Accuracy help at 600

Wrcassell21

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Dec 29, 2011
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I am shooting a savage model 10 FCP in 308, 1:10 twist 24", 178 amax grouping 1/4" at 100 and like crap at 600 "well over ", I'm using 178 amax, 45.5 varget, and 2.815 oal, when max chamber is 2.825. love the speed (2720 ) but would like 1/2 moa better. think I'm shooting too fast ? any suggestions
 
Ditto to Boz's suggestion.

More often than not it's going to be a shooter induced error of some type when your having your groups open up that much.

Is your rig free floated and bedded?

Are you shooting from the same position when going long vs the 100yds groups?

What scope are you shooting? Is it parallax adjustable and are you adjusting it properly for the long shots?

A sub MOA rifle and load should remain sub MOA between 100-600yds without any problem.

Last question, how much time is transpiring between shots at 100 and 600yds and are you letting it cool down completely after finishing at 100 before starting on the 600yds target.
 
Assuming that you're doing your part right in terms of shooting and also your reloading, maybe try backing off a couple grains and work your way back up in .5 grain increments to find minimal vertical spread, thats usually worked good for me at those ranges. Also, check your scope mount because my shooting buddy had similar problems and was so frustrated and when we check out his rifle it turned out that his base was a little loose.
 
I'm shooting from concrete slab and lead sled, using vortex viper pst , adjusting parallax, with warne steel rings and steel 20 moa base, guess will check base tightness and do ladder
 
How many 1/4" groups have you shot at 100? If it isn't most, then it isn't a real 1/4" load. If it is, then the advice you have been given is spot on. A ladder test at distance, (600 is good), will give you a better idea of what is going on.
 
I shoot consistent 1/4 groups til barrel is dirty, regarding parallax my scope has increments to 500 then infinity, I focused til my eyes were best at 6, should I have rather put it on infinity than focus til my vision was best since there was no 600 mark on adjustment knob?
 
I shoot consistent 1/4 groups til barrel is dirty, regarding parallax my scope has increments to 500 then infinity, I focused til my eyes were best at 6, should I have rather put it on infinity than focus til my vision was best since there was no 600 mark on adjustment knob?


Parallax and focus are two different things. I think it would be worth your while to search up some of the threads here to help you to understand parallax and the affects it will have on your point of aim. This is surely a part of your problem but I do not believe it is all of it.

Jeff
 
For explaining how to adjust for parallax I use the term "bobble head test" to describe the process.
 
I wrote the following explaination last year for TAC 15 crossbow users. It all applies to rifle scopes obviously too. Just envision much longer shooting distances.

Failure to adjust scope parallax degrades crossbow group size by 3 to 4 inches at 25 yards.

I had two phone calls yesterday asking for assistance with accuracy problems using their new TAC 15/15i crossbows.

Both fellows reported getting 4 inch or greater group sizes at short distances of around 25 yards. As you may know, my groups (and those of others) have consistently been less that an inch at 25 yards.

With the first fellow it sounded like he was a pretty experienced rifle shooter the way he answered my questions that were trying to respectfully figure out whether he might not know how to adjust out normal parallax error. I spent a LOT of time o nthe phone with him before it became clear to me that he knew a little about parallax but almost nothing about to to eliminate it. I told him how and I'll tell you how in a minute.

Later the same day I had a second guy call with the same lament about poor groups at short distance. This time I cut right to the chase and told him politely and explicitly that it sounded like parallax error and told him how to eliminate it.

Guy #2 called me back today to say he tried my parallax correcting method and his groups at 25 yards dropped from 5 shots into 4 to 5 inches down to 5 shots (at different dots) down to way less than 1 inch.

The dial on the left side of the Accushot scope that ships with the TAC crossbows is the parallax dial. It has yardage marks on it out to 500 plus yards. It adjusts focus of the target as you turn it and more importantly it reduces and just about eliminated parallax errors when done properly.

The yardage numbers on the dial are only guidelines. Rarely do I find they coincide with the actual optimum correction factor (for either target focus or parallax) at a given distance -- regardless of how much you paid for the scope. It would be nice if you could count on the image focus adjustment done by the parallax dial to be best at the same dial location as that of the parallax adjustment -- but that also rarely coincides perfectly.
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WHAT IS PARALLAX?

It is easier to describe than to define so here goes. Set up your scope and bow (or rifle) on a steady rest with the reticle aimed at an object at say, 25 yards. Now, without touching any part of the weapon and scope, look through the scope at the object and move your eye back and forth, up and down. Kind of like a "bobble head"). As you move your eye, notice carefully whether the reticle seems to move around on the object (target).

The reticle movement you probably see is called parallax. Now let's think about what happens when you try to shoot a group of 5 shots with this condition. You put your eye up near the scope adjust the bow, fire, put the bow down, reload, etc.

When you take your 2nd shot, your eye may be in a slightly different position or angle on the scope so the reticle points a little bit off. You think you have aimed the crossbow at your target but you haven't. You've actually aimed just off to the side or up or down slightly.

TO ADJUST PARALLAX

With the crossbow in a firm rest get aim it at your target. Now take your hands off. Get behind the scope still not touching anything. Do the "bobble head" routine watching to see if the crosshair moves around on the target. If it does, take your left hand and slightly move the setting on the parallax dial. Bobble head again to see if it's improved. Turn the dial again, do bobble head, turn dial, etc.

Until the error is just gone. Make note of what yardage number is showing at this first distance Write it down.
 
just read an article parallax vs focus and I just learned a lot I did not know, I did not adjust correctly and just estimated where about 600 would be and pulled trigger. I am new to long range shooting and do most hunting inside 300, it sounds that correct parallax adjustments are greatly important. will give this a try and let u guys know results, thanks will
 
For what it's worth, here are my suggestions. It is true that parallax makes a hell ofa difference however, no adjustment is dead on I have found so here are things you can do to eliminate other potential problems.

First. How is your cheek weld? is it the same everytime? At 100 you can be slightly off your weld and still shoot 1/4 MOA at longer ranges you can't. If you are shooting for instance 1500 to 2000 yards the weld alone will make the difference between a hit and a miss.

Second. How is your trigger control and weld is it consistent? When I was competing in long range I used a pumice stone on my trigger finger precisely where it welds to the trigger. This can also make a huge difference

Third. Are you squeezing off your shots between heart beats? If not discipline yourself to do that and work on breath control particularly diaphragmatic breathing it will help your rifle to move the least if you breath that way.

Best O luck I hope this helps Good Shooting
Apache Sniper
 
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