Consistent Flier

nwwoodsman · Mar 23, 2013

Put a scope on my 580 mini 14 (tapered barrel) and went to sight it in.
Shooting 3 round groups, no wind, every single time I had a consistent flier to the right. This happened about a half dozen times. Can't tell you if t was happening on my first, second or third pull of the trigger. Looking for some advice on how to remedy the situation. I have a picture of one of the groups below

I have a recent (within the last year) magazine article that was in Field and Stream, or American Hunter somewhere in my magazine box that tells what causes which particular flier in what direction but I can't seem to find it now that I need it. If someone else knows what article I'm talking about that would be a huge help as I can probably find it online.

iamme · Mar 23, 2013

My only guess would possibly be first round- as I've heard with AR's sometimes the first round, loaded by dropping the BCG can behave a little different then the subsequent rounds loaded by the cycling. Beyond that maybe a gnome is messing with ya!

Creeper · Mar 23, 2013

iamme's comment is a good one to consider. Another first round flyer issue can be the rifle "hold". You don't say if you're shooting from a bench of offhand or at what yardage, but the initial shouldering and hold can vary from the second and subsequent holds after the first shot recoil... the rifle and shooter "settling in".
This of course is assuming you are maintaining a hold after the first shot and not lifting off, then resetting your hold from shot to shot.

Another is how well your rifle action is fit to the stock. If the action is moving within the stock or the stock is flexing and shifting... it can shift your POI.

Another is your rest set-up. If your rests and/or rifle position on the rests shift around, the changing pressure points and variations in recoil can alter POI.

There are others that can be the shooter or the gun... scope mounting, variations in trigger control, scope settings, shooter to scope consistency and relative parallax.
Variations in rifle hold again, but this time variations in the actual firmness or looseness of the hold. The list goes on and on.

Think in these terms... the group shooter must be a "machine". Duplicating all elements of each shot, over and over with no variation.

C

DieselScout · Mar 23, 2013

I don't mean to offend you or your ability, but have you had anyone else shoot it?

And is this what you are referring too?

Velzey · Mar 23, 2013

Are you using sandbags fore and aft? Also how long between shots?

I have seen this before, and it was me pulling the shot.

2gr8dgs · Mar 24, 2013

how the cartridges feed off the magazine can give you a left/right stagger as well.
getting a mini 14 to shoot is an exercise in frustration. not that it can't be done, mine took a lot of time & patience. I never found a factory load that any of mine really cared for.
good luck!

deadshot2 · Mar 24, 2013

I had this issue with a bolt action. Strangely enough it was the scope mount. The Rail, where it mounted to the action was loose. Caused this strange flier, almost the exact same amount of horizontal error, every few shots.

I stripped it from the action and re-worked the entire installation, even replacing the bedding under the rail. Problem gone.

Something else to consider. If you can, rotate the scope 90 degrees. Re-zero with the windage turret now being the elevation turred, etc. See if this flier changes to a vertical offset. Wouldn't be the first time a gremlin actually lived in a scope.