Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 7mm-08 sight in

I boresight and start shooting both at 100 yards. It's a rare instance for the first shot to land more than a few inches from the bullseye.

I go to 25yds for a boresight and then get close to 1/2" low at that distance. Then I can go to 100yds.

Why would the OP's rifle shoot well at 50yds and then open up tenfold at 100yds? Seems really odd....

sounds like the twist of the rifle won't handle that heavy of a projectile to me.
Big Ed

I didn't think about twist, but it could be. Optics was where I was leaning.

Definitely try a light bullet.

If the bullet is stable at 50, then it'll be stable at 100.

How's parallax at 100?

I would have to agree with this. I would remove the scope and remount it. I would also remove the stock and see if there is any binding anywhere, some boyd stocks need a little fitting.

Went to the range over the weekend.
Wasn't the rifle or ammo. It was the way I was gripping the thumbhole stock and the difference in the bench at the 100 yrd target.
This style thumbhole stock fits small in my hand, depending on where I had placed my thumb, it would cause it to rotate on the bags ever so slightly. Thumb high rotate, right, thumb low, just the opposite. Guy with me picked it up right away. Put a bag under my forearm helped a bunch. Now 3 the size of a pocket watch. Good enough to sit in a gun cabinet.
Appreciate the suggestions. I'm not a professed bench shooter. Pushing 70, guess I developed a fault.

Glad you figured it out. I was going to suggest getting someone else behind the trigger as the first step. None of us want to admit we might be the x factor when things go south for no obvious reason, but more often than we want to admit we are. In the future try to get some 140 grain ballistic tips. They are extremely accurate in my 708 and hell on whitetails. Hotter I push them the tighter they group.

Bluecat not sure I've seen you post before.
Welcome to the 'Fire Neighbor.
I have kin in Greencastle.

Do some field position shooting with that thing if you plan to
hunt it.

Always wonder about folks who bench rest to zero, then go hunt.
Especially with solid bags or even more so with the sled.

Bubba, shooting over the hood (Not in Commyvainia!) with a blanket
as a pad, probably has a better idea how it's gonna shoot in real
world use.

Dillonbuck,
How are ya?
Know a few people in the Greencastle area. Took a couple to Idaho elk hunting a couple years. Filled their spike tag both times.
Don't plan on hunting with it. bought it cheap, invested a few bucks in a Boyds stock. It's a loaner if someone around here needs to borrow one.
Take care,
Where are you located

when you say "clover" leaf at 25 & 50, does that mean touching,or does that mean a 1-inch cloverleaf? shooting at 25 yards is very helpful for getting on paper then moving out as you did. I see no reason a 160-grain bullet would not shoot in that caliber, so my guess is one of two things. the Boyds stack needs some touch-up, i.e. bedding along with the scope rechecked (you did not mention the type of scope). Second, and sad to say, I bought my grandson a 308 in that rifle and after extensive loading with 130 Barnes, 150 Hornady, 165-grain Sierra, and 3 different powders and god know how many loads that gun refused to shoot anything less than 2" groups and I have been doing this for 50 years. sometimes, you just get a lemon. I had a second 308 in that rifle that was easily sub moa with everything I ran through it. trial and error is the fun, yet exasperating part of getting any gun to shoot, but if I were a betting man, I would bet on bedding and pressure on the barrel somewhere. good luck!

Bedford area.

My Tikka shoots 160gr Nosler Partitions quit well with RL26 at 2760FPS or so. But I like 145grSpeer or 140gr bullets. I like to keep the speed up to 2900 FPS. Just

my thinking.