Group size, shape, factors

[Bigshooter]

Sandbags front and  back, nothing touching the barell.

Was your front swivel stud on the bag? or in front of the bag?

[h20hunter]

Nope. Settled in flush.

[BULLBLASTER]

I’d say natural point of aim, recoup management, or parallax are the culprit. Maybe a combination of them.

Parallax absolutely plays a role in accuracy at ranges closer than 300 yards. 

[h20hunter]

Thx. Have ten more loaded,  will focus on trigger and checking parallax.

[BULLBLASTER]

Natural point of aim is a big one for me it gets me if I’m not careful.
I like to line up and aim then close my eyes and take a breath and let it out. If you open your eyes and are still on target your good. If not adjust and try again.

[h20hunter]

I usually just line er up, squeeze my eyes tight and let er rip. I'll give that crazy method a shot as well.

[BULLBLASTER]

I usually just line er up, squeeze my eyes tight and let er rip. I'll give that crazy method a shot as well.

That’s a solid plan too! If all else fails get mad and grip it and rip it

Top group in this picture has horizontal stringing and was shot between the other 2.

[Bigshooter]

I’d say natural point of aim, recoup management, or parallax are the culprit. Maybe a combination of them.

Parallax absolutely plays a role in accuracy at ranges closer than 300 yards. 

Accuracy yes stringing them I don't think so.

[jasnt]

 @h2ohunter
Did it string them or just group a line?

[h20hunter]

Grouped a line id say.

[jasnt]

That’s says parallax to me. If point of impact just walked out the line then I’d say fundamentals or bedding issues. But if it grouped the line with one left then one right then one next to the left for example that very well could be parallax.  Next question would be is this a one time occurrence or does it happen more often?

[h20hunter]

First time for me....first 10 rounds of handloads. The factory ammo DID NOT group in this manner. Next set of 10 rounds should be very telling.

[wooltie]

Loaded up these at the flat spot. I'm going with the group on the far right, might have thrown that one round from the other three.  Will see what they group at 200/300 yards.

I shot these 12 shots plus one Fowler round robin style at 100 yards It was interesting to see the variation.

But if the far right group stays consistent then I'm done for this season!

[h20hunter]

Nice....heading out momentarily to test the next batch.

[Bushcraft]

What distance was the group?  If it was less than 300 yards forget about thinking about parallax.

Not so. Correct parallax adjustment is important at any distance for precision shooting.  It's the primary reason most shooters are baffled why their rifle shoots one day and doesn't another. You see it all the time at ranges. People think it's a focus knob...but as we know...it's not.

In addition to improper parallax adjustment, there could be some issues with his positional shooting fundamentals. You'll oftentimes see horizontal stringing like that in new shooters that are "bladed" to the rifle (and have developed a flinch) and/or are not engaging the trigger pull properly.

Also, I've seen some pretty insane horizontal shifts if the front action screw has worked loose. That cost me a spot on the podium at one-day PRS match earlier this year. I went from crushing every target to inexplicable horizontal impacts on the last three stages that I blamed on crappy wind calls.  Got back to the rig to put everything away for the trip home, and low and behold...I noticed the barrel was loose in the fore-end of the chassis and the front action screw was totally loose.