Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Dissect the Target

You have to have a consistent bed for the rifle to shoot off of from one shot to the next shot. We bed our rifle actions so the action sits in the stock the same from shot to shot. A rifle moves a lot between when the trigger breaks and the primer is hit and ignited, you can see this movement when you set up your gun in your shooting rest and dry fire it, watch the crosshairs jiggle when the firing pin slams down and causes this vibration. This is all without recoil and torque of the bullet starting to spin when it hits the lands all of which cause more movement of the gun until the bullet leaves the barrel and final recoil. This is something that can't be prevented, can only be accommodated by allowing for this movement to be consistent. If a sling stud, pistol grip ect., is contacting on one shot and not the next it is unlikely the gun will move the same from shot to shot before the bullet leaves the barrel. Add to this a heavy cheek weld, no cheek weld, a death grip on the forend then a light grip, pulled hard into your shoulder and next a light hold or free recoil on one shot and not the next, a different position on the rest, trigger squeeze, consistency and many other things all will cause inconsistent movement of the gun before the bullet leaves the barrel. In other words you cannot prevent the gun from moving before the bullet leaves the barrel so one must focus on arranging for the movement of the gun before the bullet leaves the barrel is consistent from shot to shot if you want to shoot good groups.

Make a major change...or two...or use the rifle for a boat anchor!!

I use dryer sheets...like you use to make your clothes smell fresh as a daisy. Forends slide easily that way. Supposedly an old benchrest competition trick.

Your bedding is the major culprit. You just verified it in your last sentence. The next thing is remove the epoxy from under the barrel and make sure it is generously freefloated. Then, that front bag is not doing you any favors where it is located. You should never rest the forend tip on any surface and expect great accuracy. Move that front bag back closer to the front action screw.

Add me to the bedding issue list. A little talcum powder works well for the front rest. I have driven myself crazy from shooting off a shaky bench or bags. One time I was ready to throw in the towel in or my rifle down the range thinking how can I adjust the scope the bullet holes are not even touching. I pulled in the target and my sh*ty group was about a half inch so I called it done.

You can also put something on the barrel like Prussian blue or lipstick, I like graphite powder as it is a little less messy. But after a range session it will mark any contact points in the barrel channel that need attention. You could also try a shim under the barrel in front of the action to see if that makes a difference.

But first I would scrape or sand out the action bedding and re-bed and use the screws to just position the action and use a bungee or surgical tubing to put pressure on the scrim bedding, not too tight just firm. Blind action screws make this easier to do. I would probably also relieve the barrel channel a bit more mostly at the bottom rather than the edges. A laminate stock is typically stiffer than most glass fiber stocks and can stand to be neutral bedded so that is another option. It wouldn't hurt to try a temporary pressure point as well before final bedding.

Then there is always the tomato stake option, I never seem to have enough tomato stakes around.

Not sure how that rear bag set up is good , a good eared bag with a thick flat bottom would be better .
Is that front bag bottom setting flat ? If it is not , that could be a problem also .
Is it filled with lightweight filler or heavy ? Heavy would be better .
Since you have a minimum of barrel float , I would get that front bag back as close to the receiver as possible to help eliminate any down pressure in your hold from causing contact between barrel and stock .
All other things mentioned are also a player in your game .
Look up various shooting clubs or disciplines in your area and let them know your interested as a shooter and would like to drop in on a match and see what’s going on .
Even if you decide it’s not for you , you can observe their gear and work on your set up .
Most of these people are always ready to bring in someone interested in the sport .
Benchrest central is a good place to explore shooting matches of various levels with a little research of the site you may find something in your area .
Rimfire central also , just sign in and ask at one of these sites for your area .
I am not a gun writer either but like to help others pursue the sport .
Good luck , Kenneth

Something you might consider is your positioning. I have a tendency to change my shooting position between shots when I'm not paying attention to details. When I do this my groups tend to string from low left to higher right. When I carefully keep my position the same, my groups tend to be more concentric and smaller. For me that means, feet at the same place and position, seat the same place, rifle sitting the same way and place, my body in the same position, cheek weld the same and the same amount restock crawl.
In my experience absolutely everything needs to be done consistently in order to measure the accuracy of a rifle and load. Consistently small groups take practice in addition to good equipment.
I have a number of rifles that will shoot moa regularly, but i can't always shoot moa .
Just a thought.
Bfly

How solid is that wood bench? I have had the chance to shoot off of a number of them that wobble when weight is applied. If you don't do it evenly each time that can add to your chase on the paper.

That's a good question. It needs an update. I've got the wood and paint. I just need the time. It's fairly solid, but you have to have it on its sweet spot, otherwise, it rocks. This is due to the unevenness of the concrete front porch, and not the bench. The porch was poured on a footer that was too shallow. The whole house bucks and heaves from season to season. The sweet spot moves too.

The bench has an interesting history. I built it from a combination of scraps leftover from siding the house and pallets that I scored at work. The legs are red oak skid runners onto which 75 lb billets of aluminum were strapped. I had a gazillion of them at one time. The top lifts off from the base to make it easier to move. I will reposition it in the yard to shoot the 400-yard range.

Back in 2008, I came down after dark and found that the bench was gone. WtF? Who would steal a shooting bench? It really cheesed me. The next day, I was drinking my coffee out on the porch and saw an indentation in the grass that matched the legs of the bench. Then I saw another and then another. A trail of these led to finding the bench and the stool out in the pasture. I later found out an EF0 tornado had come through earlier in the week. The bench just needed a couple of screws to be put back together.


Blackfly: That's spot-on. I'm just starting to get that awareness. Honestly, when I look back 15 years ago, it's a wonder I hit anything. This has been a slow process. I really never considered any of this until a relatively short time ago.