Bushmaster Varmint issues

[J5guy]

How did it shoot before running out of elevation? You need to look for a silver lining on this dark cloud. If this rifle starts playing with your head..................

I didn't really get to shoot it much. Started pouring and I didn't want to lay in the rain. I did a barrel break in and was just standing shooting into the berm. When I put it on target at 50 yards 1st shot was 16 minutes low. Dialed up and dead center two shots. I have 14 minutes of elevation left. I believe the scope has 60 or 70 minutes of total travel. I should gain some once I zero at 100 with .223 correct? Not sure how much that will be though. Certainly not 20 more or so minutes to get me even near the center I think. Maybe I did something wrong. I am going to remove and re-install the mount and the scope and see if anything changes.

Thanks

 

[Riesel]

Good idea to recheck the mount and scope, maybe swap the rings from front to back. I'm not really sure what "gain" you will get at 100 yards but I feel pretty sure you are not going
to get enough elevation to shoot any distance. A new rail may be in your future, but there still seems to be something out of whack that you are having these scope issues.

 

[J5guy]

Good idea to recheck the mount and scope, maybe swap the rings from front to back. I'm not really sure what "gain" you will get at 100 yards but I feel pretty sure you are not going
to get enough elevation to shoot any distance. A new rail may be in your future, but there still seems to be something out of whack that you are having these scope issues.

Scope is mounted with a warne 1 piece cantilever mount. I needed it to get the scope far enough forward for proper eye relieve. Yeah the major issue is the gun is for long range, 500yrd shooting. Since I had the same issue with this scope on another rifle with a completely different setup I think it is the scope. I am emailing with a guy from vortex so hopefully he has an idea. Otherwise I guess I will have to buy a 20moa mount but I feel like it shouldn't be like that. Might have to take a scope off another gun and try it. See if it's the same issue.

 

[mac86951]

Scope is mounted with a warne 1 piece cantilever mount. I needed it to get the scope far enough forward for proper eye relieve. Yeah the major issue is the gun is for long range, 500yrd shooting. Since I had the same issue with this scope on another rifle with a completely different setup I think it is the scope. I am emailing with a guy from vortex so hopefully he has an idea. Otherwise I guess I will have to buy a 20moa mount but I feel like it shouldn't be like that. Might have to take a scope off another gun and try it. See if it's the same issue.

Hmm, when zeroed at 100y with the 20moa rail; I find another 13-1/2 - 15 moa will get me to 600y depending on load. That would be a 34ish moa total change. Of course this is super subjective to your muzzle velocity; but that much is what it takes to get a 77gr going 2650ish fps to 600y. I wouldn't recommend farther than that with anything fed from a magazine; unless you're really up for a challenge.

-Mac

 

[J5guy]

Hmm, when zeroed at 100y with the 20moa rail; I find another 13-1/2 - 15 moa will get me to 600y depending on load. That would be a 34ish moa total change. Of course this is super subjective to your muzzle velocity; but that much is what it takes to get a 77gr going 2650ish fps to 600y. I wouldn't recommend farther than that with anything fed from a magazine; unless you're really up for a challenge.

-Mac

That's good to know. I have not taken .223 out that far yet so I have no idea how much I need. I also have not tested any loads yet so I have no idea where I will be with that. I have whole strings ready to go with different weights, just need to get to the range. Thank you for the info.

 

[sawcarver]

Warne makes a 20 MOA cantilever mount. Several years ago I started setting up everything with a 20 MOA rail, then it's there if I need it. It doesn't cost anymore when initially setting the gun up.

 

[J5guy]

Warne makes a 20 MOA cantilever mount. Several years ago I started setting up everything with a 20 MOA rail, then it's there if I need it. It doesn't cost anymore when initially setting the gun up.

Yeah I may need to just start always buying 20MOA rails.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Yeah I may need to just start always buying 20MOA rails.

I did that for a while- now i have a zero and a 20 for a 6br i have. Couldnt get on target at 200 with a nf br scope and barely stayed on paper at 300

 

[J5guy]

I did that for a while- now i have a zero and a 20 for a 6br i have. Couldnt get on target at 200 with a nf br scope and barely stayed on paper at 300

Yeah I guess that is another possible issue. Those NF BR models have less internal adjustment I think though. I remember seeing is when I was scope shopping. Like 30 or 40 total. So if your lucky, or unlucky I guess, and start in the middle, you only have have 15 or 20 MOA to work with right?

 

[Riesel]

Use thin piece of brass to shim the rear of the rail 10 MOA

 

[TAJ45]

Some will use a pop can for shims - aluminum. Need one piece mounts or Burris insert rings to maintain centerlines.

 

[Ggmac]

Don't forget windage plays a big part in the scopes total vertical. You want to be as near center as possible . Anywhere near max left or right will give you almost no elevation . Think of a circle inside of a circle . Having the inner circle at the 3:00 or 9:00 position changes both horizontal and vertical when trying for more elevation . Hope this makes sense , allergy season .

 

[J5guy]

Don't forget windage plays a big part in the scopes total vertical. You want to be as near center as possible . Anywhere near max left or right will give you almost no elevation . Think of a circle inside of a circle . Having the inner circle at the 3:00 or 9:00 position changes both horizontal and vertical when trying for more elevation . Hope this makes sense , allergy season .

I think I am pretty much centered on the windage turret. But that is good to know.

 

[spitfire_er]

I'm curious as to what was the original issue. I live not to far from Alhmans and been there several times. I thought they had more than one guy there, but they appear to be pretty busy when I'm there. There's a possibility that it could have been a poorly threaded barrel too. They may have needed to get a new barrel from Bushmaster.

 

[J5guy]

I'm curious as to what was the original issue. I live not to far from Alhmans and been there several times. I thought they had more than one guy there, but they appear to be pretty busy when I'm there. There's a possibility that it could have been a poorly threaded barrel too. They may have needed to get a new barrel from Bushmaster.

I am planning on calling there and just asking what they they did, so I will update once I get a chance to call. I figured I would have gotten something explaing what the problem was. The guy at Gander that helped me get it shipped out said the gunsmith usually calls the owner of the firearm, I didn't get one. Maybe they are just super busy, which I understand, a note or something would have sufficed. Anyways, Ill let you know what I find out.

 

[J5guy]

On another note, after emailing with 2 people from Vortex they said it doesn't sound like I was doing anything wrong in mounting the scope and are paying for me to send it in, they said they will hopefully have it figured out in a couple days. Here's hoping.

 

[J5guy]

I'm curious as to what was the original issue. I live not to far from Alhmans and been there several times. I thought they had more than one guy there, but they appear to be pretty busy when I'm there. There's a possibility that it could have been a poorly threaded barrel too. They may have needed to get a new barrel from Bushmaster.

So I finally had a chance to call and they said they replaced the handguard. She said it was incorrect, so I assume cross threaded from the factory. That was all they did I guess, no notes about the barrel.