I was shooting my Marlin 1895 .45-70 at 50 yards off of padded X-Sticks using 25 grains of 2400 to push the 457191 boolit. The point of impact was just at the top of my front sight bead and groups were 1.7" to 2.3".

I decided to move back to 100 yards to see how it would perform off my bench. I used a sandbag under the forend and under the botom of the stock.
The sight covered most of the target, but I managed to let just a small crescent of black show above the bead, to allow for drop of the 302 grain boolit.

Imagine my surprise when the hole appeared 12" above my point of hold!! I tried the 6 o'clock hold and again the point of impact was 12" above my hold!

I moved to 50 yards again to double check and found it was shooting in the same group as before.

I can't work out a trajectory this radical. Would anyone like to comment about what could have happened? Maybe different technique of rest? I'm baffled!!!!-JDL

rest techniques would be my first guess. Try a benched target at 50 yds or your sticks at 100 yds, then confirm off hand with 50. Some rifles like dirrerent "bench bedding" styles; bag at the barrel vs stock but most will impact differently from either style. Did your sticks rest the barrel or stock? Good luck. Gianni.

First of all..I don't know what is going on! But that won't stop me from taking a guess. I have noticed that my Marlin 45-70 will print higher at 100 than 50 with the same load, but nowhere near 12". I shoot at both ranges with the same technique. I shoot from a bench using a bench rest front rest and a sandbad. I do place my off hand under the sandbag and grip the rifle forend. I pull the rifle against my shoulder and do not use a rear sand bag. This puts me up much straighter and handles the recoil better and accuracy seems to be just fine. As stated, if you are using different supports at 50 and 100 than can account for alot of differences.

However, with the dwell time of the bullet in the barrel, the recoil and the highth of the sights above the bore, you may be catching the bullet on the rise at 50 yards and it is still on the rise at 100, only to fall from the sky some yards down range.

The folks in Europe (Those who still have rifles) sight in their scopes to hit the cross hairs dead center at 25 yards. The bullet is still on the rise at 50 and 100 and will cross the cross hairs around 200 yards or so.

With the 45-70 everything is exagerated in these big bore punkin rollers.

Please correct me if I am wrong - I had to make a couple assumptions....

When you shot off the shooting sticks, you held the fore end with your off hand. Off the bags, you did not hold the fore end with your off hand. This allowed the muzzle to rise, and since the 45-70 bullet spends a lot of time in the barel, the muzzle had risen considerably before the bullet exited the bore, and therefore the shot hit high as compared to 50 yards.

Just my WAG, Bill

I think Chargar's got it....if you zero the round at 100yds, will it print 12" low at 50?

Regards.....