Would Appreciate Input on 600 Yard Target

[walker2713]

I shoot a monthly 600 yard match at a club I belong to here in N. Louisiana.

For practical reasons, we shoot 3 rounds of 7, 7 & 6 shots for a total of 20 rounds for score.

On the first two rounds, I had a 61 and a 59, not great but reason for hope.

The third round of six shots you can see I have one in the ten ring, and five shots in a fairly small group off to the right in the 5 ring.





I don't believe the wind did this, and I'm looking for some input on what I should be doing to correct this. I plan to be back at the range on Tuesday to put some more rounds down range.

I've got a Savage F Class rifles with a very new Criterion 6.5X47 Lapua barrel, and I'm shooting 130gr Berger VLD using 40.0gr of H4350.

Was this just some kind of fluke? Any ideas?

I appreciate your input. Thanks.

George

Photo of setup from previous match.....I don't shoulder the rifle....use "free recoil" and pinch trigger pull.





You can't see .264 holes on a paper target at 600 yards, even with a 12-42 Nightforce.

 

[260Ravage]

Canting your rifle will cause that big time. Ask me how I know. Do you have a scope level? If not, get one.

 

[Marksman63]

Which scope?
Have you zeroed your windage turret before the match?
Does your scope hold the zero?
Why did you keep shooting your string after the first and/or second wrong POIs?

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Total wind shift

 

[XTR]

The wind put the ones in the 5 ring, the one in the 10 ring was either a cross over wind shift, or if you are shouldering the rifle, the butt was on your collar bone and slid right on recoil.

As fast as BR guys shoot I wouldn't bet on wind for the 10 if the time between shots 3 and 4 was only a 15 seconds or so

 

[drumcorpschamp]

George,

I shoot 600 yard benchrest and feel for you. Some targets come back, you look and just think, WTF? Was your target the only one in the relay that showed this? Do you shoot fast? Run-em or pick-em? Shoot one and wait a few minutes to shoot the other 5?

With the exception of the one bullet in the 10 ring, it looks like a couple of my targets that came as a result of a bad last spot by the pit crew. We shoot 5 for record and I've had pretty groups out in the six-ring. It happens. BTW, I try not to fall for that anymore, especially when the flags tell me not to. Speaking of flags, the range I shoot at (Bridgeville, DE) is flat enough to facilitate all shooters having at least 5 flags in their scope. That's nice!

What is the wind flag situation at the range that you are shooting? Since you had one in the center, I'm assuming the condition changed and held long enough to blow your bullets into a decent group way to the right. What did the flags tell you?

I suppose you could have had some sort of mechanical issue, but those 5 in a decent group out in right field tells me it's condition.

Another BTW. Looks like a nice rig and set-up you have there. Good shooting to you!

Jerry

 

[walker2713]

Jerry: thanks for the response. At our matches we're allowed 12 minutes for each course of fire, and we take the 7-7-6 shots and then the scorers go down to score the targets and paste them up. There's a road along the range, so we can drive, but there's no feedback on where shots are going once the round begins. There was one flag in my scope, but I looked at other targets and didn't see that the wind was having a particular effect on most folks targets.

We have a large steel plate (about 2' x 2') below each target stand, and we can use them for sighters as much as needed. While practicing a couple of weeks ago I shot this 5 shot group.



George

 

[dkhunt14]

I believe it was wind. Maybe wind was blowing left then switched to right. Switches and let offs can really hurt. Matt

 

[500Stroker]

260Ravage it the nail on the head.
The target shows definite sign of cant.
Buy yourself an anti cant device and use it religiously. When I started using one it centered up my groups alot, I'll never shoot without one again.
Good Luck

 

[mdelco1]

It would take a LOT of clockwise "cant" to get it out that far at 600.....mark

 

[walker2713]

Mark: that's what I think as well....

You can see from my setup that the rifle isn't subject to much movement or twisting from shot to shot....

However, I'm taking the "cant" suggestions to heart, and I've "re-leveled" the gun and affixed a bubble level to the scope. I can't imagine that I'm going to be able to replicate a result like that tomorrow.....

George

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Hard to imagine your gun shot a 10 then canted that far unless your rest broke

 

[walker2713]

Went back to the range this morning....just shooting steel plates.

Before going, I made every effort to make sure the scope was level in relation to the rifle, and when I arrived I made every effort to confirm that the rifle was level in the rest.

After making a few adjustments, I shot this 7 round group @ 600 yards, and clearly there were no wayward shots.



Overall I put about 25 rounds downrange, and had no recurrence of anything like what happened at the match Saturday.

Thanks for all of your input....

George