What do you think about the weird behaviour of my custom rifle?

[ssimo]

Answer:

Shoot2Hunt University

I would love to do it, unfortunately i live on the other side of the ocean!

 

[mt terry d]

I would love to do it, unfortunately i live on the other side of the ocean!

Yeah, it's a game changer
I'm far from being an expert but it sure sounds to me like everything points to
"the nut behind the butt"

 

[ssimo]

Yeah, it's a game changer
I'm far from being an expert but it sure sounds to me like everything points to
"the nut behind the butt"

I hunted for many years and i ma having issues only with this specific rifle.. i was used to aim and see a hole appear, work this rifle it is just not like this. You aim and you never know where thr group is gonna appear. I tried everything to make this rifle work and i would be happy to be the cause of the issue but i am pretty sure i am not.. i was hoping for someone to tell me, considering his experience, if what i wrote sounded normal or not but apparently this is not an easy question

 

[ssimo]

Something I recently learned: Best results for shooting field rifles comes from applying about as much pressure in pulling the rifle back as it weighs. So, in your case, approximately 11lbs. Be sure to roll your shoulder forward so that it is squared up flat, perpendicular to the bore. You want the bore and your shoulder to form a firm "T", essentially. The purpose for this, is to create a consistent surface, that doesn't have the recoil causing unnecessary jump in the muzzle or optics in any direction - having the shoulder perpendicular/flat helps the bore push straight back, not up-right, etc. The added consistency should, as I understand it, also help with POI consistency.

Another thing to consider is your scope's parallax - it's more of an issue in fixed-parallax scopes than it is with side-focus parallax adjusting knobs. You want your eyeball to be in the exact same place every time, and that it is, ideally, perfectly centered left-right, up-down, and front-to-back of the eye box.

The best way to test this is to get your target under the crosshairs, and then move your head a little bit - up, left, right, down, etc. Any direction. If the target moves out from under the crosshairs, your head is not properly positioned. If your head is properly positioned, there should be zero movement of the target under the crosshairs when you adjust your head a little.

One easy trick to help make sure your head is aligned properly left-right/up-down, is to pull your head back a little from the scope, until you get a ring of scope shadow - make that ring even all the way around, and then gently push your head back forward until you no longer see shadow all the way around, and only light.

good point on the parallax, i always tune it before a shot.

So your rifles changes POI by 1 or 2 MOA if you change the pressure you apply to the shoulder or if you lean the buttpad on a lower back rest?

 

[Speaks]

Your problem rifle does not shoot .2 MOA unless your measuring 1 shot groups....

 

[ssimo]

Your problem rifle does not shoot .2 MOA unless your measuring 1 shot groups....

what?

actually when the rifle performs (only under very specific conditions) groups are even smaller. Being basically one rugged hole it is even difficult to measure but i don't think this detail is important to the thread..

I shoot 3 shot groups for quick zero check (for example if weather changes significantly or if the scope get bumbed a bit or the rifle gets disassembled for maintenance) and 5-10 shot groups for testing the rifle or loads. With 10 shot groups generally at least one shot lands outisde the single hole.

The problem is that this rifle seem to be very inconsistent probably due to the harsh recoil and the rigidity of the system

 

[Macintosh]

Have you listened to the shoot2hunt podcast that is specifically focused on troubleshooting issues just like this? There’s also this thread that might be helpful which also happens to contain a link to the podcast.

Ive never heard anyone say that a custom gun is harder to get to shoot. If its customized for a specific bullet or something maybe it wont be perfect with a very different bullet, etc, but never heard anything that would indicate it being harder to be consistent.

Every gun or measurement issue brought up so far you’ve said doesnt apply. So everything you are saying points to the rifle NOT being the issue, with the difference coming from shooter input and recoil management. You said other guns you have are easier to shoot consistently, and you characterized the recoil as “harsh”—what cartridges are the other guns? Is it simply that this gun recoils more, and is that much more difficult to manage? Have you had another experienced shooter try the gun to see if the issues are the same? If a known-good shooter who is used to shooting with similar or greater recoil can shoot it, it’s you. If they have similar problems, that would point to the equipment.

You already said they were “flawless”, BUT everyone makes a mistake here and there. Have you re-torqued all mounts and action screws, etc? Have you swapped in a different scope? Ive had a couple scopes break, and they exhibited inconsistent results somewhat similar to this, so if the mounts are already double-checked I’d maybe try a different scope temporarily. Yeah, its a NF, but if it all of a sudden starts shooting with a different scope, its a good bet thats the culprit. If it does the same at least you know it isnt the scope.

How close to you is the gunsmith who built it? Can you work with them to diagnose what is going on?

 

[grfox92]

Ill be blunt. I dont think there is anything wrong with the rifle. Also, a gun that is capable of putting 9 out of 10 bullets in one hole doesn't exist, and even if it did, the guy capable executing that group isn't a random guy from Italy who is a "pretty good shot."


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[BishBeCool]

“ a properly set rest or with a Harris bipod and a rear bag.“

^^^^ this is not the same as shooting off of a backpack.

Different position types might get you different results. Are you that good of a shooter in all shooting positions?