would use one of the high quality scopes mounted on my competition rifles, since I would know they are good and are much better quality than my spare Bushnell or the junk Tasco.

Your trouble, Sir, is that you ventured into the woods unprepared and luckily only missed the shot completely.
As SuperCub said, a couple of pre-season shots would have fixed this for you. As he does, so do I. I pick my hunting area in June. Select my fields of fire, choose the rifle I will hunt with, and then proceed to the range to fire 30 or 40 rounds from it in the various position I figure I will have to adopt while hunting.
As I was taught by a grizzled old Sargent-Major, "Time on the ground is NEVER wasted."
You failed to do due diligence and only had your pride hurt, you didn't lose an wounded animal. Count yourself lucky and start over.
Click to expand...

^^ THIS!!!

I will add that the scope you found that was left for junk by the previous owner, would not be my first choice to put on any hunting rifle!

Please do yourself a favour and go buy a decent scope. Then test it for repeatability at the range before taking a shot at a deer.

This should be basic stuff.
 
I actually have one of those Parker Hale .303 sporters with the Monte Carlo stock. It's the most accurate Enfield I have ever shot and built like a tank. It's probably not the gun or the shooter.

I'd start by swapping the scope out, then try different ammo. If that doesn't work you should lend it to a hunting buddy so that you get all the kills.
 
jdawg, everytime that same sighting issue has happened to me, something was loose, usually the mount. Doublecheck everything. Let us know what you find out.
 
The scope is definately worth looking into, but I wouldn't rule out the rifle either.

Question: how much time passed between each of your final 3 shots?

My Uncle has a PH .303 (same stock too - not that it matters) and it is a one-shot gun.

Take a shot - bullet lands right where you told it to go. Take another shot a few seconds later - it's off by 3(ish) inches. Take another - 6 inches, and so on.

But, if you wait for 3 or 4 minutes between each shot, it'll drive tacks.

I can only assume that there's something wonky with the metallurgy of the barrel and as it heats up, different parts expand more than others and cause it to warp a bit. But I'm certainly no gunsmith.

For your sake, I hope it's the scope... My uncle's solution: leave it in the safe and borrow my .308 every season for the last decade...

Oh, and X2 on the pre-season warm up! And, if it's absolutely impossible to get out for a warm up, a bore sighter is $30 well spent.
 
kodiakjack said:
The scope is definately worth looking into, but I wouldn't rule out the rifle either.

Question: how much time passed between each of your final 3 shots?

My Uncle has a PH .303 (same stock too - not that it matters) and it is a one-shot gun.

Take a shot - bullet lands right where you told it to go. Take another shot a few seconds later - it's off by 3(ish) inches. Take another - 6 inches, and so on.

But, if you wait for 3 or 4 minutes between each shot, it'll drive tacks.

I can only assume that there's something wonky with the metallurgy of the barrel and as it heats up, different parts expand more than others and cause it to warp a bit. But I'm certainly no gunsmith.

For your sake, I hope it's the scope... My uncle's solution: leave it in the safe and borrow my .308 every season for the last decade...

Oh, and X2 on the pre-season warm up! And, if it's absolutely impossible to get out for a warm up, a bore sighter is $30 well spent.
Click to expand...

I agree with this post, mine is a 3 shot gun, after that it goes all mini-14.

You'll shoot 3 rounds into a 1.5 inch circle, and then all the sudden you think the rounds are just going through the existing holes, until you notice that hole near the top of the paper.
 
I've seen the Quickspin Kid, miss before in Cowboy Action shooting so I know missing is a thing he has done once of twice :):) Years ago when my Career mangler in Ottawa sentenced me to 48 months in Saskatchewan I managed to tag out with mulie and whitetail tags every year. The trick was that I went out and put over 200 rds through the barrel before I started hunting. Practice, practice, practice.

There is a Cowboy action match in Tompkins this weekend, rifle, pistol only. Hope to see you and the wife there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom