Rifle fit and accurate shooting - 12/13/02
Yesterday, I was fiddling with a few rifles trying to decide which to use on my next day trip.
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<br>I tried an old Ruger 77 tang safety that is set up with a Leupold 2x7 33mm and iron sights to boot. Sighting through the scope, I noticed that as I changed powers down to 2x the front iron sight came into view in the scope.
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<br>BUT the iron post was way off to the left from where the crosshairs pointed! This meant that the bore was off by a considerable degree from where the scope was pointing! In a word, YIKES!
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<br>I also noticed that very small head movements on the horizontal plane would make for fairly big jumps in the front sight/cross hair relationship. (Other variables, like canting, had no effect.) The worst part was that to get the two to line up, I had to hold my head so that it just barely touched the stock. This was hard to hold firm and certainly did not give the tight cheek weld that is a good part of consistency in shooting.
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<br>Now this rifle has been in my keeping for about five years and I've hunted with it four or five times with reasonable success the few times it has barked at game. At the bench, it shoots reliable groups and has never been particulary "cranky" about doing so. It is disturbing to see how far off things were in a standing firing position. (It is hard enough getting the normal standing wobbles under control but throw in a misorientation of sights and bore and you've got serious trouble.)
<br>
<br>It now appears clear that that stock does not fit me properly and that I will have to build out the cheek pad a bit -- maybe with one of those Bear Paw slide-on neopreme pads -- to get a better cheek weld. I can do that and fix the Ruger problem.
<br>
<br>But how do I check the fit on my other rifles?
<br>
<br>Most of my rifles are w/o iron sights and I can't figure a way to test the actual cross hair/bore relationship when actually shooting in the field -- rather than from the bench where everything is locked down tight. How can I be sure that the scope and bore are in synch and, if they are not, which adjustments I have to make?
<br>
<br>Appreciate any suggestions. Thanks in advance. 1b
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<br>
<br>
<br>I tried an old Ruger 77 tang safety that is set up with a Leupold 2x7 33mm and iron sights to boot. Sighting through the scope, I noticed that as I changed powers down to 2x the front iron sight came into view in the scope.
<br>
<br>BUT the iron post was way off to the left from where the crosshairs pointed! This meant that the bore was off by a considerable degree from where the scope was pointing! In a word, YIKES!
<br>
<br>I also noticed that very small head movements on the horizontal plane would make for fairly big jumps in the front sight/cross hair relationship. (Other variables, like canting, had no effect.) The worst part was that to get the two to line up, I had to hold my head so that it just barely touched the stock. This was hard to hold firm and certainly did not give the tight cheek weld that is a good part of consistency in shooting.
<br>
<br>Now this rifle has been in my keeping for about five years and I've hunted with it four or five times with reasonable success the few times it has barked at game. At the bench, it shoots reliable groups and has never been particulary "cranky" about doing so. It is disturbing to see how far off things were in a standing firing position. (It is hard enough getting the normal standing wobbles under control but throw in a misorientation of sights and bore and you've got serious trouble.)
<br>
<br>It now appears clear that that stock does not fit me properly and that I will have to build out the cheek pad a bit -- maybe with one of those Bear Paw slide-on neopreme pads -- to get a better cheek weld. I can do that and fix the Ruger problem.
<br>
<br>But how do I check the fit on my other rifles?
<br>
<br>Most of my rifles are w/o iron sights and I can't figure a way to test the actual cross hair/bore relationship when actually shooting in the field -- rather than from the bench where everything is locked down tight. How can I be sure that the scope and bore are in synch and, if they are not, which adjustments I have to make?
<br>
<br>Appreciate any suggestions. Thanks in advance. 1b
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