Accuracy problems?? Noob needs help!

[NevadaMike]

I have a new Tikka t3 30-06 and a Leupold VX6 2-12 with Leupold backcountry rings. I mounted the scope myself and used a torque wrench to Leupold specs. I was working on my final sighting and the groups were tight. I backed out to 200 held on the bullseye and as expected the group was tight but low. Two of the shots center punched the vertical line within an inch of each other. Great! so I though! Ill just dial it up to zero at the 200 yard mark and call it done. The next three bullets went progressively right. The last shot hit my stand upright! I called it a day to regroup and clean the rifle. Ill be back out tomorrow morning.

Barnes Vor-Tex 180
Hot and dry Nevada desert
Rifle was in the sun
Barrel was warm but never hot
No wind to speak of

Any thoughts?

 

[MidGAHunter]

Check your action screws, base screws, and ring screws. If all are appropriately torqued still, I'd worry about a scope failure. After confirming everything is tight, take it back out another day and see what happens. Also, the lot of ammo didn't change did it?

 

[NevadaMike]

 

[NevadaMike]

Check your action screws, base screws, and ring screws. If all are appropriately torqued still, I'd worry about a scope failure. After confirming everything is tight, take it back out another day and see what happens. Also, the lot of ammo didn't change did it?

I bought three boxes of the same lot.

 

[Quin]

View attachment 212183

Oh wow. I think something came loose. Mounts/rings or within the scope itself. Remount and reshoot.

 

[TauPhi111]

I've seen old military barrels with residual stress in them from hammer forging walk shots like that as they heated up. Never saw it in a modern rifle, but Tikka barrels are hammer forged. I wouldn't worry about having a lemon barrel unless you've exhausted everything else. Def check your mounting job. If that seems solid, try another scope you know is good. Try different ammo to see if it groups consistently. Check to make sure your action screws are torques to spec (Just recently got a rifle from a friend who said it didn't group worth a damn. Didn't help that the action rattled around in the stock from loose screws. I torqued em down and it shot fine.) You could even use a laser bore sighter that goes in the muzzle to check for barrel warp.

 

[NWRoger]

Definitely check all mounts, including turret screws. Then re-zero. If your sandbagged in or have a lock in rest/stand, and it’s still no good send the scope in.


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[KYKRAZEE]

Check your action screws, base screws, and ring screws. If all are appropriately torqued still, I'd worry about a scope failure. After confirming everything is tight, take it back out another day and see what happens. Also, the lot of ammo didn't change did it?

^^^^^^^^WHAT HE SAID!!!!!!!^^^^^^^^^^

 

[elkguide]

If everything is tightened to specs then my next action would be to swap out the scope. Bet that is the issue.

 

[Don Qui Puncher]

Start with this, then swap scope of this doesn’t take care of it

Scope mounting to maintain zero

After multiple requests for an explanation of how to mount a scope in order to have the lowest possibility of loss of zero, a discussion of a scope mounting video, and the latest thread about scope bases and action screw coming loose, I took some pics of what I do with a rifle when I get it and...

www.rokslide.com

 

[NevadaMike]

I checked everything and it all looked good. I went back out with a better shooting rest and the groups were good. I was thinking back and the only thing I can think of was the barrel was touching the rest the day before.

 

[shooter50gill]

What was your original shooting rest like? Sometimes a bipod directly on a hard surface like a concrete bench can hop and cause groups to open up.

 

[NevadaMike]

Sounds right. I was using a friends cheap sled on a tailgate. I went back with a Caldwell tack driver bag and things got much better.

 

[shooter50gill]

Ah yeah I bet that’s what you had going on. If all mounts and stock were still torqued properly, the rest is where I’d look. I generally like to shoot prone on the ground when using a bipod. If on a bench, I try to use a softer rest like a pack or sand bags. I’m not a fan of a lot of the rigid rests out there.