Help !!! Can't get rifle to hit paper.

Curt

Curt

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OK. I will start from the top.
Dad bought a 1894M Marlin, (.450 Marlin) 18.5" barrel, ported. Put a red dot on it and sighted in and grouped fine for 50 rounds. Decided to put a scope on it. I had a 3-9-40 Elite 3200 laying around that came on a rifle I got in trade. I don't think that I ever shot with that scope.
He bought some Weaver rings and left the base on the rifle. We bore sighted the rifle and went to the range.
With the scope maxed out with elevation, the bore sighter reads 8 MOA high. This results in 6" low at 50 yards with no up adjustment. WTF???
Turning the elevation down, certainly works as we sent a few rounds into the rocks a couple of feet low @ 50.
Checked screws etc, everything looks ok. What the heck is happening. The scope elevation tracks ok when looking at the boresighter, but something is seriously wrong.
Anyone have any ideas. Checked all of the obvious with the rings and base. I generally don't like Weaver style rings, but they work for many many people, so I don't believe that they are the issue.
Could something have gone wrong internally with the scope with the focal planes or something? I am totally lost.........
 
25 yards is 4" low, 50 yards is 6" low. I thought that maybe the bullet had not crossed the line of sight, like you are thinking, but no, it is dropping at that point as proven by the 25 and 50 yard attempts.
 
The base and rings are mounted correctly. The base was never removed between the red dot and the scope. Only the rings changed. They measure the same height.
Why if the rifle is boresighted and confirmed that the muzzle and scope reticle are parallel does the bloody thing shoot so low? .450 Marlin is a bit of a rainbow but this is ridiculous........
 
I have found most bore sighters are crap. It appears your scope will need a shim or two under a base. Raise the rear base to raise your elevation.

Red dot "scopes" are not really scopes and have a lot more adjustment tolerance than a 3 x 9 scope.
 
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Noel, that is what I was thinking, but the scope tracks fine through the boresighter. I will be upset if the scope is buggered as I bought it on a rifle and the scope was in the price. Anyone know about sending this 3200 away to be checked or repaired?
 
guntech said:
I have found most bore sighters are crap. It appears your scope will need a shim or two under a base. Raise the rear base to raise your elevation.QUOTE]

Just use regular shim stock with a hole drilled out for the screw to go through? The base is one piece.....
Click to expand...
 
pharaoh2 said:
Bore sighters usually show you the opposite. If it shows you as being high, your going to be low. Is the objective lens hitting the rear sight?
Click to expand...

Yes I understand that up is down and down is up when looking at the boresighter Maxed out elevation up, shows -8MOA through the boresighter. That should be 8" high at 100, without considering bullet trajectory. A proven .30-06 that shoots 3" high at 100 is, -1.5moa through the boresighter, + 1.5" for scope above line of sight = 3" high at 100. Right?
 
Curt said:
guntech said:
I have found most bore sighters are crap. It appears your scope will need a shim or two under a base. Raise the rear base to raise your elevation.QUOTE]

Just use regular shim stock with a hole drilled out for the screw to go through? The base is one piece.....
Click to expand...

I'd use paper to start with. Clamp the receiver level and then start shiming until the scope rings are level. Then measure the stack of paper and you should be able to find what thickness you need.

We used paper to shim our 30 ton brake dies and it worked very well.
Click to expand...
 
get rid of the scope. if the .450 marlin is to much of a "rainbow" for you, why do you need such high magnification (9x) ? mine shoots minute of milk-jug to 200m just fine with peep sites. +3" @ 100 -6" @ 200.
 
My cousin had to send one of his bushnell scopes in to be fixed. Everytime he shot the gun .The lens inside the scope would slide a little. Never knew where the bullets would go.

Straight Shooting

Budweiser2
 
If you start shooting close and go back. One thing to consider being a 450 owner myself is the rest your shooting from(sandbags) and the recoil from those big canons. Your 3200 should stand up to them no problem. Mine was not easy as it destroyed a cheaper scope. But now it shoots great
 
Did the previous owner have it modified with a new parallax?

I would try the scope on another rifle and see how it does. If it is similarly low, you could just live with the shim job, but I would send it in to be repaired. You always have a greater risk of losing that zero repeatedly when fiddling with shimming or just removing for regular cleaning and storage.

If it does not display a problem on the other rifle, perhaps your boresighter is kaput, or the marlin rail may be buggered. I have seen a few examples (in magazine/online articles) of those recievers tweaking due to a big load. You are dealing with an absolute pirate cannon squished into a rimfire sized case after all. ;)
 
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Like Dennis said...shim the base. If it shoots reasonably but is low then a little shim stock should solve your problem. .020" or .030" will likely get you well centered.
 
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