difficulty sighting in my #1

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Don Lovel

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I have installed and bore sighted hundreds of rifles over the years, usually I like to use a plumb fence post on our place and the top rail of the fence that is level, center it in the bore, which on a #1 is so easy to do, then align the scope. I can usually get a rifle close enough that within 10 rounds I have it grouping around dead center. When I got this rifle I trimmed and sanded the fore end so a dollar bill will just barely slide between the barrel and stock, and tried to be sure the fore arm was screw was snug but not over tightened.
So yesterday after I did that, never got the gun on paper at 100yds, so I moved up to 25yds, centered the target in the bore, aligned the scope and totally missed the target. WTF??? I know I was not flinching at all, recoil is just not that bad. Never had that happen, finally got a round centered a couple inches high at 25yds, moved back to 100yds and fired 6 rounds, never hit the target.
300 Win Mag with 150gr bullets, recoil is not too bad with a Pachmayer decelerator pad, but could not get it on paper at all. I rechecked all mount screws, everything looks ok.
Sightmark 8-25x50 Mil Dot scope that was very accurate when I had it mounted on my Ruger M77MkII 243 Target.
I burned up 40 rounds of ammo yesterday trying to get this thing on target. So this morning, I have a bruised shoulder and aggravated attitude about it.
You #1 shooters ever run into this sort of thing? I am baffled. And I sure want to get it right before I burn anymore expensive 300 ammo up messing with it. I am pretty sure everything with the scope is ok internally, I mean a couple days ago it was tack driving on my 243.
 

wunbe

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9 to 1 its a scope issue. Is the scope touching the front sight, or the rib? Does it stay on zero with the bore after firing it a few times? Lots of difference twixt a 243 and 300 mag. You may have shaken a cross hair loose.

Also, check for a loose butt screw, metal contact at the point where the quarter rib meets the action, and finally mark your barrel with lamp black to see if it contacts the wood on firing. (The dollar bill test will not necessarily tell you about the dynamics of barrel whip during firing.) Check the crown.

Good luck,
wunbe
 

ohiosam

Bearcat
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Mar 2, 2009
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Make sure the rings are correct. No.1s rings are the same height, front and rear. 77 rings are different height between front and rear. I've seen 77 rings advertised as working on No1s.
 

Don Lovel

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ohiosam said:
Make sure the rings are correct. No.1s rings are the same height, front and rear. 77 rings are different height between front and rear. I've seen 77 rings advertised as working on No1s.
I have a pile of different Ruger rings here at the house, so I did get matched up after ordering one from Rugershop, and then installed the scope. I am betting I have something not right in the scope but after firing and checking bore alignment it was looking at the target centered in the bore.

24" x 30" target missed from 25yds had me going ??????????????
I could have pulled out my Garand and dead centered the target from 200yds offhand
 

JFB

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not being able to look down the barrel and get on paper at 25Ys does seem strange and thus there must be a problem to be found!

However, the 300WM shoots FLAT, especially with light bullets. if your scope is only 1.5" above the bore, at 25 Ys you need to be LOW at least an inch to be on paper at 100Ys. Being 2" high at 25Ys will be over 12" high at 100Ys

I found with heavy recoiling (and I think 300WM is the threshold). my hold effected POI a lot.
In sand bags, strap pulling stock down hard, my bore sight and actual POI were expected. free hand, I will be over the paper.
 

gtxmonte

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I bore sight my stuff exactly as you describe, except I generally do it at 200 yards and will be on paper first shot every time. It's cake with a bolt gun and as you say, even easier with a Number 1. I agree with wunbe, that its probably the scope. I would try another piece of glass.

I don't agree with the height difference JFB describes, at least not with any 300WM I have ever owned. A couple inches high at 25yards would easily be on the size paper you describe at 100 yards. Should be about 6" high, if you were 2" high at 25 yards.

If it's not the glass, you may have a rifle issue. Wasn't this rifle a 30/06 set back and rechambered to 300 WM?
 

pete44ru

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.

The scope can be eliminated or verified as the problem via mounting it back onto the .243 to determine if it's still shooting OK.

.
 

Don Lovel

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I finally got the #1 shooting 2" high at 100yds center with 150gr Hornady Whitetail loads. It wants to group decent if I do my part.
That was the single hardest to get dialed in rifle I have ever done, and the most expensive, I shot up 65 rounds of 300 win mag getting it done. But now I have 65rounds of fire formed brass to work up some elk hunt loads with I am going to go with 165gr Nosler Partitions and IMR 7828 powder. Should give me a real flat shooting load that has plenty of smack out to 500yds which is probably farther than I would risk taking a shot unless I had a perfect one lined up on a good rest.
 

JFB

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good to hear you got it on paper! even if you are poorer, bruised & sore)

any ideal where you are within the scope's elevation adjustment range?
 

Don Lovel

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JFB said:
good to hear you got it on paper! even if you are poorer, bruised & sore)

any ideal where you are within the scope's elevation adjustment range?

yeah I got a fair amount of adjustment I can use

Cant wait to get stated working on my hunting loads. Federal Premium ammo with Nosler Partition is about $50/box
so reloading will be it. I have a bunch of Nosler Partitions in 165gr
 

Don Lovel

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gtxmonte said:
That's a pretty serious "user error" to take 60+ rounds to get one dialed in.............LOL!!!

recoil addiction apparently is affecting my common sense

Combination of a loose screw on the quarter rib, ring mount screws not tightened evenly, scope not sitting on optimal round part of the scope tube I had it where the tube just starts to flair for the adjustment tower,
throw in jerking the trigger, not planting the butt square on my shoulder (which I seriously paid for in pain the next morning) so yeah, several little things that all add up to a 300 Win Mag that was not going to get sighted in right until all the little issues were addressed
 

JFB

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sounds like you were initial "set to fail"

A method I have started using (but haven't done a lot lately) is to first center the scope in the adjustments, (verify cross hairs center with mirror), then mount (being partiqulair to avoid all your errors).

Shooting at 25 yards I expect to be on the paper, with the POI being off by the scope mounting angle (normally 0MOA), the scope height and the small drop for 25Y. something like 2" low. If not, then work the mount before trying to zero.

the last scope i mounted was on a 1022, where I filed the base to give me about 10 MOA and the scope was good enough for plinking soup cans with out any farther adjustment.
 

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