Bad Scope?

I recently purchased a new Model 16 TH XP in 260 remington. My first trip to the range for barrel break-in, I couldn't get it on paper until I shot at 20 yards. At that point it was hitting about 6 inches low. I was able to raise POI about three inches, but then it seemed to stop moving up. I stopped for the day and took it home. I made sure everything was tight, and then took it in to be bore sighted at a local shop. The guy there confirmed everything was tight, and bore sighted it. I watched him adjust the scope up quite a bit. I took it back out this morning, and once again, I'm not on paper at 100 yards. The scope is the Nikon BDC 3-9X40. Sound like a bad scope?

I bore site mine by pulling the bolt, looking through the barrel and lining it up with a target at 20-30 yards (sometimes I can do itat 100 yards as well). Make sure it is in a good rest and does not move while adjusting the reticle to appear to be centered on the target that is centered on the bore. Should be real close. Shoot a three shot group. Adjust reticle to center of the group. try another 3 shot group. If not good, and the mounts and rings are tight (and no sign of the rings shifting in the slots o the bases) I will say it's a bad scope. Mount a different, known-to-be-good scope and see what you get. ALso, you may very well be shooting about 2 inches low at 20 yards because the scope is actually mounted above the bore and the bullet must shoot at an upward angle before its path actually crosses the line of sight. Typically, it may be a little low at 20 yards, right on at 100, a little high at 150 (still climbing) and then it starts dropping again just beyond that.

Right. I understand the offset at close ranges, but it was a lot lower that the 1.5 inches or so it should be. I couldn't even get it close to that. Very frustrating. Every other "good to go out of the box" Savage scoped combo I've ever bought was "good to go" with only minor adjustment...

Putting a known good scope on it will be my next step at this point...

They're cheap scopes anyway so it's a good idea to upgrade to a better scope. You may be experiencing a mount issue as these are about the cheapest mounts made.

How good was the group where it did hit?

Bad.

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Originally Posted by JCalhoun

They're cheap scopes anyway so it's a good idea to upgrade to a better scope. You may be experiencing a mount issue as these are about the cheapest mounts made.

How good was the group where it did hit?

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Pull the rings and look close at the bases. If the slots are deformed at all, they need to be replaced. Look for worn finish, even. You've hardly shot it, but they should look absolutely brand new. Regardless, replace them.

Even the best scope in the world is nothing without a solid foundation. Needs to be one with the rifle. Invest in good mounts before you loose trust in the optic.

How were the groups?

Bore sighting is intended to get you on paper at 25 yards.

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Originally Posted by Jamie

How were the groups?

Bore sighting is intended to get you on paper at 25 yards.

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He said the group were "bad". I'm thinking he should replace the mounts no matter what.

If you ran out of elevation then what you could use is burris signature rings, the ones with the changeable inserts. You will need the 10moa inserts and they should be put in the rear ring and zeroes in the front. This will buy you the elevation you need to set the scope up at 100 yds. This is a common problem with a lot of savage recievers. The scope you have isn't very good. I would suggest at least a bushnell 3200 series or 4200 and you can pick them up right used. Could you be flinching with this rifle? If you are you will have to train yourself not to do this or accuracy will suffer greatly. By the way the weaver mounts you have work on thousands of rifles with no problems.

I've been hunting (with a different rifle) for the last couple of weeks. Hopefully I will find the time soon to work on the issue some more. I will start by putting a known good scope and rings on it and work from there. I'll update as I work through this...

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Originally Posted by Lincoln4

I will start by putting a known good scope and rings on it and work from there. I'll update as I work through this...

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I think that might solve most of your problems. And I would add...
Take the gun apart, clean it and put it back paying attention to your bolts and torques. Make sure that bolt is really floated and so is the tang. I think you might have a plastic stock which are very flexible. If your groups shrink considerably I thin your next move should be a better stock so you can bed the action properly. That is cheaper than the mounts and scope.

Soooo... Long story short, I put my known good scope and rings on and fairly quickly have it zeroed at 100 yards. I am going to buy some quality rings and mount the "combo" nikon on my other rifle. Based on everything I've read, the rings on these Savage combos seem to be the culprits. Sure would be nice if Savage would put some better rings in the combo. Seriously, how much more could it cost?

If it is a hunting rifle look at the DNZ Game reaper one piece mounts. I can't say enough good about them.

I will check that out.

Be certain that your base screws are not too long, as they (or just one), could possibly be bottoming out on your barrel threads instead of your base. When you think the bases are tight, always try phisically move them before you mount your scope. A good friend of mine had this happen once, drove him crazy for weeks. My scope ring preference are the burris signiture zee rings, check them out. Good luck !

I don't know what mounts and base you are using but just this weekend I ran into a similar problem with a buddies new Model 11. He had a Weaver 20MOA picatinny base and the mounts that came on the Model 11 with its Bushnell scope. To make a long story short, the front mount, although clamped to the base, was not seated on the base properly and was sitting a little high. Found it luckily before we spent too much time trying to sight in. Try looking between the mounts and the bases and see if they both look the same.

There is a slight difference in a picatinny slot and a weaver slot

If I am not mistaken, Savage puts on the $2.00 Weaver mounts. Get better if you are able to do so and I would invest in Burris Signature rings (get a pair with the full set of inserts, 0,5,10 and 20). This will take care of up to +30 when used. I don't know about the scope in question, but I have a Leupold 3-9x32 (?? or 33) that ran out of vertical at 100 yards. It was mounted on a rimfire rifle, but no difference in this example. The Burris Signature rings took care of it. Please don't forget about the seating of the mount and the length of the screws, as stated above.

all my savage centerfires has burris zee rings and egw mounts, in my opnion well worth the money. the bushnell elite 3200s were great scopes i have 2 of them.