Off target at 200 yards?

S

Shep546

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Hey guys,

For starters I am not much of a precision shooter. I recently purchased a .223 remington bolt gun and I put a leupold 3-9x40 on it. I do my own hand loadings and am using 55gr v-max with a 24.5gr charge of H335.

Today at the range something weird happened.

I sighted in the rifle easily at 100 yards and could hit the center of the target with ease. When I changed to the 200 yard lane my grouping shifted quite a bit.

Where it was dead on bulls-eye at 100 yards, at the 200 yard it was about 8" low and 6" to the left consistently. There was only a very slight crosswind hardly enough to move the flag.

I find that to be a very big drop and I didn't think even with little 55 grainers they would be tossed around that easily?

Has anybody else experienced something like this?

Thanks.
 
I'm thinking it may be scope cant as I just installed the scope today... I'll have to check the levels tomorrow and see if thats the issue.
 
point of impact will not change as much as you describe from 100 to 200 yrds because of cant. Have you checked your parallax setting. set your rifle up so the rifle cant move , look through the scope at the target , move your head slightly from side to side and up and down. while doing this the cross hairs should remain on target if the crosshairs move then your parallax is not set properly.
 
Make sure nothing has come loose. Check the base bolt too. Alot of companies use this super effective rust preventative. If you dont get it out, scope base screws will not stay tight. Hose the action down with aersol brake cleaner. blow those holes out well. then must wipe oil on the outside of the receiver leaving the threads dry.

Are the bases a good fit on the receiver? any wiggle/wobble? Some receivers are not true so you need to confirm your base(s) are sitting properly or it will twist your scope.

how is the fit on the rings? tight?

Did you bed your rifle? Action moving around? check for loose stuff. It happens all too easily.

Use sand bags or a pedestal (solid) front rest. folding Bipods move around and unless you are well versed at shooting them, can cause a world of headaches. Start with stable and solid to ensure all is working as desired then move to whatever set up you want to play with.

Odds are something is loose...

Jerry
 
Hey Jerry,

Thanks for the tips however I'm not sure if it's an issue with something loose as when I returned to the 100yard range it was shooting fine again? I will have to go over the scopes manual and make sure the parallax was adjusted correctly.
 
Try 50, 100, and 200, then report back. I'm guessing you're dead on at 100, off to one side at 200 and off to the other side at 50?
 
could it be a severe case of bullet runout since its hand loads? would they start to flop around enough to go that far to the side? i know my axis in .223 drops about 2 inches from 100 to 200y

maybe try some off the shelf ammo and see what the results are
 
I know with my 53gr vmax loads i need almost 4 moa or adjustment up form 100 zero to 200 yards zero. My chrony says they are about 3040fps. My berger 77gr bt loads are ~2680 and they only need 2.2 moa at 200 yards from a 100 yard zero
 
The bullet is optimal for the barrel twist...

Doubt its bullet runout as they pattern good at 100 yards, about 1 or 1.5 moa (I am not a bench shooter) and at the 200 yard they group in about 2-3"
 
Have you had a chance to test out any of these theories? I am interested in what fix you find as I am in the same boat.
 
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