MY OLD AND NEW RIFLE

[griffshrek]

hello all

sorry its been a while since i posted at the moment i am juggeling shift work finishing my extention and looking after the kids. i will try and set the scene a bit and explain the story.

about two yrs ago i bought a .243 remington sps ,the rifle was a great little work horse bagging a few deer and lot more foxes , on a good day i could manage 1" groups with my home loads but the rifle had a problem that would rear its ugly head now and then.

the rifle once zeroed would every now and then change its point of aim(POA) this change would not be a constant amount but varied between 1"-4" this POA movement has caused me some serious headaches trying to figure out what was causing it and how to stop it.

this has caused me a few probs in the past with a couple of misses on foxy that i knew should have been hits , and one shot on a deer that instead of hitting classic heart /lung , went high and took out the spine deer dropped on spot but the shot could of gone the other way and resulted in an injured deer and long follow up.

i had my optics checked ,went over my reloads . changed my scope bases and more . i discovered the problem in the end , i found the plastic stock on the SPS was as stiff as marzipan and about as usefull.

i priced a 1/2 decient stock replacement but by now i had lost confidence with the rifle and went for a change.

i took the plunge and bought a .243 SAKO 85 stainless varmit with laminated stock and fluted 20" barrel i fitted a T8 and put on my S&B 8x56 ir scopes.(it cost the same as libera's national debt)

the set up was a bit heavier than the SPS but no more than i could manage. i did a basic 100m zero and got a 1" group i went out and bagged a fox but since then with all the commitments i have been unable until today to carry out a proper zero session.

i am not a target shoot just someone who every now and then enjoys a couple of hours in the field honing my shooting and getting out from my house full of women. i use my bi-pod and shooting bags as a rest when zeroing

the weather in my part of Wales today was clearish and cold the area i shot in was a sloped sheltered valley that is protected from the wind ....perfect

i was using a x-ray type deer target that incorperated zeroing areas built onto it .

i made a selection of bullet ammo up to see what the rifle likes , i made the following rounds up at diffrent distances varying from 5-20thou from lands and all were 1gr under max loads using Varget powder loads from Hogdons data.

75gr V-max
85gr Nosler Partition
85gr sierra gameking HPBT
90gr Speer hotcore
95gr SST

i started off with the 5thou from land and got a 1/2" group from the gameking first 3 rounds. i was overjoyed , i tried the 20thou in same bullet and group opened up so decided to stick to 5thou to start.

i managed 3/4" group with Nosler Partion , 1/2" with Hotcore but 1 1/2" on SST (i forgot about V-max) @100m .my problem is i tend to rush the shooting.

i decied to try a few at the actual deer taret @200m to see if i could get hits on the hearh/lung area, using all rounds (except V-max forgot)
i did my shots and got all rounds (2 bullets each type) in a 4" group that was me judging the the target area on the deer . i again was very pleased with this .

now discovering the V-max i decided to try them the 85gr Nosler Partion 90gr Hotcore and the SST on the zero target parts @ 200m using three shots each.

i made a concious effort to take my time on the shots and let the rifle cool down. on examining the target for the SST i got a 2"+ group , i thought thats good.

i got a 3/4" group for the Nosler and Hotcore i am now over the moon. i check the V-max target and see two holes 1/2" apart but no third ,i think i had a flier but on closer examination i can see two rounds hit the same mark . i am Ecstatic i cant belive it, its the best shooting i have done.

as i said i am no target shooter but i'm chuffed at the groupings , i am not going to fiddle with the 75,85and 90gr rounds as i pleased with them. i will try and see if i can get 1" or less from the SST but i think the rifle does not like 95gr or above.

these groupings are down to good quality optics and rifle doing what they say they can do on the box , quality hand loaded ammo ,and taking time on zeroing. i has now given me massive confidence knowing that the rifle will shot where i want it to , down side if there is a miss it will be down to me....... i will post more on the SST and see if i can get the grouping down.......neil

 

[Beowulf]

Hi Griffshriek,
Nice write up mate. I have been struggling with my shooting of late and i have checked every possible problem that may occur. Wadashot told me to check my scope rings were tight. I thought that they were and dismissed the idea. I did however decide to give it a go and sure enough the bolts on the rings were little more than hand tight! Both my T3s had been mounted by a gunsmith and I use Sako Optilocks so I wasn't very happy with this discovery! The problem I had was that the first bullet would fly high but the second would be bang on the target. Very odd.

I hope you have got your rifle sorted now mate.

 

[griffshrek]

BEOWULF

i also use the Sako Optilock system so i'll check mine ,i cant go through the POA altering again...neil

 

[griffshrek]

BEOWULF

i also use the Sako Optilock system so i'll check mine ,i cant go through the POA altering again...neil

 

[monynut]

Both my T3s had been mounted by a gunsmith

The o/h got a new remmy 22.250 from a local gunsmith who set it up for her and we duly went of and zeroed it all went ok but the grouping l thought could be better, we went of to scotland for a spot of stalking and checked the rifle and it was everywere l then noticed that the recoil from the shots was working the scope back, so l reset everything and tightend it all down and now it shoots sweet as a nut.
l suppose that its my own fault for not checking the rifle earlier it probably would have spared a few rounds but what l am saying is dont take it for granted that other people who are supposed to know what they are doing will make a good job.

 

[Beowulf]

You are very right on that score Monynut!

 

[JAYB]

I've known this before with gunsmiths, I think in fairness to them that they are afraid of marking the scope and are fearful of any perceived over tightening for which they could be liable. I always tell people to check the tightness of their scopes when they get a new gun with a scope fitted

John

 

[paul k]

One problem that I found was that I would shoot a group to zero but when I fired a shot through next time it was over 1" off the point of zero. I noticed that my first shot of a group was always away from subsequent shots.

After much discussion with friends and gunsmiths it was decided that the most likely cause was that the rifle barrel got hot whilst grouping and then for whatever reason moved a little and once cold moved back. The zero was set whilst hot and of course was then off when the barrel cooled.

The rifle concerned was a BSA and I now have a Steyr Mannlicher which does not seem to have the problem. This might have nothing to do with your problem but may be of interest.

 

[tartinjock]

Regardless of what you/I get, I fully dismantle it and then reassemble using Loctite, that way I have every confidence that it is tight. Well worth it for the price of loctite.

 

[griffshrek]

just a few line to update as to the 95gr SST reloads. tried a variations and found the best was 0.3grs over max load and bullet seated couple thou off lands .

i got a 1" group @200m with this combo.

 

[stag1933]

Hi paul k.
I had a similar problem to yourself with a new Sako Varminter HB .308 [blued]. Model 75.
When cold the first shot was always a 9 at 7 o`clock on the standard BDS type grouping target and after that it was a ragged one-holer.
A rifle smith friend told me some barrels were not optically correct and were mechanically stressed to cure this but that the metal molecules tended to migrate to their original state when hot and that the only answer would be a new barrel.
After some aggro from GMK the rifle was sent back to the factory and after a long wait I got it back.
Now it is a one holer from shot No.1 , this was in `03 and I won the first shoot I entered with it upon its return just before my open heart surgery.
Pic. to follow if I can find it ! [3 shots at 100 yds simulated HI-seat.]

HWH.

 

[stag1933]

Hi.
I`ve just taken another pic. of the `03 target.
I file most away for future reference !
HWH.