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Posted: 6/21/2017 6:44:44 PM EDT
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So I have a DDM4V7LW that I used as a host to build an SPR... I bought a BA 18" .223 Wylde barrel and installed that along with a Vortex Strike Eagle 1x6... first time out with it last month I was shooting with all 3 rounds through one big hole at 50yds with it without a problem... shooting beer cans out at 150 with hardly any effort... but I felt it was more accurate than the optic I had chosen for it... so I traded for a Vortex 2.5x10 FFP(mrad).
So I've been trying to zero it all day(took me about 15 rds with the Strike Eagle) and I've been getting pissed. At 50 yds I was only able to get it to about 1.5". Went out to 150 after I got a few groups that weren't bad and decent enough for me to consider "zeroed"... and I was getting even more pissed... optic was clear... crosshairs right on... and couldn't hold a group for shit... went back up to 100... same thing... I'd get one group to about 1/2"... then it would open back up to 2.5-3"... brought it back up to 50 and sand bagged it in a rest... same thing. Would shoot one group about 1/2" then I'd get a crazy flier... again... sandbagged on a rest. So I started looking it over... and I'm getting a lot of flex in the barrel. I checked for any flex after I had put it on and there was none... solid as fuck... Thought, options, recommendations... anything?? Attached File Attached File |
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Assuming your barrel but it torqued properly, it's not an issue. With free float rails, you can force flex the end of the rail and barrel, but once you stop pushing on them they should snap back to place. This is why you use FF rails, so the pressure from a loaded bipod flexes just the rail and doesn't effect the barrel.Â
If all you did between having good groups and bad groups is change the scope, I would first suspect that is the culprit, either poorly mounted, poor technique with the worsened parallax on higher magnification, or just a broken scope. |
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Quoted:
Assuming your barrel but it torqued properly, it's not an issue. With free float rails, you can force flex the end of the rail and barrel, but once you stop pushing on them they should snap back to place. This is why you use FF rails, so the pressure from a loaded bipod flexes just the rail and doesn't effect the barrel. If all you did between having good groups and bad groups is change the scope, I would first suspect that is the culprit, either poorly mounted, poor technique with the worsened parallax on higher magnification, or just a broken scope. |
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First, what kind of ammo were you using on each day?
If I understand your post, the good shooting day was three round groups at 50 yards. You might have just gotten lucky. Three shot groups don't tell you much that can be carried over to another session. It's quite possible the rifle is shooting as well as it was before. I test things with seven shot groups and try to keep the distance, rest, etc. all the same. Getting a 1/2" three shot group at 50 (or even 100) followed by a shot a 2-3 inches off center isn't that unusual, especially for average quality ammo. Definitely check out your scope and mounts, but you have all sorts of potential variables that you won't be able to isolate without developing consistent testing methods. The movement of the barrel would be way down on my list of suspects. |
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I can guarantee the barrel flex is not the issue as having the flex is very normal for free floated barrels.
As others already suggested, it might be the optic mounting option or the optic itself. Or, maybe it is the barrel + ammo combination that is causing the issue here. |
| I've been using 55gr wolf, 55gr Lake City, 62gr federal... honestly I've been checking everything... and to be honest... I think it's probably me. I took it back out and did a parallax test... and I think that's it... I've never had a scope with a side focus... and I think my adjustments were off... because unless I have it adjusted and eye lined up perfectly... I am getting shift. So I'm going to check everything again today... and I'm going to bet it was me. |
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I've been using 55gr wolf, 55gr Lake City, 62gr federal... honestly I've been checking everything... and to be honest... I think it's probably me. I took it back out and did a parallax test... and I think that's it... I've never had a scope with a side focus... and I think my adjustments were off... because unless I have it adjusted and eye lined up perfectly... I am getting shift. So I'm going to check everything again today... and I'm going to bet it was me. Expecting ammo that is spec'd at 2-4 MOA to perform any better than that in any type of repeatable fashion is just throwing money away. Those few small groups you got are the exception, not the norm, with that list of ammo. This is also why, at minimum, 5 shot groups are a much better test than 3. If you want to shoot small groups, pick up some match ammo or start reloading. |
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Well, there's your problem. Expecting ammo that is spec'd at 2-4 MOA to perform any better than that in any type of repeatable fashion is just throwing money away. Those few small groups you got are the exception, not the norm, with that list of ammo. This is also why, at minimum, 5 shot groups are a much better test than 3. If you want to shoot small groups, pick up some match ammo or start reloading. Quoted:
Quoted:
I've been using 55gr wolf, 55gr Lake City, 62gr federal... honestly I've been checking everything... and to be honest... I think it's probably me. I took it back out and did a parallax test... and I think that's it... I've never had a scope with a side focus... and I think my adjustments were off... because unless I have it adjusted and eye lined up perfectly... I am getting shift. So I'm going to check everything again today... and I'm going to bet it was me. Expecting ammo that is spec'd at 2-4 MOA to perform any better than that in any type of repeatable fashion is just throwing money away. Those few small groups you got are the exception, not the norm, with that list of ammo. This is also why, at minimum, 5 shot groups are a much better test than 3. If you want to shoot small groups, pick up some match ammo or start reloading. |
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Quoted:
Well, there's your problem. Expecting ammo that is spec'd at 2-4 MOA to perform any better than that in any type of repeatable fashion is just throwing money away. Those few small groups you got are the exception, not the norm, with that list of ammo. This is also why, at minimum, 5 shot groups are a much better test than 3. If you want to shoot small groups, pick up some match ammo or start reloading. Quoted:
Quoted:
I've been using 55gr wolf, 55gr Lake City, 62gr federal... honestly I've been checking everything... and to be honest... I think it's probably me. I took it back out and did a parallax test... and I think that's it... I've never had a scope with a side focus... and I think my adjustments were off... because unless I have it adjusted and eye lined up perfectly... I am getting shift. So I'm going to check everything again today... and I'm going to bet it was me. Expecting ammo that is spec'd at 2-4 MOA to perform any better than that in any type of repeatable fashion is just throwing money away. Those few small groups you got are the exception, not the norm, with that list of ammo. This is also why, at minimum, 5 shot groups are a much better test than 3. If you want to shoot small groups, pick up some match ammo or start reloading. |
| As others said, it's most likely the ammo. The performance you described is consistent with the ammo you are using. To really find out what the rifle will do, buy a variety of match ammo with different bullets weights, anywhere between 50 grains and 77 grains. Don't buy more than a box of any one thing until it has proven to shoot well in your rifle. Federal Gold Medal Match and Black Hills tend to turn out the best match ammo, in my experience. Hornady not so much. Shoot at least five shot groups; seven or ten are even better. |
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Quoted:
As others said, it's most likely the ammo. The performance you described is consistent with the ammo you are using. To really find out what the rifle will do, buy a variety of match ammo with different bullets weights, anywhere between 50 grains and 77 grains. Don't buy more than a box of any one thing until it has proven to shoot well in your rifle. Federal Gold Medal Match and Black Hills tend to turn out the best match ammo, in my experience. Hornady not so much. Shoot at least five shot groups; seven or ten are even better. |
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Quoted:
Well, there's your problem. Expecting ammo that is spec'd at 2-4 MOA to perform any better than that in any type of repeatable fashion is just throwing money away. Those few small groups you got are the exception, not the norm, with that list of ammo. This is also why, at minimum, 5 shot groups are a much better test than 3. If you want to shoot small groups, pick up some match ammo or start reloading. Once I really started looking for parallax and how to "fix" it... the issue(me) resolved. Was much happier with the groups when I did all that. |
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