Texan_Til_I_Die Posted August 16, 2006 Report Share Posted August 16, 2006 I've got an odd situation with my 7 mag. Off the bags I consistently shoot 2 inch 5 shot groups with factory ammo at 200 yards, and 4 inch groups at 400 yards. But my 100 yard groups are also at the 1.5 - 2 inch size. They never get significantly smaller than the 200 yard groups. What gives? I can't believe it's the rifle or ammo's fault. It has to be something I'm doing, but I can't figure it out for the life of me. And I realize that this isn't really a problem when I take it into the field, but it's been bothering me for awhile and I'd like to find out what I'm doing. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
257bob Posted August 16, 2006 Report Share Posted August 16, 2006 Re: OK Shooting Coaches, Help Me Out Here It is hard to say, but it could be the ammo. I would say that for big game hunting you are ok. I would rather see groups under an inch at 100 yds, but it may not be possible with that ammo. Have you had any accurizing work done to the gun? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texan_Til_I_Die Posted August 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2006 Re: OK Shooting Coaches, Help Me Out Here Professional trigger job set at 2.5 lbs and the barrel is ported and floated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OJR Posted August 16, 2006 Report Share Posted August 16, 2006 Re: OK Shooting Coaches, Help Me Out Here Do you use factory ammo or reloads? If it is reloads, you might check your bullet seating depth. I had a Browning A-bolt in a 7 mag. and could not get that thing to shoot regardless of what I tried. I got rid of it and have been very happy ever since!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
257bob Posted August 16, 2006 Report Share Posted August 16, 2006 Re: OK Shooting Coaches, Help Me Out Here Was the action bedded when the barrel was floated? Sounds like you may need to do some experimenting with some other ammo. If those groups are not what you are going to be happy with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texan_Til_I_Die Posted August 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2006 Re: OK Shooting Coaches, Help Me Out Here Yeah, the action was bedded. I still don't think it's an equipment issue. I think it's me. There's no logical reason (from an equipment standpoint) for groups not to shrink as the range decreases. I think I've got something wrong with my setup, form, breath control, trigger squeeze, etc that's causing it. I just can't figure out what it is. And why would I only be doing it on the closer targets? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnf Posted August 16, 2006 Report Share Posted August 16, 2006 Re: OK Shooting Coaches, Help Me Out Here I've found with myself that when shooting 200+ yards I'm far more carefull about the mechanics of shooting than I am at <100. Maybe your just not into it as much when you know it's an easier shot. Maybe you might want to think about getting a smaller target for closer shots to give you the illusion of distance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terry264 Posted August 16, 2006 Report Share Posted August 16, 2006 Re: OK Shooting Coaches, Help Me Out Here Hi Tex, if you are shooting like that at 200 + yds., it aint you. Probably parallax in the scope, which is more of a problem the closer you get to the target. Try bagging down the rifle so you aren't touching it and move your eye around in a circle with the crosshairs on target at 100 yds. and see what happens. Crosshairs should stay put, if not then you have parallax. Adjust it out and try again. Parallax usually lessens with increased range. If you have an adj. obj. on scope, don't always go by the markings for yardage, they are rarely that accurate. Terry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texan_Til_I_Die Posted August 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2006 Re: OK Shooting Coaches, Help Me Out Here Hadn't really thought about it being a parallax problem. The scope is a Leupold VXII and doesn't have a parallax adjustment, but I'll try your suggestion and see if I can detect any "movement" in the crosshairs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnf Posted August 16, 2006 Report Share Posted August 16, 2006 Re: OK Shooting Coaches, Help Me Out Here I have noticed mine moving slightly. How do you fix that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted August 17, 2006 Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 Re: OK Shooting Coaches, Help Me Out Here I would say there could be a couple different reasons. One could indeed be paralax. Your scope may be set for longer distance than 100 yards. If you are getting those sized groups at 400 yards, it can also be your concentration. When shooting long range (300+ yards) you are concentrating harder on doing everything the same time after time. When you get back to 100 yards, its closer so you shoot quicker, Not using as much care as you do at farther distances. To adjust paralax on a gun without an adjustable objective, set the gun on bags, or vise, etc., look at the target through the scope and adjust the eye piece until the target and crosshairs are in perfect focus. The eye piece has a very fine thread so it an be adjusted many turns. Move your head up, down, left, and right and see if the crosshairs leave the center of the target you need to do some more adjusting. Unfortunately, there is no one setting that is best for all distances. I would pick something closer to the max distance I would expect to shoot. Close range accuracy is easier and not as critical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strut10 Posted August 17, 2006 Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 Re: OK Shooting Coaches, Help Me Out Here You're shooting 4" groups at 400 yards and it's bothering you???????? Dude!!! Unless you are shooting at something at 100 yards that is smaller than 1 1/2"......like flies or something........I'd be quite content if I were you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texan_Til_I_Die Posted August 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 Re: OK Shooting Coaches, Help Me Out Here I know, like I said it won't matter a hill of beans one way or the other in the field, but I just can't stand not knowing why something like that is happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texan_Til_I_Die Posted August 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2006 Re: OK Shooting Coaches, Help Me Out Here HA! Figured it out! It's my darned old wore out eyes! I put my reading glasses on to shoot and the crosshairs came into much sharper focus. The slightly fuzzy crosshairs didn't matter at the longer ranges, but at the closer ranges it was keeping me from setting up on the exact same aim point every time. There was just enough blurriness to open the groups up slightly. So will I be carrying my readers with me in the field? Heck no! But at least I've figured out what was going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bearcat Posted August 22, 2006 Report Share Posted August 22, 2006 Re: OK Shooting Coaches, Help Me Out Here It could also be caused by bullet "Yaw". I have heard that some guns shoot better at 200-300 yards than at 100 yards. The explanation is, that with some barrels,when the bullet exits the barrel it has a slight wobble or yaw. At the longer ranges the bullet has time to settle down and fly smoother thus more accurately. I don't know how much truth there is to this theory but it sounds reasonable to me. My .300 RUM shoots closer to MOA groups at 300 yards than it does at 100 yards. This could explain the reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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