scope zero

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hi everyone , thanks for all of the reply's , for those saying just to leave it if its still killing , I just cant afford to do that , im a gamekeeper and I need to know that my rifle is always 100 per cent spot on. when a fox that has been causing havoc over the last month steps out at 300 yards , I want to be able to shoot it without thinking about whether my scope is set well enough to pull off the shot , iv just taken the scope and mounts off of the rifle and then put them back on again doing everything up tightly and then I re zeroed it , hopefully it was just set up funny before
 
minikeeper said:
and it normally goes off 2 inches every week , wich means 4inches at 200 yards and so on , I allways zero off a bifod on 12 x zoom
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you never answered my question what make of rifle,probably because your head has been fried with all manner of explainations.
the reason I ask is with you using optilocks I presume its a sako or a tikka.
well a mate had the same problem admitted it was a different scope but still the same his zero shifted every so often.
the problem was the mounts were moving back under recoil how we found it was marks on the bolt,as when you lifted it the bolt caught the rear mount.
the fix was to replace the bolts with stainless cap heads which were slightly longer,which ment we could really tighten them down.
hes not had a problem since,so check that your mounts are not moving back.
 
Another thing it might be worth checking/ruleing out is the rifle itself (think someone else alraedy briefly mentioned it)

U could check all screws fixing stock are tight, check barrel is still free floating if meant to be(run a note up barrel between stock) possibly take mod off and fire a few shots, make sure mod is on right each time. I take it ammo is factory and rifle has always shot it well before? Possibly a bad batch? Mibee try changing amo for a box and see if zero still moves (althou not very likely)
If u haven't got a spare scope mibee swap the scope off this on to ur 22 or 17 (if u've got 1) see if it holds zero and check if u move it 1" one way zero's should move 1", althou possibly those scopes might not be suitable for a bigger recoiling rifle like a 243 (well if ur anything lie me and run cheap scopes on my rimmy's)

I take it the rifle is still grouping well but groups moving? Have they been moving for a while and when it first started moving did u change anyhing?

Likes others have said try and borrow a scope off someone and see if that helps, generally start at th e cheapest or esiest fix and try and elimnate that and work back to most expensive

It mibee is ur scope but worth checking everything possible first just incase, there's mibee something else i've forgot to mention too
 
I think most would agree that something is not right with the setup. It's just a matter of discovering what by a process of elimination. What you need is another scope to try, a second pair of experienced eyes and a little range time.

Zeroing off a bipod may not be the best either.
 
the rifle is a tikka t3 lite , it groups under an inch at 100 yards , it gets cleaned every time I use it (zeroed to clean barrel) , I have checked all screws on the rifle itself are tight and its still free floating. im still using the same factory ammo as allways. I have now stripped everything down , cleaned it and then re assembled it and as of yet the rifle has held zero , but it has only been two days so far so we will see. the only thing is that if it has cured it then I will never know exactly what the problem was. thanks everyone for all the advice :)
 
First question is why do you clean it every time.

Cleaning may be the issue, most rifles tend to shoot off zero for the first/couple of shots and then go back to point of aim. I might clean my .223 about every 6 months after which I fire a couple of fouling rounds and then check zero, and might adjust by 1 click if at all. Then dont touch or clean. Only other time is when I change batches of reloaded ammo when i do check if there has been change in zero, which is also only minimal.

How many rounds are you firing? all rifles are different but if you have to clean it every 100 or so might be more appropriate.

Suggest you have a read of RB book and note the section on barrel cleaning. The only way to be certain of where the round is going is out of a previously fouled barrel, it will never be the same out out of a cleaned barrel.

Also after cleaning before shooting do you remove any oil/cleaner etc by running a patch soaked in alcohol or meths through it. The slightest oil contamination will push a bullet well off.

I understand your frustration as you need to be 100% sure of a first shot kill and 75% of shooting is mind over matter and not being confident that your rifle is spot on is not the way forward.

D
 
I have read foxing with lamp and rifle and several other books which all seem to say clean every time ? im not saying that you are wrong but this is what I have been lead to believe ? and yes I always clean the barrel with methylated spirit after cleaning to get rid of any oil residue. the amount of rounds I fire varies but its normally about 10 - 30 a week.
 
If it's a working rifle stop cleaning it! Not saying never but certainly not every time you use it.

If you are out on the ground every day then I would fire a three shot group at the same target every day for a week, this should either give you confidence that it is ok or confirm that it isn't.

To be honest, if you are serious about 300m foxes, I think you are going to need to upgrade your kit. 300m is a long way, foxes are quite small and most keepers I know would rather leave them than take a chancy shot if they are not totally confident.
 
Agree 300 is a long way unless you have the correct kit. I know some keepers do shoot at much further but they do use the best possible kit ie .20 TAC's for a start.

Thats the policy we adopt if your not 100% sure of a kill then don't shoot, you will normally get another chance, but its unlikely to happen if they been missed before.

D
 
I never said that I take chancy shots , I just said that when a long shot presents its self I hate not having the confidence to take it. my boss uses a sako .204 and this is my second rifle , the rifle I learnt to shoot with was a sako 75 varmint in .223 topped with a zeiss . we have the kit and get pleanty of practise and are normally confident to 300 yards. there is nothing wrong with our kit (bar the scope wich I think is now sorted) or the way we use it , I just wanted to know if anyone had any ideas about my scope , wich they did and im gratefull for all the advise.
 
Mini keeper, what do you think the problem was ?

I ask because I have had similar issues just recently, once you have that bit of doubt it takes some getting over.
 
Sorry fella, no offence intended. If you are confident on 300m foxes then a massive hats off to you. What rangefinder do you use and do you dial in, use a special reticule or judge holdover? Whichever way its impressive skills.
 
JC275 said:
Sorry fella, no offence intended. If you are confident on 300m foxes then a massive hats off to you. What rangefinder do you use and do you dial in, use a special reticule or judge holdover? Whichever way its impressive skills.
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The lads a keeper shooting between 10 and 30 shots a week . . . . .thats more than some on here shoot in a year.
I would have thought a 300 yard fox wouldn't have been out the question with a .243
 
Cadex said:
The lads a keeper shooting between 10 and 30 shots a week . . . . .thats more than some on here shoot in a year.
I would have thought a 300 yard fox wouldn't have been out the question with a .243
Click to expand...

No, I agree but to be confident on those shots takes a lot of skill and I am always keen to learn. Just hoping that now he has sorted his problem he will share his techniques with us. Its this type of real time experience that we can all learn from. 300m is a long way even when its a known distance and shooting under ideal conditions at a paper target, to be able to also do this under field conditions is very impressive.
 
JC275 said:
No, I agree but to be confident on those shots takes a lot of skill and I am always keen to learn. Just hoping that now he has sorted his problem he will share his techniques with us. Its this type of real time experience that we can all learn from. 300m is a long way even when its a known distance and shooting under ideal conditions at a paper target, to be able to also do this under field conditions is very impressive.
Click to expand...

Tis true , tis true.
 
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