Troubles Zeroing .270

[Kcain18]

I had recently bought a Ruger American Rifle in the .270 caliber. A couple weeks ago I went to sight-in my Vortex Crossfire II
3-9x40. I was on paper at 100 yards had a decent grouping before I left the range, went back yesterday after cleaning the rifle and wasn't even close to where I was when I left the range. Same rounds and same grain. I am fairly new to shooting, I would like and very much appreciate any help I can get.

 

[go4thegusto]

Sometimes stability can be fleeting. I fought my 270 Weatherby for a while. Rebedded it and then ended up cutting an inch off barrel and re-doing the crown. Seemed to fix it. Check the stock and bedding pressure on barrel. Slip a dollar bill in there and see where and how tight it is hitting barrel. Look at crown for imperfections. Could just be the load. Scope is always the first concern. They can shift so I would judge it by group size to see which direction to go.

 

[Jeff Martin]

How are you shooting the rifle at the range? Bags? Bipod? Block? I have seen many inexperienced shooters rest the barrel on bags, then rest the stock on bags, the shoot barrel resting on a block. My point is this. Having the barrel touch anything is a disaster. Shoot it is th same every time. That’s first.

Of course you need to make sure your rings and bases are secure and have not worked lose.

2 thoughts...


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[Kcain18]

I had a block with a bag on top, stock was resting on bag not the barrel also a bag under the but of the stock for stability. I'm considering getting a bipod for the rifle but am undecided.

 

[Cant hit em]

If that gun came from factory with the scope mounted , id start by double checking every screw on it , especially rings and bases


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[Kcain18]

If that gun came from factory with the scope mounted , id start by double checking every screw on it , especially rings and bases


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Bought them separate from each other. had the scope mounted at Bass Pro by a guy that spent some time at a shooting school or long range shooting class?

 

[howl]

What Cant said, even though it wasn't factory. Even if the BP dude did it well, you'd still want to snug everything after recoil settled things in; including action screws.

Those Americans are a little squirrely off the bench due to the flexible stock and light weight. Leave the barrel fouled, or re-foul it, make sure everything is tight and pay special attention to how the gun rides the bags. Having the front bag more toward the action than muzzle can help on those. Make sure that forearm isn't touching the barrel sometimes and sometimes not.

You want repeatable movement under recoil with minimal bouncing and everything coming back in a straight line. You should be able to watch the vertical crosshair stay in the middle of the target while the horizontal goes up and down as you slide the rifle back and forth. Hopping and twisting under recoil makes consistent grouping very difficult.

 

[5MilesBack]

How'd you clean the rifle? My 7mag absolutely hates cleaning. So when I get it zeroed, it stays dirty.......until it starts to wander. Then I start all over until it's fouled and on target again.

 

[Kcain18]

How'd you clean the rifle? My 7mag absolutely hates cleaning. So when I get it zeroed, it stays dirty.......until it starts to wander. Then I start all over until it's fouled and on target again.

Honestly my father in law cleaned it, i know he has cleaning rods and I believe a bore snake. Not sure what he used.

 

[dplantz]

This is not meant to be an insult, but unfortunately, odds are it's just you. Certainly check that scope to base to action to stock connections are all tight; but that's probably not the issue. Barrels needing fouling is much rarer than some claim. If most guys were more honest and self critical, they'd realize, like I have, that their impact point moving inexplicably is the shooter, not the gun. It is very, very difficult to develop a truly good trigger pull, especially if you don't have a sweet sweet trigger. I can't tell you how many times I've thought I was making good clean breaking shots, adjusted the scope, figured I was good, went to take one last double check shot, and then had a perfect squeeze that was so obviously perfect and so much better than everything before and suddenly impact is well off. Practice, practice, practice. Or don't shoot past 100 yards, one of the two.

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[Kcain18]

This is not meant to be an insult, but unfortunately, odds are it's just you. Certainly check that scope to base to action to stock connections are all tight; but that's probably not the issue. Barrels needing fouling is much rarer than some claim. If most guys were more honest and self critical, they'd realize, like I have, that their impact point moving inexplicably is the shooter, not the gun. It is very, very difficult to develop a truly good trigger pull, especially if you don't have a sweet sweet trigger. I can't tell you how many times I've thought I was making good clean breaking shots, adjusted the scope, figured I was good, went to take one last double check shot, and then had a perfect squeeze that was so obviously perfect and so much better than everything before and suddenly impact is well off. Practice, practice, practice. Or don't shoot past 100 yards, one of the two.

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dplantz I appreciate the honesty, I know some of it or most of it can be the shooter at times. i feel am holding it pretty steady when shooting I will be checking every possible factor over the next few weeks in preparation for rifle season here in Mi.

 

[Tod osier]

Honestly my father in law cleaned it, i know he has cleaning rods and I believe a bore snake. Not sure what he used.

If you don't know what he did, he could have taken the action out of the stock, which is common to do with a new rifle. It would be expected that would throw off the zero with re torqueing the screws. Ask him what he did.

 

[jjjjeremy]

A torque screwdriver / fat wrench is one of the best tool investments I've ever made. It takes the guess work out of whether your action screws, bases, and rings are tightened or over-tightened.

 

[Formidilosus]

This is not meant to be an insult, but unfortunately, odds are it's just you. Certainly check that scope to base to action to stock connections are all tight; but that's probably not the issue. Barrels needing fouling is much rarer than some claim. If most guys were more honest and self critical, they'd realize, like I have, that their impact point moving inexplicably is the shooter, not the gun. It is very, very difficult to develop a truly good trigger pull, especially if you don't have a sweet sweet trigger. I can't tell you how many times I've thought I was making good clean breaking shots, adjusted the scope, figured I was good, went to take one last double check shot, and then had a perfect squeeze that was so obviously perfect and so much better than everything before and suddenly impact is well off. Practice, practice, practice. Or don't shoot past 100 yards, one of the two.

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As well for you- this isn't meant to be an insult, but I want to address some of your points.


1) The vast majority of barrels have POI shifts between cleaned and fouled.

2) It is not "very, very difficult" to develop a proper trigger press- takes us about 20 minutes to teach. Maybe it is if people are blasting away like most learned to do, but to actually teach it- not very long when rested.

3) Yes, the biggest variable is most often the shooter, however most gun, stock, mount, and scope combinations have POI shifts use to use. The fact the some/most shooters don't notice says more about both their skill, knowledge, and the way that they zero and confirm than it does about equipment. There should be NO POI shift day to day at 100 yards. If it is caused by the shooter when firing from a rest- they need basic marksmanship fundamental work. If it is caused by the rifle/scope which is common- they need equipment that is stable.




The OP's rifle and scope are nowhere near stable. The stocks on Americans are so flexible that it isn't hard to have POI minor shifts depending on where and what the forend is rested on. The Vortex scope commonly has loss of zero/zero shifts. I would guess that his mounting system is suspect as well. Combine an unstable shooting system with a newer shooter or one who doesn't have the technical skill and
knowledge to select good kit and diagnose problems correctly and you can never te what is causing the issues. Start off with a good system and some basic principles, and we can eliminate everything BUT the shooter. Win/win.

 

[Bear_Hunter]

I don't see that you mentioned it, but after you went back to the range, did you have a good grouping like before, just in a different spot?

Or were your shots all over the place and not grouping?

Second, after you went back to the range how many shots did you shoot?