Horizontal stringing

[Wrench]

I was talking about scope tracking. I wonder if you could have a bum spring.

 

[Newtosavage]

I was talking about scope tracking. I wonder if you could have a bum spring.

I suppose it's possible, but this scope rode on my Tikka and produced 0.5 MOA groups at 400 yards too.

 

[rayporter]

if that was recent we can scratch one more off the list.

if not recent i would switch scopes and you will know in 3 shots.

are any screws that hold on the scope bases long enough to go clear through the action and touch the bolt or barrel?
Wrench has a good point on the spring- i have seen scopes cranked until the erector tube comes clear off of the screw and flops around inside.

which brings up the question----are you near the end of the travel of the windage or are you in the middle of the screws travel?

this could explain how the scope could shoot good on one rifle and bad on another.

 

[blkqi]

Not saying that this is related to your stringing, but how far off the lands are you at that length?

My Alpine 7-08 didn't really shoot until I got the jump down to .010". With Nosler BT or Accubonds this results in a OAL which fits in the box "snug", but feeds fine.

Never found a factory ammo that would shoot even half way decent.

 

[WCB]

I am not a reloader/handloader so I won't wade into those waters...As far as potential scope issues someone mentioned on tracking....It wouldn't be a tracking issue. It would be a holding zero issue since you aren't dialing.

A bad spring in the scope could be an issue. Also, even though you shot it on another gun I would assume you had to adjust the scope to get it "zeroed" on the new gun. This is a long shot but if you get to the outer edges of the scopes adjustment you can put pressure on the springs inside as they are only designed for a certain amount of adjustment. This can cause the reticle or zero to bounce when firing and it may return to a slightly different settling point. I have seen this happen vertically but it seems I saw it more on horizontal adjustments.

Most scope aren't designed to be used to the point the turret stops spinning so you may have a few clicks one way or another until it officially "bottoms" out but the design adjustment range maybe before that point. I saw this a lot in a previous job working specifically with rifle scopes (tech, repair, testing, etc)

 

[Newtosavage]

if that was recent we can scratch one more off the list.

if not recent i would switch scopes and you will know in 3 shots.

are any screws that hold on the scope bases long enough to go clear through the action and touch the bolt or barrel?
Wrench has a good point on the spring- i have seen scopes cranked until the erector tube comes clear off of the screw and flops around inside.

which brings up the question----are you near the end of the travel of the windage or are you in the middle of the screws travel?

this could explain how the scope could shoot good on one rifle and bad on another.

Very good points. Thank you.

 

[Newtosavage]

Not saying that this is related to your stringing, but how far off the lands are you at that length?

My Alpine 7-08 didn't really shoot until I got the jump down to .010". With Nosler BT or Accubonds this results in a OAL which fits in the box "snug", but feeds fine.

Never found a factory ammo that would shoot even half way decent.

Not exactly sure because 2.80" is the longest I can load in my box. These were 2.775". I'm going to try another group at 2.8" and see if it makes any difference. If that doesn't do it, I may load up 3-4 at 0.10" off and single load them just to be sure.

 

[Newtosavage]

I am not a reloader/handloader so I won't wade into those waters...As far as potential scope issues someone mentioned on tracking....It wouldn't be a tracking issue. It would be a holding zero issue since you aren't dialing.

A bad spring in the scope could be an issue. Also, even though you shot it on another gun I would assume you had to adjust the scope to get it "zeroed" on the new gun. This is a long shot but if you get to the outer edges of the scopes adjustment you can put pressure on the springs inside as they are only designed for a certain amount of adjustment. This can cause the reticle or zero to bounce when firing and it may return to a slightly different settling point. I have seen this happen vertically but it seems I saw it more on horizontal adjustments.

Most scope aren't designed to be used to the point the turret stops spinning so you may have a few clicks one way or another until it officially "bottoms" out but the design adjustment range maybe before that point. I saw this a lot in a previous job working specifically with rifle scopes (tech, repair, testing, etc)

I'll try another scope on it and see what happens. I'd hate it if this K6 is bad, because it's so damn sharp, clear and bright.

 

[blkqi]

Not exactly sure because 2.80" is the longest I can load in my box. These were 2.775". I'm going to try another group at 2.8" and see if it makes any difference.

For what it's worth, I measured one of my Accubond loads yesterday at 2.875" OAL. This load is at .010" of bullet jump.

I'm guessing you are using the Legacy Sports bottom "metal" with detachable magazine, which could explain the discrepancy. I am using the Howa bottom.

I'd be happy to share load data if you are interested.

 

[Blockcaver]

I bet it is the load. I have a Cooper .17 FB that shoots Berger 25 gr HP into 5 shot 100 yd 1/2" round groups, 20 gr V-max into 1" round groups and 20 gr Nosler HP into 2" perfectly horizontal groups....much like your 7-08 shows. All were loaded with a medium load of TAC powder, Lapua cases (.221 necked down to .17) and CCI BR4 primers with the the same Redding seating die setting, shot back to back to back with cooling time last Friday.

In my case it's the same rifle, scope, shooter (technique), reloader, bench, tripod, conditions etc. I'll mess around with a few more loads with the Noslers to see if I can make them shoot but suspect the rifle doesn't shoot them that well. And I followed up with another 1" group with the 20 gr V-max that matched the first group so it wasn't fouling causing the horizontal stringing (nor wind). And the Cooper is heavy barrel single shot with a trigger set at less than 2#s.

 

[Newtosavage]

For what it's worth, I measured one of my Accubond loads yesterday at 2.875" OAL. This load is at .010" of bullet jump.

I'm guessing you are using the Legacy Sports bottom "metal" with detachable magazine, which could explain the discrepancy. I am using the Howa bottom.

I'd be happy to share load data if you are interested.

Actually, I'm using the Howa hinged floorplate.

I haven't tried Accubonds, but I feel like I've tried everything else in the 140 range. LOL The most accurate 140-class so far are Interlock BTSP's, which are usually my go-to when I am having trouble finding a sub-MOA load. 120 TSX's are right at 1", and they work fine. So are 145 LRX's. But I was just hoping to find something in the 139/140 class that shot better I guess.

 

[16Bore]

Action screws tight? Bedded? There’s a Tikka thread that had the same issue.

Other than that, mounts and parallax are culprits and action/scope screws hitting the bolt head. Sharpie the bolt head and cycle, you’ll know pretty quick.

 

[Newtosavage]

Action screws are tight. The action is very nicely bedded in this Bansner stock.

I went back and re-measured the magazine, and I could get 2.84" in the box, so I re-seated my rounds to that length and we'll see what happens. That's about 0.030" off the lands. The rounds cycle nicely, so if this depth shoots well it will be a good solution. I'm hoping right now I just need to find the right seating depth. Fingers crossed.

 

[16Bore]

It’s not the ammo. Even shitty ammo makes round groups. It’s just a bigger circle.

 

[blkqi]

Hope the new seating depth does it for you.

Maybe I missed it, but are your shots stringing consistently left or right or both?

 

[Newtosavage]

Hope the new seating depth does it for you.

Maybe I missed it, but are your shots stringing consistently left or right or both?

Seem to be equally L and R, but the sample size is fairly small.

 

[Newtosavage]

UGH. Spent 3 hours at the range this morning, and shot some some of the prettiest L to R strings I've shot so far.

Pulled the scope. Retightened all the screws, re-mounted the scope, ran the adjustments to and fro and discovered they are pretty well in the middle of the adjustment range.

Shot another string, and on the third shot I had a 1.5" wide group that measured 0.2" tall.

Pulled that scope off.

Installed another scope.

Shot another group with high hopes. Same result. It ain't the scope. So that was good news and bad news both since I like that scope.

This rifle shoots 120 TSX and 145 LRX Barnes pretty well actually. I'm thinking it just doesn't like bullets in the 139/140 grain range. I should just give up and shoot the 120's and if I need more than that, the 145 LRX's and call it a day.

It's just driving me nuts that I can't find a 139/140 that will shoot.

I ordered 9 sample paks of bullets from 120-162 grains today. We're gonna get to the bottom of this! LOL

That barrel is going to like one of those, I'm sure. Okay, I'm not sure, but I'm hopeful.

 

[MuleyFever]

I had this happen with 160 Partitions in my rifle. It shot everything else in groups that looked like they should, except the Partitions. It was frustrating because the groups was so small on the vertical but 2" or so on the horizontal.

 

[Newtosavage]

I had this happen with 160 Partitions in my rifle. It shot everything else in groups that looked like they should, except the Partitions. It was frustrating because the groups was so small on the vertical but 2" or so on the horizontal.

It is frustrating. I've now shot no fewer than 6 groups - none of which measured more than 1/4" vertical. I gotta believe that the 139/140 class bullets are just causing some kind of barrel whip that is timed just right that they can't group L to R.

I hope by ordering all those sample paks from 120 to 162 grains, I can get some answers.

I love this action and stock and scope. My favorites so far. If I have to, I'm not above putting a new barrel on this rifle.

 

[rayporter]

sometimes [[well all the time] ya gotta let the rifle tell you what it wants.