Seeking Advice - Frustrating Day at the Range

ahadley

ahadley

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Ok so just to get things started I'm a novice shooter and I fully believe the problems I'm having are me, not my equipment...at least that's what I think.

I have a vintage Mossberg 144LSB bolt action with a heavy target barrel. With peep sites I can consistently get 1-3" groupings at 25 and 50 yards. With a scope I can do the same at 100 yards.

I also have a Remington 597, a baseline plastic stock plinker. My groups at 25 yards are a bit larger maybe consistently 3" with the odd flyer. But at 50 yards it's all over the place. A good group is inside 8"-12."

I'd like to think it's not the gun. I've done the tweaks and my 597 runs nicely. But holy crap it's all over the place. That leaves the stock and the fact it's about 1/3 the weight of the mossy.

I try to manage my breathing, trigger control etc. but I'm obviously not doing something right when adapting to the lighter gun. Any advice would be welcomed.
 
I dont know about the mossy, but I have a 597 as well and it should do much better than that. I'm sure the rifle is fine, could be the ammo, or the wind. Both of those will have a large effect on the 22's.

What ammo did you have? Did you try a few different ones? How was the weather?
 
Welcome ahadley!!
Congratulations on being able to admit you may be at fault with your shooting; not too many people can do that. First off you state that you are a novice shooter, do not underestimate the importance of that statement!! I will not judge your shooting, but in time you will and you will see where you were making mistakes. Even the most stubborn of people will admit that, after a few hundred to a few thousand rounds, they are shooting better.
Try making sure your rest is STABLE; if you are shooting off of a wobbly bench you're wasting your time. As well, try using shooting bags or at least some small and med. bags of sand or aquarium gravel(it works!!LOL) to shoot off of. And always try to have both elbows in contact with the bench for stability. Good cheek weld, squeeze the trigger, and a slow, deliberate follow through. Breathing is important but worry about that later; for now just be aware of what you're doing.
Finally, put LOTS of rounds down range and have fun!! Thats the beauty of shooting .22s.
Cheers!!
 
Thanks for the quick advice. As far as conditions go, I had the Remy and the Mossy side by side and switched a few times so although it could have just been bad luck with the wind, I don't think so.

In terms of a bench rest, I use both with bipods though the Mossy is longer so I will try to remember to watch my elbow position next time. I've had a variety of ammo through both guns. The bolt gun eats anything. For the 597, after a fair amount of experimentation I've decided it really likes the Federal bulk pack best, especially in the 30rnd mag. Oddly, in the 10 rnd mag it is quite happy with the Win 555 bulk pack stuff and actually gets slightly better groupings.

Keep the advice coming. I already have a couple things to work on. And luckily, I'm still having fun.
 
Are you using a scope on your 572? Is it broken ive had something similar happen before.
Also peeps are a little finer and capable of better groups if your using open sights.
IanC
 
my friend had a 597 that shot horribly. tried different scopes that are known to work and it still had really bad groupings. might be a 1/100 chance of getting a bad one i dunno, but there seems to be one every so often.
 
I'm not inclined to think it's an equipment issue but I get where you are coming from. Both guns have 3-9x40 scopes. It would be simple enough to switch them around and see if my groups improve.

Don't get me wrong, my groups out of both guns could (and hopefully will) improve. I'm really looking to tame my 597 so that it's at least close to respectable.
 
A couple of things:

1) The trigger on the 597 without modifications isn't very good for target shooting. Much like the Ruger 10/22 it needs the $40 of upgrades to shoot well

2) Ammo. You're shooting the cheap crap. Try some other stuff, such as CCI standard, Federal Gold (two different loads, try both) Lapua Club and some other match grade ammo. If you're getting fliers chances are it's the ammo with the rifle.

3) This is a big one and I've had a rifle go from pissing me off to something I love shooting. The rifle shoots phenomenal after this:

The screws that go into the receiver and stock. You need a firearms torque screwdriver which allows you to set the torque level. Depending on the material of your stock and if it has pillar bedding or not will determine your adjustment (settings are listed with the screwdriver). However the most important thing is that all the screws are the same. Also do this with the screws on your bases and the scope rings. Don't just tighten them by hand and think you're good to go. Chances are you're not.

4) Failing that it could be the scope. I've had a scope go and had accuracy go to crap.

These are the suggestions from cheapest/most likely to be the problem fixes to the less common more expensive fixes.
 
I shoot a Mossy 144 also and it loves the cheap Winchester ammo. tried the more expensive stuff but found it too expensive and not right for my gun. The gun is very capable of long shots out over 200 yards and I have done some gopher shooting with it at those distances. Using a 6-24 scope. A 1940 marlin 81 I picked up did the "pissing game " to me until it picked the ammo it likes. These are my constant companions when in the fields. Whether punching paper or reducing numbers, Steady sure shooting can be quite pleasing.

the mags you use do not help nor improve accuracy....they only facilitate loading the next shell.
 
Winnipeg Toymaker said:
I shoot a Mossy 144 also and it loves the cheap Winchester ammo. tried the more expensive stuff but found it too expensive and not right for my gun. The gun is very capable of long shots out over 200 yards and I have done some gopher shooting with it at those distances. Using a 6-24 scope. A 1940 marlin 81 I picked up did the "pissing game " to me until it picked the ammo it likes. These are my constant companions when in the fields. Whether punching paper or reducing numbers, Steady sure shooting can be quite pleasing.

the mags you use do not help nor improve accuracy....they only facilitate loading the next shell.
Click to expand...

Which Winchester ammo does your Mossy like? I have a 144ls.
 
Through a lot of testing, I came down to shooting Winchester 333s only. New out are the 555s that are the same thing apparently. The 333s are clean and hard hitting for decent kill shots. Once the scope is tuned in, the results are very pleasing. The gun I have is a 144lsb. Fantastic gun for its age.
 
OP, if the 597 stock is flimsy and flexible it will play havoc with your groups until you become very cafeul and consistent on how you hold it and how much pressure you put on it as you lean into the shot. Your Mossy has a wood stock and will be far more forgiving of inconsistent technique because it is more robust and rigid.

The benchrest shooters try to have a minimal, very light contact with their rifle in order to influence the POI the least amount possible. Try to not bear down on the gun and muscle it onto the target. You want to have your rest set so that you can simply hold the gun in place and not have to push it around against the rest to get centered on your target. Become more consistent with your hold and you will see your groups shrink, with both rifles. This takes effort and practice to master, so get out there and shoot a lot. Improvements will come with trigger time and concentration.

Mark
 
Thanks for all the great advice. I have a bunch of things to test and work through the next time I get to the range. I'll update on my progress when I get a chance.
 
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