Damn Fliers!

[Barlow]

Make sure focus lock ring is tightened down on your scope. Barlow

 

[jlow]

I am not the greatest shooter by all means but on one of my rifles I will put 2 or 3 in the same hole then catch a flier 3/4 to 1 inch off @ 100yds. Out of a 5 shot group I may get 2 or even 3 that are fliers!!

My barrel is a Rock and my action screws are tight, along with everything else. My SD is in single digits and neck tension feels consistent. The AICS says not to bed.

Any advice would be helpful.
Thanks

It’s not wind since we are dealing with 100 yards and unless the OP is shooting a 22LR (with an AICS, not likely….), the wind unless it is crazy it not going to move a shot 1” off target – this is why an OCW is done at 100 yards i.e. the environment is not a significant factor.

As others have said, there are a lot of mechanical factor on the gun/scope and also the shooter that can cause this. If on the other hand you are absolutely sure it is none of the above, then it is likely your load i.e. you are not on an accuracy node but just close to it and some rounds are just enough out of it to cause the flyer. I would suggest you find out what an OCW load development is and use that to find a true accuracy node.

 

[LHSmith]

It’s not wind since we are dealing with 100 yards and unless the OP is shooting a 22LR (with an AICS, not likely….), the wind unless it is crazy it not going to move a shot 1” off target – this is why an OCW is done at 100 yards i.e. the environment is not a significant factor.

As others have said, there are a lot of mechanical factor on the gun/scope and also the shooter that can cause this. If on the other hand you are absolutely sure it is none of the above, then it is likely your load i.e. you are not on an accuracy node but just close to it and some rounds are just enough out of it to cause the flyer. I would suggest you find out what an OCW load development is and use that to find a true accuracy node.

First off- re-read what 3 BR competitors have to say in posts 17, 18, and 19. I know it is counter-intuitive but the cold hard fact is it takes shooting in a steady condition to avoid so-called "flyers". Reason being is due to most shooters being unable to detect how the mirage is affecting where you perceive the target to be. A steady breeze in-effect "stabilizes" that mirage.
Secondly, according to the Beaufort scale, a light breeze where leaves just begin to move has a value of ~5 mph. Since we have no idea of the caliber or type of gun, assume a .308 with 168 gr. @2700 fps will drift ~ .4" in a true 5 mph crosswind. Multiply x 2 for a reverse = .8" (a .223 w/ 69 gr. would be worse)......remember you have no idea what's going on between the muzzle and the target unless perhaps you were a trained sniper and had some medium in the bullet path you could guesstimate from. You fail to understand that switches and reverses exasperate what you can't see.

 

[Patch700]

I'm sure the op doesn't want to have a dead horse beaten in his thread... However , take ten competitve br shooters (since we are talking about producing one hole groups rite?) and give them all their tools of the trade except wind flags , you might be surprised how many groups won't cut below 1/4 minute.. Why is that?

In any eveny , good luck to the op , before you go spending money on anything try picking up a roll of survey tape and 3 sticks...

Take all day to shoot 5 5 shot groups only shooting when all the ribbons are doing the same thing and if you don't see a difference between those groups and ones with no flags then look into mechanical issues.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I always hear its only 100yd but br competitors use $600 worth of flags in each shooting lane for 100. Theres a reason they go thru so much trouble. And yes even a finely tuned ppc can shoot a 1" group at 100 if you miss something with the wind.

 

[jlow]

Sure , but you are assuming the worst case situation with the wind speed and direction. In the end, we are all guessing until he actually speaks up and tell us what he is shooting and his shooting conditions. Wind and flags are great but that is not always the problem, just giving him other things to think of.

 

[LHSmith]

Jlow- I agree, without flags one is always assuming.

 

[JimPag]

It’s not wind since we are dealing with 100 yards and unless the OP is shooting a 22LR (with an AICS, not likely….), the wind unless it is crazy it not going to move a shot 1” off target – this is why an OCW is done at 100 yards i.e. the environment is not a significant factor.

As others have said, there are a lot of mechanical factor on the gun/scope and also the shooter that can cause this. If on the other hand you are absolutely sure it is none of the above, then it is likely your load i.e. you are not on an accuracy node but just close to it and some rounds are just enough out of it to cause the flyer. I would suggest you find out what an OCW load development is and use that to find a true accuracy node.

From the way you are talking about wind flag, you have never shot a 100 yard score or group match for sure. If you had you would know what some of us are talking about. Since you live in Michigan, you out to make it a point to go to a score match out there. There are some good shooters there like Larry Feusse, and Jim Dyke. Make it a point to talk to some of the guys out there.

 

[jlow]

Looks like I insulted the "wind guys"...

 

[LHSmith]

Looks like I insulted the "wind guys"...

Nah, not really...just that those who use wind flags religiously with an accurate rifle are a step ahead of the curve.....we figured out how to minimize the biggest variable of all - the wind. It's almost like skipping high school and going straight to college

 

[JimPag]

Looks like I insulted the "wind guys"...

No u didn't insult me at all. I remember the first time I went to a score shoot in Augusta Maine and they put me in the factory class. It was a Rem 700 Varmint in 308 with a Weaver 36X scope. I had no flags or probes and even if I did, I was clueless on how to read them. I didn't do so well. The next time I showed up with a brand new Sako TRG22 in 308 with a new March 10-60x52 tactical and I thought I was going to do a lot better with that combo, NOT. I got used up. I was the only one in that class, if you want to call it that. There is no Factory Class per say in the IBS. It was just a 100 yard club match that was in the IBS schedule and anybody who wants to shoot a factory rifle they put them in the factory class. I ended up buying a used full blown bench rifle near the end of 2012 and bought me 6 flags and 3 probes and a bunch of poles. I look back and wish I had flags and had some idea on how to read them 3 years ago, because I am confident that I would have done better. All I'm saying is that everybody told me if you don't have flags playing this game that we play, your just wasting ammo. They also told me that when the flags are just laying down doing absolutely nothing, DON'T SHOOT. Of course I didn't listen and had to prove that they were wrong, and boy some of those bullets dropped right out the bottom. I shot 18 100yard matches last year and stayed clean 15 times. Those other 3 times I screwed up. If I just waited or didn't touch the scope, or just looked at what the probes were telling me I would have stayed clean the other 3 times for sure. You get a chance like I said, go to a score match and talk to some of them. They are a great bunch of guy's in Michigan and will go out of their way to help you out any way they can.