Sounds like the scope to me. Any chance of putting a bore sighter on it? If you can, just open and close the bolt while looking through the scope with the bore sighter. That'll tell you if the scope reticle is moving with minimal pressure. Had a 4X Tasco that the reticles would bounce left and right just by opening and closing the bolt. Looked like the bouncing ball in a sing-a-long cartoon.
Frustrating range trips
- Thread starter heiner39
- Start date
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
I would be tempted to guess scope issues.
Good excuse to upgrade even if it's not.
Good excuse to upgrade even if it's not.
Quote: "and if you hunt dear sitting still and don't enjoy the scenery you'll probably get discouraged and start to feel negatively about your spot... in turn you'll probably start to move around too much and blow your chances... mother nature will try to push your buttons don't let her... but rather enjoy the surroundings without rubber necking ....next thing you know you’re in a trace/hypnotized and that’s a good thing because all your doing then is becoming part of a tree, rock whatever background your hunting in, you'll have a successful hunt whether or not you shoot anything because you'll know you did everything right in terms of sitting there without moving for most of the hunt......"
Wow!! Well said. That is so true.
I have had a lot of failures on range tests. Never a scope and I use some cheap ones, too.
The most common problem is the screws that hold on the bases. Unless they are Loc Tited, they can shoot loose, and cannot be checked unless the scope is removed. I cannot over-emphasize how important it is to Loc Tite scope bases screws.
A factory grade barrel fouls a lot on the first shot, and less so on subsequent shots. This fouling shrinks the group, but does not change to point of impact. After a shooting session before a hunting session, you could clean the rifle and then fire a couple of fouling shots. If you were planning to shoot a super long range shot, this would be a plan.
With a blue barrel, where rust is a big risk on hunting trips, which for me seem to be wet most of the time, I clean the barrel and then wipe it with oil, then before the hunt put a dry patch through the barrel, so there is still a very thin oil treatment. I hunt in the east, where hunting shots tend to be short. My longest kill is 125 yards. Most are 50 yards are less. A dripping wet oiled barrel would still work just fine.
With an average hunting bolt action rifle, the bedding and barrel will not take more than 3 shots before heat will shift the point of impact. This sounds like the most likely cause of your problem, assuming the scope bases are tight.
I have watched hunters zero a rifle by firing 20 shots. They have zeroed the rifle for a hot barrel. Unless it is a well bedded action with a quality barrel, it will shoot to a different place for the first cold shot.
Your idea of plinking with a 22 while the barrel cools is a good idea. I speed up the process by wiping the barrel with a wet towel. My home range has an indoor firing point, so it can be heated for the winter and air conditioned for the summer. Unless the fans are on, the air inside is dead calm. When using a scoped rifle, the barrel mirage (heat) is so bad after the third shot it is difficult to see the target clearly.
If you are shooting outside on a dead calm day, the same problem exists, but it might not be correctly identified. When shooting groups (10 shots) outside on a clam day, I try to use a fan to suppress the barrel mirage. Visible in this picture.
The fan is an 110v fan running off an inverter plugged into the car.
Wow!! Well said. That is so true.
I have had a lot of failures on range tests. Never a scope and I use some cheap ones, too.
The most common problem is the screws that hold on the bases. Unless they are Loc Tited, they can shoot loose, and cannot be checked unless the scope is removed. I cannot over-emphasize how important it is to Loc Tite scope bases screws.
A factory grade barrel fouls a lot on the first shot, and less so on subsequent shots. This fouling shrinks the group, but does not change to point of impact. After a shooting session before a hunting session, you could clean the rifle and then fire a couple of fouling shots. If you were planning to shoot a super long range shot, this would be a plan.
With a blue barrel, where rust is a big risk on hunting trips, which for me seem to be wet most of the time, I clean the barrel and then wipe it with oil, then before the hunt put a dry patch through the barrel, so there is still a very thin oil treatment. I hunt in the east, where hunting shots tend to be short. My longest kill is 125 yards. Most are 50 yards are less. A dripping wet oiled barrel would still work just fine.
With an average hunting bolt action rifle, the bedding and barrel will not take more than 3 shots before heat will shift the point of impact. This sounds like the most likely cause of your problem, assuming the scope bases are tight.
I have watched hunters zero a rifle by firing 20 shots. They have zeroed the rifle for a hot barrel. Unless it is a well bedded action with a quality barrel, it will shoot to a different place for the first cold shot.
Your idea of plinking with a 22 while the barrel cools is a good idea. I speed up the process by wiping the barrel with a wet towel. My home range has an indoor firing point, so it can be heated for the winter and air conditioned for the summer. Unless the fans are on, the air inside is dead calm. When using a scoped rifle, the barrel mirage (heat) is so bad after the third shot it is difficult to see the target clearly.
If you are shooting outside on a dead calm day, the same problem exists, but it might not be correctly identified. When shooting groups (10 shots) outside on a clam day, I try to use a fan to suppress the barrel mirage. Visible in this picture.
The fan is an 110v fan running off an inverter plugged into the car.
I'd say it was the scope. I put a new Leupold VX-II on it and got the results I was hoping for. The Legend has been sent off to Bushnell to see if they can fix the problem. I hope they can because that scope is only a year old.
After getting my new scope sighted in here's my three shot group. I'm satisfied with that from my hunting rifle as I'm not a "sniper" by any means!!
After getting my new scope sighted in here's my three shot group. I'm satisfied with that from my hunting rifle as I'm not a "sniper" by any means!!
