M
macv
Guest
Hi, the other day I was doing a ladder test of some loads for my 223 Rem. Upon getting to my last 2 rounds, My opened shooting coat caught the back end of the stock and pulled it off the rear bag and front rest. The scope took a little bump. Upon firing those last 2 shots, ( those were my best grps. too ) the first one went 1" high and then the 2nd shot for my last grp. went 1" to the right. Now Im out of ammo. Can't try to figure out at this point if the scope will settle down after shooting a few more rounds or not. Would you think that it might settle back to where it was without doing anything, or are other measures to be taken. Since the happening, I have reloaded more today and will be trying it all over again. The scope is a Bush. 4200 Elite. The bump it took really was not a bad one, so my way of thinking, and hopeing, that further shooting will settle it back to the way it was. Any ideas?
There can be a resultant change as an effect from as little as two pounds of pressure on the scope tube/bell. However, I'd go back out and try it again, if its okay, then I'd go on and develop the load. Once you're confidant of your load, then try shooting a "square" where you shoot a box of ammo (or less if you wish) 5 shots to point of impact, then crank it up, say, 12 clicks or so, shoot another group, then make a windage change, same number of clicks of windage, fire another group, then come straight back down, shoot another, then another windage change to bring you back to where you started; That group should shoot right into your very first group. There can be some other problems: your reticle may not be exactly square, so check it out, too. You can check that easily by putting the barrel in a padded vise. If you have a buttplate on the rifle, unscrew the top screw about 1-1/2 turns, take a piece of thread, or string and take about three turns around the screw, put a small weight on the other end, and turn the screw in till it won't let the thread go. Now stop the weight from swinging. If the thread hangs down over the screw at six o'clock, the rifle is level for roll, if not, rotate it until it is. If the scope adjustment caps are flat on top, put a small level on the elevation cap and look for the bubble. Level the rifle for pitch if need be. You can square up the reticle by rotating the scope till the bubble appears where it should be. Be careful when tightening the ring screws, the bubble will help you take the right amount of tension equally in the screws on each side till you maintain level when its snugged up. If you have any other problem, you may want to send the scope back, call the company and see what the damages will be for them to check it out. HTH