Wobbly Rings = WTF Accuracy
Here’s a tale that should make you chuckle. This is the kind of boo-boo any shooter can make (but hopefully only once). Our friend Vu Pham from Sacramento was out testing his .260 Rem tactical rifle. Now Vu, an ace NorCal Tactical marksman, is a darn good shooter — but his first three-shot, 200-yard group looked like a shotgun pattern. Vu was puzzled to say the least. (His actual reaction, as noted on the target, was “WTF?!”)
But there was a simple explanation for the rifle’s miserable accuracy — Vu forgot to tighten the crossbolts attaching the rings to his scope rail. Consequently, his scope was moving after each shot. According to Vu, stunned disbelief followed by embarrassment happens “the moment you realized you forgot to torque your scope rings to the base after moving [the scope] the night before. [I felt like a] Freaking nooooob.”
The bad shots came as a surprise because he first zeroed at 100 yards. Vu reports: “I must have put a decent amount of torque on [the rings] with my hands because I got a pretty solid 100-yard zero in the AM before moving to 200.” Above you can see Vu’s first three shots at 200 yards. Notice his hand-written comments on the target. Vu adds: “To the left are five rounds AFTER I put 65 inch-lbs on.”
Lesson Learned: Check All Your Fasteners Before You Chamber a Round…
The Load Works — When the Rings Are Tight
When the rings were affixed properly, Vu’s .260 Rem from Spartan Precision Rifles shot very well indeed. Here is another 5-round target at 200 yards. The load was 139gr Lapua Scenar bullets pushed by 43.5 grains of Hodgdon H4350 powder. Note: This is a stout load that might not work in your rifle (with your seating depth). With 140gr-class bullets we suggest your start 10% lower and work up.
I have a goldfish….
Been there, dun that
I had a similar experience. Don’t assume that the factory (or distributor)mounted rail on a new rifle has been deburred before assembly. After several good groups, things went bad. Recoil has smashed the burrs, and the rail screws were only finger tight.