# sighting in question



## Live2Hunt (Mar 6, 2009)

I have a question about why I might be haveing trouble sighting in my rifle. I shot it today after not shooting it since 2007 deer hunting to see where it was at. So I shot three rounds and it made a nice pattern high, and a little bit right. But when I adjusted it it was shooting everywhere. I kept adjusting it but it never shot consistent even at 50 yards. I don't know whats going on but i'm getting really upset about it.

Any advice will be very appreciated.


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## Kelly Hannan (Jan 9, 2007)

check all your mounts for loose screws. maybe the crosshairs have broken loose


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## Live2Hunt (Mar 6, 2009)

I just thought of something. I heard that when barrels get hot they tend to be less accurate. Could this be the reason why I couldn't get a good group?


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## bearhunter (Jan 30, 2009)

a hot barrel will tend to string the shots up, not all over as stated.the cross hair thing may be it. when ever i adjust a score, i always tap on the adjustment screw with something hard like a spent casing after i,ve move it


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## Bernie P. (Sep 25, 2008)

Might just need a good cleaning but check all screws are tight first.


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## striped1 (Aug 17, 2005)

a hot barrel can really open up your groups. Barrel fouling can do the same.

if you have the time shoot a cold bore group. shoot one, clean and let barrel go cold, and repeat 3-5 times. This will take heat and fouling out of the equation.

retorque all action screws and scope mount screws

also, did you switch ammo? some guns can be very ammo sensitive. too light, too heavy etc.


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## Live2Hunt (Mar 6, 2009)

It was all the same Winchester 80grns.
But i'm pretty sure now that my problem was that the barrel was getting to hot cuz the bullets were hitting 3 to 4 inches apart. Another thing is that I might be flinching when i shoot. I'm going to shoot a different gun to see if I end up with the same results or not.

Thanks for the advice guys.


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## Kelly Hannan (Jan 9, 2007)

I have shot several shots in a row with a standard barrel, with no effects. Unless it was 80 degrees and you shot 20 rounds, it shouldn't be a problem.

Ammo maybe, was it old ammo? I still lean towards mounts or cross hairs. It was fine until you adjusted it, then it went bad. Crosshairs


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## alleyyooper (Jul 6, 2007)

I would guess flinching. Have a friend load (don't look) a round in the rifle and hand it to you to shoot. At some point have the friend hand an empty rifle to you.

Have you been shooting a shot gun a lot lately. Doing so can cause you to be pulling the trigger rather than squeezing it.

 Al


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## catfisherman2 (Apr 17, 2008)

> retorque all action screws and scope mount screws


Don't do that...there is no retorque...when a scope is mounted, lock tight is used. When you retorque the lock tight is not effective.

You are going to have one of several problems. The scope is junk...if not the bases are mounted incorrectly, if you use Leupold bases it is very possible. You may be using the wrong ammo for your gun...ie rate of twist with the wrong grain. When you sight in, you must use those same bullets to hunt with as that will be the most accurate...you can't sight in with coreloks and expect the same performance with fusion.

Anyways, give me a shout later and I can hopefully help you.


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## Bernie P. (Sep 25, 2008)

Three rounds is just not enough to cause stringing by the fourth shot.


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## Live2Hunt (Mar 6, 2009)

> The scope is junk


The scope is a nikon buckmasters 4.5x14x40. So I doubt it's the scope. But who knows.



> You may be using the wrong ammo for your gun...ie rate of twist with the wrong grain. When you sight in, you must use those same bullets to hunt with as that will be the most accurate


 I always use the same ammo, cuz i know that all brands shoot different.

I'm all out of ammo right now, and I live an hour away from anyplace to get some more. So when i get some I'll go out and shoot it a little bit, and I'll let you guys know the results.

Thanks for all the help


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## striped1 (Aug 17, 2005)

you are assuming that locktite was used. 
internal scope prob isn't impossible, but it is first on my list. heat, fouling, and scope mounting issues are first.


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

> you are assuming that locktite was used.


That's right. I don't use locktite much anymore. I just torque to a uniform 20 or 25 inch pounds depending on the construction of the scope. 
The guys have mentioned about everything it could be. It could be the scope, it could be barrel heat, it could be loose screws.

I am surprised it is moving that much. If it is barrel heating I am guessing the barrel is contacting the stock to shoot groups that big. Something else you should check on is the action screw. If it is a Remington torque to 65 inch pounds. If it is synthetic Savage torque to 25 foot lbs.

Another thing that could be happening is you could have gotten something small between the stock and barrel. This would give you a pressure point and show up suddenly with barrel heating. Grass, paper, anything like that.


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