Hunting Washington Forum

Equipment & Gear => Scopes and Optics => Topic started by: Salmonhead19 on September 16, 2012, 10:04:19 PM

Title: Sighting in Rifle
Post by: Salmonhead19 on September 16, 2012, 10:04:19 PM: Went out with my new 30.06 the other day trying to sight in my rifle. I had my scope on the hundred yard target but I couldnt hit even the board it was on. I then decided to shoot at the 50 yard target to try and get it close. I was able to get the scope pretty much dead on at 50 yards but then I went back to try 100 yards and still couldnt hit the target. Any advice on how I can sight my rifle in will be greatly appreciated.
Title: Re: Sighting in Rifle
Post by: JimmyHoffa on September 16, 2012, 10:21:09 PM: Can you shoot at ranges in between like 75 yds?
What kind of grouping did you get at 50?
Title: Re: Sighting in Rifle
Post by: jtw on September 16, 2012, 10:26:00 PM: What position are you shooting from? Are you shooting from a bench?
Title: Re: Sighting in Rifle
Post by: bobcat on September 16, 2012, 10:34:59 PM: With a new rifle and scope I like to start out at 25 yards. You should be able to just about put all your shots in the same hole at that distance. Once you get it shooting good at 25, move it out further, you can go all the way out to 100 yards if you want. If you've got it hitting close to dead on at 25 you will definitely hit the target at 100.
Title: Re: Sighting in Rifle
Post by: carpsniperg2 on September 16, 2012, 10:36:53 PM: Check the bases and rings to make sure they are locked down. No reason you should be good at 50 and not even on paper at 100. The only thing that I can think of is something is loose.
Title: Re: Sighting in Rifle
Post by: kentrek on September 16, 2012, 10:48:34 PM: is the barrel completely free floating ? could be something there..

shoot groups of five at fifty an repeat to check consistancy,then keep walking back till 120

:twocents:
Title: Re: Sighting in Rifle
Post by: Maligator on September 17, 2012, 03:32:39 AM: Quote from: carpsniperg2 on September 16, 2012, 10:36:53 PM
Check the bases and rings to make sure they are locked down. No reason you should be good at 50 and not even on paper at 100. The only thing that I can think of is something is loose.

:yeah:

I went to the range with a friend who had just purchased a new 06 with detachable scope. Got great groups at 50 yds then went to 100 and NOTHING! spent 3 boxes of ammo going back and forth between 50 yds and 100 ydsuntil he noticed that he hadn't tightened the rings enough or that they had worked themselves loose. I told him to pack it in and we would come back after he junked the removable scope rings and had a proper fitting done.

And yes...i busted his chops about it quite a bit :chuckle:
Title: Re: Sighting in Rifle
Post by: fullpipe77 on February 22, 2014, 10:39:28 AM: The same thing happened to me when I sighted in my ar!!!! I started at 25, 50, 100. :dunno:
Title: Re: Sighting in Rifle
Post by: GEARHEAD on February 23, 2014, 08:17:48 PM: if your dead on at 50, then you should be center and only a few inches high at 100. im assuming your shooting supported, i.e. bags bipod etc etc
Title: Re: Sighting in Rifle
Post by: buckfvr on February 23, 2014, 08:23:20 PM: Dead on at 25yds, appx 1 1/2in high at 100yds.
Title: Re: Sighting in Rifle
Post by: dscubame on February 23, 2014, 08:27:37 PM: Quote from: buckfvr on February 23, 2014, 08:23:20 PM
Dead on at 25yds, appx 1 1/2in high at 100yds.

:tup:
Title: Re: Sighting in Rifle
Post by: SFD2015 on February 23, 2014, 08:50:32 PM: Use multiple paper targets. I had this same problem, where I was dead on at 25 and 50, but I couldn't get on the paper at 100. So, I took another target and placed it above and below the one I was aiming at. Needless to say, I was pretty damn high. Walked it down to where I needed to be at 100 then worked from there. You probably aren't having a left/right drift, but instead an up/down. Having those targets that show where your impact is helps out in doing this.
Title: Re: Sighting in Rifle
Post by: Bofire on February 24, 2014, 07:54:06 PM: :) I find with 223/22-250/270/300wm, that about 1 1/2 low at 25 will be about 2-3 high at 100, with a bolt gun. Depends a lot on how high your scope center is mounted over the bore, a bolt gun might be about 1-2 inches, an AR 1 1/2 to 3 inches.
So, before the bullet crosses the line of sight the first time, at about 20-30 yards, it must raise the distance, that the line of sight, is above the bore.
Raising 1 inch or raising 4 inches in the first 25 yards makes an incredible difference.
Carl
Title: Re: Sighting in Rifle
Post by: jaymark6655 on February 25, 2014, 08:31:43 AM: If none of this other stuff works, try different ammo. Maybe the bullet is too heavy/light for the twist rate and not stabilizing.
Title: Re: Sighting in Rifle
Post by: Fl0und3rz on February 25, 2014, 09:49:13 AM: Welcome to Hunt-WA.

I expect that you should be on paper with a 50 yard zero.

For example, for the factory R30064 Remington® Express® 180 Soft Point Core-Lokt® BC 0.248 this

http://www.remington.com/ballistics/results/default.aspx?type=centerfire&cal=30 (http://www.remington.com/ballistics/results/default.aspx?type=centerfire&cal=30)

shows you should be roughly zeroed at 100 yards for a 50 yard zero.

You could probably look up your factory load specs and get similar data.

Or you could plug load specs into a ballistics calculator to find out an estimated trajectory.

Here's one I use.
http://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmtraj-5.1.cgi (http://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmtraj-5.1.cgi)

As a result, either there is something wrong with your equipment or your shooting. Others have listed some equipment ideas (loose scope mounts, receiver-stock screw loose). If you are consistent (small repeatable groups) at 50 yards and you have checked the usual equipment suspects to be satisfactory, then you might look to your shooting.

One thing to note about shooting is to avoid resting the rifle barrel on the rest. Rest the rifle on the forearm and try to be consistent between 50 and 100 yard shots. As an example, I've seen a camo tape-wrapped rifle (including barrel) vary the zero significantly and inconsistently, which caused trouble getting on paper at 100 yards (on a formerly zeroed rifle. It may be obvious to you, so don't take it was a slight.

It'd probably help, too, to have some specs on rifle/scope/mounts/ammo.

I've never had a rifle that was free of equipment issues and that would not hit paper at 100 yards (but would group at 50 yards), with the exception of a Mosin Nagant having a questionable bore with decades old combloc ammo (and you probably would not call that distribution at 50 yards a "group").
Title: Re: Sighting in Rifle
Post by: bobcat on February 25, 2014, 10:27:40 AM: This thread is from September of 2012 and the original poster has not been back since. Just FYI.