I'm at a loss

[DocBII]

TS,

Did you shoot at any of the shorter range targets? Did you shoot a box test (one shot at each corner) to check how badly you were missing the target. Conditions can change zero from one range to the next.

DocBII

 

[Dgd6mm]

Today was the worst day of shooting I've ever had. I can't figure out what's wrong.
3 weeks ago I shot a 598 with lots of X's and took 2nd place. Came home, did the normal
cleaning routine and put rifle in safe. Took it out this AM and went to a new range. Shooting steel
at 600, 800, 900 & 1000. I was excited as I've never shot past 600. I had dope off a ballistic app to get me started.
Started at 600 with my normal 600 dope. ???? Missed the whole 24" piece of steel. shot 3 more with the same result.
OK, now I'm worried. Checked scope and base, all tight. Checked action screws, all good. I didn't even bother to try 800 or beyond, what's the point? Something is seriously wrong.
Came home and checked headspace, thinking the barrel nut could have loosened. (Savage #12 target action) Nope, head space was exactly where I initially set it at .002". I also bore scoped it, didn't see anything crazy. PLEASE, DON'T EVERYONE JUMP ON THE CARBON RING WAGON . So what's left? Possibly the scope has died internally. I did check and the crosshairs are moving in all 4 directions as they should. Possible that it's just not holding zero??
I'm going to my home range in the AM and will shoot at 100 yds. At that distance, it's a 1/4 MOA rifle. 6 Dasher.
Shillen barrel 28" 1/7.5 105 Berger Hybrids, Varget.

Any thoughts other than a bad scope that could do this? You don't go from 1/2moa at 600 to totally missing a 24" piece of steel.
View attachment 1696295

I'd be at a loss also if I shot a target like that at 600 yards and then the next time out I couldn't touch a
24"x24" steel plate at 600 yards. I'm following with Hope's that you get it figured out in the morning.

 

[DHuffman]

It's not as hard to miss a 24 x24 plate at 600 on a clean cold bore as you guys are making it out to be especially with no berm to spot an miss.

You can be 1/4" off any side of it and never know. I've got exactly the set up he describes on my personal range and it's easy to do for any number of the reasons I've suggested.

If you're dope is off for the condition, location, direction orientation, environmentals etc etc etc you can easily be 12.25" off any direction and never know it without a berm. You can keep shooting the same dope until you're out of ammo and never hit it or the condition changes in your favor and you hook up.

I don't even use a ballistic calculator to get on that 24 x 24 steel at home 11-12 moa up take a guess at the wind if it misses go to the corners like @DocBII suggested and find it.

My money is on the wind call or bad dope

 

[Ringostar]

You said that it was a different range than normal. Elevation and temp changes can cause this. I live and test at almost 8000’ elevation. Every range that I go to for matches is different, so dope never matches. When I lived by Winnequah Club in Wisconsin, it was 3 minutes change going to Raton.

 

[JFrank]

My Dasher runs a 105 at 2950 fps, Zeroed at 100 yards my come ups are 11.17 for a 600 yard target.

 

[Texas Solo]

TS,

Did you shoot at any of the shorter range targets? Did you shoot a box test (one shot at each corner) to check how badly you were missing the target. Conditions can change zero from one range to the next.

DocBII

Tried at 500, no joy. I just quit for the day until I figure it out

 

[jpjulian]

Texas Solo....... Sometimes a new range will just eat you alive for no reason whatsoever. It happens. Been there. During a big team match at Lodi and I was the new guy on the team. Different wind patterns, different light, firing towards a different point on the compass, different elevation. Just different and the range gods decide you're "it" for that day. Swallow that huge lump in your throat and learn from the humbling experience.

 

[JFrank]

Tried at 500, no joy. I just quit for the day until I figure it out

500 should be a chip shot for a dasher

 

[Texas Solo]

My Dasher runs a 105 at 2950 fps, Zeroed at 100 yards my come ups are 11.17 for a 600 yard target.

I'm at 2900 with a 12.0 come up at 600. I've shot so much at 600 that I know it wasn't my dope.

 

[Texas Solo]

500 should be a chip shot for a dasher

Indeed.

 

[JFrank]

I'm at 2900 with a 12.0 come up at 600. I've shot so much at 600 that I know it wasn't my dope.

Just checking. I have had a scope base come loose on a Savage.

 

[Texas Solo]

Texas Solo....... Sometimes a new range will just eat you alive for no reason whatsoever. It happens. Been there. During a big team match at Lodi and I was the new guy on the team. Different wind patterns, different light, firing towards a different point on the compass, different elevation. Just different and the range gods decide you're "it" for that day. Swallow that huge lump in your throat and learn from the humbling experience.

I'm confident something is broke.

 

[Texas Solo]

It's not as hard to miss a 24 x24 plate at 600 on a clean cold bore as you guys are making it out to be especially with no berm to spot an miss.

You can be 1/4" off any side of it and never know. I've got exactly the set up he describes on my personal range and it's easy to do for any number of the reasons I've suggested.

If you're dope is off for the condition, location, direction orientation, environmentals etc etc etc you can easily be 12.25" off any direction and never know it without a berm. You can keep shooting the same dope until you're out of ammo and never hit it or the condition changes in your favor and you hook up.

I don't even use a ballistic calculator to get on that 24 x 24 steel at home 11-12 moa up take a guess at the wind if it misses go to the corners like @DocBII suggested and find it.

My money is on the wind call or bad dope

There was zero wind. I just can't phathom my normal 600 dope being that far off.

 

[Texas Solo]

Yeah I do too but sometimes I make a mistake or overlook something.
So what's your definition of no wind? There's always some wind and you were at a new to you range so were there flags? If so how many and what distances?

No flags, and "maybe" a 1 mph wind.

 

[DHuffman]

There was zero wind. I just can't phathom my normal 600 dope being that far off.

If I'm wrong I'm wrong but it's happened to me with BR rifles in rests more than once. I'll be interested in what you find at 100 yards but I can't stress enough how easy it is to be off 12" at 600 yards with the best gear and good ammo

 

[jpjulian]

I'm confident something is broke.

Do keep an open mind......... maybe it just wasn't your day. Maybe. Good luck.

 

[ELR LVR]

I have seen some crazy stuff happen shooting in the mountains also. Bullets going much faster than they should be for one thing. Up drafts maybe causing them to hit higher, don't know.

Yeah I have seen that too in high elevations, but this was definitely the bullet traveling twice as fast suddenly
I mean you could even tell not just by the higher impact but the time it took to get to target.
I have 1 gun, a 220 Swift Ackley Improved
That you can audibly and visually tell at 600 yards, it gets there MUCH faster than anything else you have ever shot
It was like that.
AND
Not only after I lapped that barrel, I had to pull the original developed load back 2 full grains lower than what was the original worked up load to get it shooting at 12.5 MOA for 600 yards again.
I have never had to pull a load BACK like that after some break in time
it acted as if the barrel shrunk

 

[JB10]

By chance was it same ammo that was loaded at same time as last time out? A friend had this happen in prs. Went out one time and ballistic data was way way off. He saved 1 round. I had him pull bullet and weigh his chqrge. Was way over his normal charge( cant remember how far over) that also explained his bolt swipe i saw on his brass from high pressure. He did not know if it was like that before.