Wierd results - Reloading 7 mag tikka t3x. Plz help missed a perfect shot!!

[CamaroMan]

Hi - so been having some consitency issues, not sure if its rifle, scope or load related. Can shoot 1/2 groups at 50 yards no prod on a front dead rest.. then all of a sudden 2 shots will miss the target entirely, maybe 2 out of 20-30 rounds. Really wierd! New tikka t3x's - vortex scopes which are supposedly ok with magnum rounds.

I have been reloading with a Lee system. N160 powder, ive been loading between 56 and 58 grains - hornady 168 boat tails. I check each round length and do full length sizing.

Firs tthing I noticed was alot less recoil despite aiming for similar loads.. I was wondering if the neck tension was not as tight? Would this affect 50 and 100 yard groups much? I dont have any fancy measuring equipment, just 30/50 yard shots we observe closely.

Guns do cool- in fact previous trip to the desert we ended up with good results at 100, 2 inch groups. Last trip i wanted to be REAL sure so I dont miss another deer- and lo and behold, all was going ok till the LAST 2 rounds at 50, both missed!!! Just un believable and im a little paranoid now..

 

[Pickettpuncher]

At 50 yards you should have 1 ragged hole. Is it possible your “missed shots” are actually going thru the ragged hole.

 

[jaytaylor]

Standard troubleshooting would dictate eliminating one factor at a time to see where the problem is.

What rifle is this? Unless it's an old rifle it will likely shoot better than what you describe, so maybe can eliminate the rifle as the culprit.

You could weigh each and every cartridge you have loaded - are they the same exact weight? If so should eliminate variance from inadvertent powder loads.

You could try a different scope, or in some cases, especially since you are only shooting at 50 yards, potentially shoot the rifle off of a rest just using the "iron sights", if anything exists on the rifle allowing this. My missed shots over the years have always come from a scope that is starting to come apart. Very difficult to troubleshoot, but it can be done.

Good luck.

 

[TaperPin]

Hi - so been having some consitency issues, not sure if its rifle, scope or load related. Can shoot 1/2 groups at 50 yards no prod on a front dead rest.. then all of a sudden 2 shots will miss the target entirely, maybe 2 out of 20-30 rounds. Really wierd! New tikka t3x's - vortex scopes which are supposedly ok with magnum rounds.

I have been reloading with a Lee system. N160 powder, ive been loading between 56 and 58 grains - hornady 168 boat tails. I check each round length and do full length sizing.

Firs tthing I noticed was alot less recoil despite aiming for similar loads.. I was wondering if the neck tension was not as tight? Would this affect 50 and 100 yard groups much? I dont have any fancy measuring equipment, just 30/50 yard shots we observe closely.

Guns do cool- in fact previous trip to the desert we ended up with good results at 100, 2 inch groups. Last trip i wanted to be REAL sure so I dont miss another deer- and lo and behold, all was going ok till the LAST 2 rounds at 50, both missed!!! Just un believable and im a little paranoid now..

Since you noticed low recoil with the shots that missed, it makes me think of poor ignition. That might be bad primers, contaminated powder, not enough powder (charges thrown directly into the case), dirt slowing down the firing pin, firing pin not sticking out far enough, broken firing pin spring, weak firing pin spring, some weird drag from the trigger on the firing pin cocking piece.

I‘ve had ice cause light primer strikes and an impact 2 moa off, but recoil was normal.

As with most troubleshooting, do the easy things first - clean the inside of the bolt and trigger, see that the firing pin sticks out a normal amount, replace the firing pin spring, get new primer/powder, only throw charges in batches so they can be visually compared before bullet seating. 95% chance that fixes it.

 

[jfk69]

I’d check my scope base mount screws, then my rings to base screws, then the rings screws themselves to make sure they are all tightened to specs. Then I’d throw the Vortex in the garbage. But that’s me lol.

 

[pbroski]

Missing the entire paper at 50 yards could never be caused by a problem with the load. Things like variation in neck tension or even a difference with the powder charge wouldn't do that. Only something loose or a bad scope could cause it to be that far off.

 

[LongWayAround]

What happens when you shoot factory ammo?


"Firs tthing I noticed was alot less recoil despite aiming for similar loads."

^Does that mean you experience less recoil with all of your reloads, relative to something factory?

Or, does that mean your "weird" shots have less recoil than others from the same group.

 

[Koda_]

At 50 yards you should have 1 ragged hole. Is it possible your “missed shots” are actually going thru the ragged hole.

^^ this.
Accuracy and precision needs to be checked at 100yds or farther.

 

[Mike D Texas]

What model Vortex?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[willfrye027]

It’s not your reloading I can pretty much guarantee that

 

[Mag_7s]

The noticeable difference in recoil would be my largest concern. I would follow as @TaperPin describes.
Also, what primer are you using and what do the strikes look like? Are there any noticeable differences in between them?

 

[A382DWDZQ]

Are you sure you have a 168gr bullet? I don’t see that in my Honady manual. You said you’re between 56-58grs, is that for different loads, or are you just ballparking that as a range? The difference in recoil is something that stands out to me, that indicates a big drop in pressure and at 50 yards, if you’re not on the paper, that is a drop of like 9-10 inches. The difference between a min and max load at 50 isn’t even going to register, and it would need to be out to about 400 yards to get a 10” difference. Do you have a check weight for your scale?

 

[Cactus kid]

I'd look at the vortex scope with a high degree of suspicion.