frustrating day at the range

[mok]

hello everyone this may be a fairly long post so bear with me...where to start...2 days ago i had to remove my stock and scope for some general matientance and i expected my poi to shift as a result however today at the range at 200 yards i was 4.2 inches low which seemed like a pretty big shift to me so i say w.e its real windy out 25-30 mph head wind...so i come up 5 clicks each click being 1 inch at 200 yards and now im way high over the top of an 8 inch target that i was origionally hitting the bottom of so now i come down 4 clicks on the scope bringing me dead center but now im only 1 click away from my origional zero that was hitting almost 4.5 inches low...anybody have any ideas as to why my poi shifted so much and why i had to bring my scope back to its origional zero which was 4.2 inches low now hitting dead center...the rest of the day it held its zero and shot pretty good considering the wind ps.the stock is pillar beded the rifle is a remington 700 5r milspec

 

[mok]

pss...all the action screws and scope mount screws are tight

 

[FearNoWind]

Well, the head wind you describe certainly didn't help. With that kind of head wind I wouldn't even try analyze it. You can't separate the wind influences from the mechanical influences enough to make any reasonable assessment of what's going on.
What kind of scope do you have with 1/2 minute clicks?

 

[westcliffe01]

2moa low after action removal from the stock and scope removal from the action ? That does not sound unreasonable at all. How confident are you that the action screws and scope mounting screws are torqued to the same amount as before ? If the action screws are a different tension they will change the barrel harmonics and POI shift could be significant. How does it group ? Thats the first question you need to answer. if your favourite load no longer groups you have issues to work out that may move your POI again.

Regarding the second issue, tracking, it can be hard to say. If the action had the means to move slightly in the bedding or had a pressure point, that could cause the POI to move shot to shot. Shooting 1 shot really doesn't tell you much at all. If you cleaned the copper out the barrel with a solvent, it may take 20-30 shots to get back to your original POI and velocity.

So there are a lot of questions. What was the maintenance that needed the action taken out the stock, and how did it group ?

 

[mok]

yes you are correct the head wind did make things difficult to assess. it was gusting really hard. ill have to see where im at on a calmer day because ive really have had very good results with this rifle, when i do my part. i did just re-check the rifle and noticed my front action screw felt snug however with a small amount of force it did tighten up maybe a quarter of a turn. i dont know if this was the cause of the odd shift of poi. maybe the rifle had settled in the stock a bit causing the screw to become slightly loose...the scope is a vortex viper the elevation has 1/2 min clicks the windage is 1/4min... everything is tight up top.

 

[ShtrRdy]

Were your first shot(s) from a clean bore?

 

[FearNoWind]

... ...the scope is a vortex viper the elevation has 1/2 min clicks the windage is 1/4min...

Have to admit I don't own a Vortex Viper (and there's more than one model) but I've used a couple on borrowed rifles and read their specs. and have neither experienced nor read 1/2 moa clicks on the vertical adjustment. 1/4 moa with 12 moa per rotation is what I recall.

 

[mok]

the shots werent from a clean bore it was fouled from my last session at the range. and yes the verticle adjustment is in 1/2 min clicks it is a vortex viper VHS-4305-LR

 

[mok]

ps. the rifle grouped well through out the day with a few fliers here and there which may or may not have been me (it was very windy). im now hoping it was because the front action screw wasnt as tight as it should have been. thanks for all your help

 

[FearNoWind]

the shots werent from a clean bore it was fouled from my last session at the range. and yes the verticle adjustment is in 1/2 min clicks it is a vortex viper VHS-4305-LR

Thanks, MOK - I learned something new today.

 

[westcliffe01]

The half minute elevation clicks and capped windage turret of the Viper LR LR is what swung my choice to the HS-T which have turrets that are the same as the PST scopes.

Have to admit I don't own a Vortex Viper (and there's more than one model) but I've used a couple on borrowed rifles and read their specs. and have neither experienced nor read 1/2 moa clicks on the vertical adjustment. 1/4 moa with 12 moa per rotation is what I recall.