hodge911 Posted May 26, 2017 Report Share Posted May 26, 2017 thanks for taking time to read this and hopefully shine a light on if my thoughts are wrong or right ........... ok here goes . I mate of mine has a savage .243 rifle that he has had for a while and shot a fair few roe with it no problems at all in fact I,ve seen this this rifle group at sub 1" @ 100yds until a few weeks back when for no apparent reason it stopped holding zero and became unusable . he has not dropped it or anything like that . the scope mounts were not the best so he went to local gunshop and got a new set of match mounts fitted and rifle bore sighted with his original scope [a hawke sport hd I think] now I know hawke scopes are at the lower end of the market but they have accounted for numerous roe at between 100 - 200yds for him no problem . he took it to the range he goes to to finalize the zero but with no joy ....so another lad we both know took him to his house and put his bore sighter on it only for it to be a mile out so he adjusted it and on Tuesday this week I took him to my big permission to try and zero it at 100yds but no joy first 3 rounds not even on the a4 size target next three target on a larger board and we did find 1 impact of the three so using that as a starting point we adjusted a few clicks to see the result and hopefully get a group of some sort all be it off target but nope no group well not under 5" so for the next 2 hours of tweeking and shooting both him and me and nearly 50 rounds no joy . shoot a group of 3 constantly aiming dead centre of target with the rifle in a bench rest on the bonnet of the car so nice and steady and no way first round then second round would be high or low to the left or the right but no consistency . so my conclusion is his scopes are goosed and need replacing ........................................or another thought I had which I don't think is the problem is ...is the barrel shot out ..... my next thought is to put his hawke scope off the .243 ont a .22 rimmie and see what its like does anyone have any other ideas [no jokes or micky takes on this one please he really does want to get it sorted] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougy Posted May 26, 2017 Report Share Posted May 26, 2017 You've changed scopes and mounts so you can rule those out. Has it got a mod on ? Tried without? All stock screws secure ? Has it had a good clean ? Then it could be shot out. But I would have thought the poor grouping would be a little more gradual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8outof10 Posted May 26, 2017 Report Share Posted May 26, 2017 As Dougy said, i would check the stock screws. I once spent a week trying to zero a rifle, everytime i got it wherevi thought it was spot on, the next shot was miles off. I ended up deciding to strip the rifle, as i went to undo the stock screws noticed they were loose so tightenes them all and tried again, got it spot on and it hasnt moved since. Hope you get it sorted soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshwarrior Posted May 26, 2017 Report Share Posted May 26, 2017 Check mod is not at fault remove it. Check all stock bolts. Change scope for a known good one and try again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figgy Posted May 26, 2017 Report Share Posted May 26, 2017 As above, I had a mod that one of the baffles kept clipping and wouldn't hold a zero it was a loose baffle. Even a knackered scope when adjusted should fire at least one round on target before the recoil throws it out again. Take the mod off and try shooting a group without it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1066 Posted May 27, 2017 Report Share Posted May 27, 2017 Are you shooting home loads or factory? Have you changed your ammunition? What bullet weight/barrel twist rate do you have? I found my .243 Howa would only shoot some 100gn bullets with a 1/10 barrel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hodge911 Posted May 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2017 You've changed scopes and mounts so you can rule those out. Has it got a mod on ? Tried without? All stock screws secure ? Has it had a good clean ? Then it could be shot out. But I would have thought the poor grouping would be a little more gradual. sorry I think you have miss read he changed mounts but put his original hawke scope back on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hodge911 Posted May 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2017 my apologies guys I forgot to mention ; no mod fitted not even threaded for one. using home loads that he has used for a long time and shot well with that weight of bullet and powder nothing changed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshwarrior Posted May 27, 2017 Report Share Posted May 27, 2017 Check stock bolts etc are all tight. Try a known good scope and try again. I expect the scope has given up, if this doesn't work let us all know we'll come up with more ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougy Posted May 27, 2017 Report Share Posted May 27, 2017 Start at 1 end and go through checks. Crown.. Stock.. Scope.. Mount.. Clean.. Reloads.. check scales, check seating depth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortune Posted May 27, 2017 Report Share Posted May 27, 2017 I fell over and the rifle/scope hit the dirt. Not very hard but the scope was all over the place. Zeroed it up, couple of shots and all over the place again. Re Zeroed it up, couple of shots and all over the place again. Upon inspection the bow spring inside of the tube had been slightly reshaped, and we are talking thou, which allowed the image tube to move about causing shift point of zero. I replaced the scope with a Leupold which held zero. But I don't think that it would make any difference at all whether it was a cheap or expensive one. If the internals come loose the scope will not/ can not be consistent and hold position. It is highly unlikely that the barrel is faulty. Even hot types last for thousands of rounds before they get worn out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harnser Posted May 28, 2017 Report Share Posted May 28, 2017 I would want to try another scope . This would rule out a lot of anomalies one way or another . Harnser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harnser Posted May 28, 2017 Report Share Posted May 28, 2017 I would want to try another scope . This would rule out a lot of anomalies one way or another . A few years ago in had a 270 that was mega accurate I had in a comp shot 12 consecutive V bulls with it at 600 yards . Was out with it stalking one day and addressed a fallow Buck only to see the shot splash 6 feet in front and 3 feet low . This was an enormous miss . Any how after a few rounds seeing where it was shooting it was apparent that the scope had died on me . Put another scope on and back to the accuracy I was used to with this wonderful rifle . Harnser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisv Posted May 28, 2017 Report Share Posted May 28, 2017 From your original post, it seems the only part of his set-up that was changed is the mounts. What rings and bases are they? Is it possible that the rings are not compatible with the bases and allowing the scope to move? This would certainly give you a huge increase in group size. If you can rule that out, I would then try another scope. As above though, you also need to check the usual suspects, stock screws etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted May 28, 2017 Report Share Posted May 28, 2017 Scope knackered Imo, I have had it with spring air rifles. Or the mod as stated above, also had that with a pcp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hendrix's rifle Posted May 28, 2017 Report Share Posted May 28, 2017 Scope knackered Imo, I have had it with spring air rifles. Or the mod as stated above, also had that with a pcp +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hodge911 Posted May 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2017 (edited) From your original post, it seems the only part of his set-up that was changed is the mounts. What rings and bases are they? Is it possible that the rings are not compatible with the bases and allowing the scope to move? This would certainly give you a huge increase in group size. If you can rule that out, I would then try another scope. As above though, you also need to check the usual suspects, stock screws etc. new mounts are one piece match mounts by that I mean 1 piece at front of scope and one at rear not a single mount for both front and rear [as in picture]. supplied and fitted by local gunsmith/shop. please note the picture is for illustration to show type of mounts and not the actual mounts now fitted Edited May 28, 2017 by hodge911 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisv Posted May 29, 2017 Report Share Posted May 29, 2017 Sorry Hodge, I misread your first post. He's got to try a different scope, as others have suggested, unless he rules out a dodgy scope he won't know where the problem is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkeye Posted May 29, 2017 Report Share Posted May 29, 2017 Hi Hodge is this the 243 that MH used to have if you need to try another scope i have one thats virtually new been on my 223 its for sale but you could try it if you wanted to... At the worst it would let you know if the scopes knackered.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hodge911 Posted May 29, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2017 Hi Hodge is this the 243 that MH used to have if you need to try another scope i have one thats virtually new been on my 223 its for sale but you could try it if you wanted to... At the worst it would let you know if the scopes knackered.. hi mike bud no its not that rifle its my best mates uncles I think we have another scope to try possibly a simmons but thanks for the offer mate hope to catch up soon just drop me a txt or ring if you want a bit company with flask and bait of course Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIDES EDGE Posted May 29, 2017 Report Share Posted May 29, 2017 Have you checked that the barrel is still floating and not touching the wood work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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