Querky Rifle

[Freiguy]

I just bought my first Savage and am having some issues with it so I thought someone here may have some insight. I purchased a Savage Trophy Hunter XP in .308 with a Nikon 3x9 BDC. I took it to the range to sight it in, before which I thourougly cleaned it, and took my first shot at 100 yards. The first shot landed 7in low 3in right. I then adjusted up 28 clicks left 12 clicks the next shot was four inches left and 8in low. I thought how in the heck is that possible? Im a fairly experienced shooter and was shooting from a sled. The best group I could get with 2 types of ammo (remmington core lokt 150gr and federal fusion 165gr) was probably 4moa. Furious I left the range and returned yesterday with Hornady SST 150gr. They instantly were grouping <1moa. The scope adjustments I made still had me confused though. I shot a 3 shot group a bit high (1/2in) then took it down two clicks at which point the following 3 shots were 3in low. I took it one click back up and it was tearing up the xring punching out the bulls eye. First of all is it possible that the ammunition made that much of a difference in grouping? Also is it possible that part of my problem is a finicky scope where the adjustments i was making werent reading true? Ive never had a gun that particular on ammo. Thoughts?

[JackinSD]

I don't think it is a "finicky scope". I think it is a broken scope. Just my opinion.

[243LPR]

I would start by tearing it down completely,take it out of the stock,scope bases and rings, and reassemble 1 screw at a time. Loc Tite scope bases and make sure tang is floated with action screws torqued correctly. And yes,some ammo will work better in your gun than others.Every gun is different and will like some ammo better than others. That's why a lot of us reload,we can change every variable to find what works. Sometimes it's very frustrating,but can also be very rewarding.

[Gmac5]

I was at the range this past weekend and a fallow shooter ( rangemaster) was having the same problem with the same package gun he bought at Dicks or gander same scope and all . Best group was more like shotgun patterns ,up 4" down 4 all over .he had 3 boxes of generic basic winchester rem and fed . I had some older hornady in the car 10 rds and ,i would not have believed it , it was behaving normal , 3 3 shot groups under 1.25 . He did not clean the barrel befoe switching . Go figure .ammo

[Freiguy]

No kidding? I find it a bit ridiculous that the groupings are that terrible with other ammo! Is there any explanation for something like that?

[Gmac5]

Ive never seen it and would not have believed it if he was not the rangemaster. I have no explanation . Every gun is a law unto itself .

[Biggred191]

I've had similar experiences with my Hunter XP (Bushnell scope). I, on the other hand am new to shooting, but my father knows how to and he had results similar to mine. We have been using Win Super X. Twice after shooting I noticed the scope rings were loose at the base, so I gave it a formal repair. I swear I read about them coming loose before I picked up the rifle. I recently saw a good video about mounting a scope correctly. I followed that and I am going out tomorrow to shoot.

[Freiguy]

let me know how it turns out.

[helotaxi]

The scope rings were a little loose on my Trophy Hunter.

My hunting buddy had a Mossberg rifle that was giving us fits shooting all over the place until I tore it down and found the base screws all at least a turn out and the recoil lug not seated in the stock. Fixed those two things and it was instantly sub-MOA.

[big honkin jeep]

Yes Its possible for ammo to make that much difference. I have a 116 that's doing good to hit a paper plate at100 yards with 125gr core loct but will stack 10 165gr handloads into .446. I have also made a habit of breaking in my scopes. This is something not many have heard of. Basically it consists of turning the adjustments on a new scope back and forth throughout their full range of adjustment until your wrist gets tired. It can make a huge difference and really settle a scope with erratic adjustments making them much more predictable. I'll post up a link to an article on this process and why it works in a couple of days when I'm on a real computer instead of my phone.
Good luck

[dmpowder1]

I bought the same rifle but in a 6.5 Creedmoor and my targets look like they are shot with a shotgun! I have switched scopes, bases, and rings. I have placed rods along the stock to help stiffen it up and will bed the action this weekend to see if it will help. Only bullets I have shot are the 140 SST's ,HPBT,142's and factory 140's and some Super performance 129's. Tried 5 different powders and 3 different primers all with no luck! Starting to think it's just a lemon from Savage. I may try some 123's but thinking it will just be a waste of money.

It's odd one day it will print with all shots touching and the next it's scatter gun again! So might just end up cutting the nut and scrapping the barrel.

[Freiguy]

Yea I would like to read the article on scope break in. Also I suppose I will try reloading since it really makes that much difference.

[big honkin jeep]

Here's a link to the article that was originally published in Varmint hunter magazine. It's a good read and goes over scope break in. http://www.longrangehunting.com/articles/riflescopes-1.php
Enjoy and let me know if the process helps you as much as it helped me.

[Freiguy]

So this article is saying to break in your scope it is necessary to adjust your settings (power, windage, elevation) from the maximum range to the minimum range repeatedly (up to 100 times) to ensure your final adjustments hold true? Am I missing any other take aways here?

[big honkin jeep]

that's the process I've been using. I do know I have had some scopes with wandering zero and less than stellar tracking that have been helped immensely by the process. Now it's the first thing I do when I take one out of the box regardless of brand.
Occasionally when a rifle or optic just wont act right it's helpful to try something outside of the box. This process has worked for me so I thought I'd pass it along.

[mattm0812]

I don't know how some of you stand looking through 3x9's....

I need at least an 18x...haha.

[fgw_in_fla]

Freiguy - I used to shoot the over the counter Win, Fed & Rem stuff in my .270 & 30.06 with much frustration. Grouping was non-existent. I got tired having to chase the zero point when changing from brand to brand or a heavier bullet. If 5 shots gave me a pattern that looked like a buckshot pattern with a full choke I thought i was doing OK...

Then, one day the gun store guy threw a box of Federal Vital Shok ammo with Nosler Ballistic tip bullets on the counter. That was the first time I ever shot a group that looked like a clover leaf. BUT.... at 45 bucks a box of 20, I needed to take out a mortgage to go shooting for the day. That's what got me reloading my own. The inconsistancy of the over the counter stuff is very frustrating. It's no fun shooting when you can throw rocks in a tighter pattern than the ammo produces.
Factory ammo sucks.
it's OK for emergency (whatever an emergency could be) or just playing around but if you're looking for anything under 1in in your groups, you'll need to buy some real ammo... - or reload your own.
After you've checked & double checked everything on your rifle the other guys mentioned, of course.
Happy shooting & good luck-
Frank in Fla

[Freiguy]

that's the process I've been using. I do know I have had some scopes with wandering zero and less than stellar tracking that have been helped immensely by the process. Now it's the first thing I do when I take one out of the box regardless of brand.
Occasionally when a rifle or optic just wont act right it's helpful to try something outside of the box. This process has worked for me so I thought I'd pass it along.

Thanks for the tip! I look forward to trying it out.

[jonbearman]

Fellas,no offense intended as I have a few inexpensive scopes.I would sincerely tell you to invest in a better scope.You can get bushnells pretty right if you can find left over 3200's at least. The bushnell trophys are better than what you have. I have had at least a dozen cheaper scope's fail because thats what they are,however you can find a few that work real well.Since I started replacing the cheaper ones with better one's my shooting changed drastically back in the day. You will see the difference right away when you look through the glass on more expensive scope's The leupold made redfields(revolution) are a bargain and they perform.

[jonbearman]

Give yourself a break and get a redfield revolution made by leupold. They are strong and they track good and affordable.