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Winter on the Range
Snow sucks, as do temperamental rifles!

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Range Entrance

I had to open the gate and put out the signs when I arrived. There sure was a lot of snow for the end of March...

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Parking Lot


The parking lot was empty! This is such a rare occurrence that I didn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

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The 25 Yard Range


I had trouble getting my scope zeroed. I couldn't seem to get the rifle to group and the impact point kept shifting, but only a little bit. An inch maybe. Sounds like the scope, right? The real trouble didn't start until after I shot at 100 yards. The POI really changed then! (There was almost no wind.)

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The 300 Yard Range

The snow was too deep to set up my chronograph. That was probably a good thing. I set up and proceeded to shoot what looked like shotgun patterns.


Rangespray.jpg
100 yd results. Rifle or shotgun target?
 
   

I was dismayed with what happened at the 25 yd. range. It got worse when I shot at 100 yd. The snow was too deep to put out the chronograph, but that was the least of my worries.

Look at those 100 yard groups. The top target was shot using Igman. The bottom target with Prvi Partizan. What appears to be vertical stringing was actually the POI changing randomly. It happened with both brands of ammunition, which is why I attributed the poor groups to be a problem with the scope.

Despite the fact that the impact spot kept changing, I left the scope untouched. I decided to check the rest of the rifle first. The scope rings and bases were tight. The barrel crown appeared to be alright.

When I got home, I took the action out of the stock for a look and re-installed it. I re-torqued the action screws to 25 in/lb. I will try them at this torque setting, increasing them at 10 in/lb increments (if required) until I reach 55 in/lb.

I have also contacted Remington to find out exactly what the bore diameter is of the Model 799. I will also be pulling some factory bullets and micing them shortly.

---
UPDATE - 11 May 08

The rings were the cause of the bad groups. The end of the screw broke off and wasn't holding the ring firmly to the base.

See the photos below.

Your comments are welcomed. Just click the bottom of the page to send me an email.