What am I missing to be more consistent?

[Varminterror]

I've chased my fair share of wrong rabbits.

As have I - which SHOULD be one of the points of having forums like this; so others don’t have to learn the hard way on their own by chasing the same wrong rabbits which have already left others of us hungry, so they can save time and energy by learning from our collective experiences.

Barrels heating up don’t throw shots 3-4” at 100yrds in random directions. Pod hop doesn’t cause random direction flyers. Parallax error doesn’t elicit 3-4” flyers...

Troubleshooting is a pretty straightforward process. We look in the most likely places first, and triage our way down the tree until we find resolution. SPJ did a nice job laying out various sources of error, with associated qualifying and disqualifying attributes, and likelinesses.

Busted optic, poor load/rifle match, loose action screw or optic mount/rings, and shooter skill are the only 3 things which make sense until they can be eliminated as sources of error - so chase those rabbits. If none of the above solve this, then we’re really talking about some fluke which doesn’t actually make sense, and then we all get to learn something new here together.

 

[kmw1954]

In fairness... not all machine rests are created equal.

In this instance I was actually able to hold the rifle more steady with the fixed bipod than just the forearm rest. But again that is just one instance and yes I have seen the rests that actually hold the forearm and the stock slides back from recoil and doesn't jump up.

 

[Derek Wildstar]

Do you have a photo of your bench setup?

If your bipod attaches to the barrel it may be affecting barrel resonance.

Start by switching to a bag rest. Set the stock fore end (not the barrel) on the bag.
And go from there.

 

[Dr T]

There is a bunch of very sound advice about shooting mechanics in this thread.

However, it seems to me that it may be a crisis of confidence, rather than that of technique.

7 of 10 consistently within an inch at 100 yards? That is well within "Minute of Deer", and it is likely that stressing about it may make things in the field worse.

To me, it sounds like you are doing fine.

Just relax and enjoy the hunt.

 

[WestKentucky]

I didn’t read all of the replies, so this was probably covered… heat in a barrel changes harmonics slightly and causes an impact shift. It’s usually a vertical shift and people call it vertical stringing. If you are shooting fast enough to make the barrel uncomfortable to grab and hold then you probably have some impact changes due to heat, and they would usually be either the first couple shots “cold bore” or the last few after the barrel has gotten hot.

 

[JFrank]

I have seen heat effect sport barrels but in all fairness they were out of tune to start with.

Tune is most likely the culprit just as VT pointed out.

 

[rbernie]

Busted optic, poor load/rifle match, loose action screw or optic mount/rings, and shooter skill are the only 3 things which make sense until they can be eliminated as sources of error - so chase those rabbits.

When I get results like that on a 100yard square range off a bench - it always seem to come back to shooter skill. I can partially obscure my skill gaps by making my rifles heavier (to reduce how much I pull them around), or by making the trigger really light, or by bagging them differently, but the reality is that when I am teh suk it's because I'm pulling the rifle around and I just need to get better skills / muscle memory at shooting rifles consistently.

 

[RainDodger]

I would change the easiest single thing first. Eliminate the bipod. I did exactly that a few years back. Used to routinely shoot with a bipod and had "ok" results. When I went to a good quality front rest and used a sand bag on the butt, my groups nearly halved.

 

[taliv]

i doubt the bipod is related to the issue. at most, it would contribute half an inch or something, and it would be consistent, not 3-4" in random directions.

poor trigger control and scope parallax could also account for more than an inch each, generally. they'd all have to combine to get 3-4" away from POA. statistically, that's unlikely.

busted scopes or lose screws usually don't present as consistent 1", with a few fliers either.

my money is on the ammo or flinching

 

[ACES&8S]

This might be a question which is debatable but here goes.
When I shoot off sandbags or a lead sled, I can tell you where I turned the bullet loose
on the circle or square at 100 yards or more, especially these days with age & all.
Can you be varying where you fire the rifle inside that small circle, sometimes left or right
or up or down inside the circle can appear as a flyer.
I have one Leupold scope which crosshairs cover the 1" circle at 100 yards making for larger
circles, I think it has a formal name but I heard it was called a Quick Sight.
Also has anyone mentioned front & rear reticle making a difference?

 

[bassjam]

Personally I'd take a .22 to the range with some target ammo you trust and see what happens at 50 yards. If you get similar results you can probably rule out the rifle and ammo.

 

[CryptKeeper5]

At some point we all must confront the elephant in the room. Shooting is a skill. It requires hand/eye/breathing coordination which some people just don't have. I've seen it many times over the years of training and coaching match teams. Yeah, I've coached some "Naturals" who at 15 years old can shoot master/high master scores within a year. However the vast majority are just not close to that natural born ability. As with golf, many reach that point where it becomes real hard work to decrease their score by even a couple of strokes.

No matter how much the want, some shooters will simply plateau at a point and that plateau may be just not being able to get it all together enough to shoot sub MOA groups without the aid of a hard, HARD rest. There's not particular marksmanship "skill" to shooting tiny prints from 40lbs of sandbags. That's often a function of the rifle and load consistency. The "proof" is once you get out of them and into position. No matter the training or practice some will just be at a "Marksman" or "Sharpshooter" level.

Now, does that mean you can't enjoy the sport? Absolutely not. Hunting doesn't require MOA shooting. Hold a 2" group at a 100yds is good enough for most situations the average hunter will find themselves. My advice is to practice, identify possible weaknesses and don't try and keep up with those pictures of cloverleafs because it may NOT be your reality at this point...or maybe any point. And remember, many shooters(like fisherman) exaggerate their exploits and skill so take some of the stories with a grain of salt!lol!.

 

[murf]

you have already verified it is not the ammo. you have already verified it is not the shooter (your son shoots the same patterns). you have not already verified the rifle. you and your son should shoot another rifle, ten shots @ 100 yards, and verify it is not the rifle.

luck,

murf

 

[HowieG]

Fire 5 and take a break. Fire another 5 and take a break. Check the location of the group centers. Are both groups centered up the relatively the same in relation to the aiming point? If your groups themselves are drifting around significantly, then you probably have a gun/scope issue. In other words, if group one is two inches to the left of your aiming point, and group two is two inches to the right, something is loose, but not real loose. Something real loose will make the gun scatter shoot.

On the other hand, if you are firing ten and getting one or two flying off into the weeds, the problem is most likely you. Quit firing so many shots. Odds are, since you are human, you will make a mistake the more shots you take. Tune up using the lowest kicking gun you have. I use a 223 or a 32-20. Take recoil out of the equation. 22 RF is good also.

Here is an example of the two group comparison. Note that both groups are just to the left of aim.

View attachment 1030652

 

[HowieG]

Before you really drive yourself crazy, consider this: The average deer has a kill zone approx. 10 inches in diameter. If you are shooting a 4 inch group like you stated, your group size at 200 yards is 8 inches. That is inside the 10 inch kill zone. For that matter, if your first 3 shots never have a wild flyer, you are WAYYY good for big game.

It is wise to keep things in perspective.

 

[JFrank]

short of a purpose built competition rifle it will be tough to consistently put 10 rounds under 1inch at 100 off a bi pod let alone a steady rest.

Your going to need very good ammunition to start with.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

Not sure if this was mentioned. Check you scope rings around the scope, And where they are mounted. As well as the mounts too. For looseness. My .223 the groups were not consistent as they used to be. Here the rear mount one screw was loose by a 1/2 turn. And the front one was a 1/4 turn. Tightened them up. And guns grouping like it should be.

 

[Varminterror]

you have already verified it is not the ammo.

How was this verified and where was it shared in this thread?

 

[z7]

Do a “dot drill”

1.5” or 1” dots, take one shot at each, each dot is a unique target, so the brain won’t stress over thst perfect group, what likely happens is you shoot tow or three and they are tight or touching each other and you think “man thst is nice, I’ll focus on my fundamentals and keep my group pretty” and you rebuild your position, but unconsciously changed something and throw the shot

then you launch one or two more into the main group, and repeat. Also, a harris bipod is good, but not great for shooting groups, they are not square and they are easy to load inconsistently,

 

[murf]

How was this verified and where was it shared in this thread?

up in the op; he gets the same results with barnes ammo.

murf