In less then 2 weeks I am heading to Montana.

My main rifle is a 700 in 300WM. I take one back rifle for my partner and myself.

A Ruger MKII boat paddle in 30-06 with a 180 Hornaday and a max load of IMR4831 it is a solid 3/4 inch rifle.

It has a Burris 3x9 with multiple reticles.

The last time I shot it was 2 years ago been sitting in the safe.

So I take them out walk 100 yards to my rifle range.

Shoot the 300wm dead nuts.

Shoot the 06 I am looking where are the bullet holes.

I then see them high 8 inches high What the heck.

Figure the math ajust the scope fire 3 more dead nuts fire two more right with the 3.

Good to go

What happen in the 2 years beats me.

But that is why one checks ones zero's before going hunting.

Yep,

I checked 2 a couple of weeks back ahead of going to canada. Havent been checked since the end of deer season.

30-06 practically dead on.

My savage predator in .223 was 3" low.

They have both taken a few rides since the last check. Never had one that i didnt drop / knock around. Be that far off.

Gents,
I guess the Ruger boat paddle is a wooden stock...?
What's the difference with the other stocks ?
Any of them synthetic and / or glass bedded, or not ?

Funny thing I have found living in the Southern Hemisphere. Can check my rifle sighting at home ( synthetic stocks but no additional / glass bedding ) and find things bang on. Travel to Northern Hemisphere and, as always, put a couple of sighters through just to check all is OK. Most times I've done this shots can be up to 2 inches higher at 200 yds. Usually I don't adjust the scope, just compensate in my hold. Once home again a scope check shows shots going to the usual POA.

quote:

Originally posted by 30.06king:
I guess the Ruger boat paddle is a wooden stock...?

Ruger boat paddle stocks are synthetic with the, kinda scoop shape to the butt of them.

This is always interesting. I have a scoped Ruger 10/22 that rides perched behind the seat of my tractor and gets banged all over the place all year. I've been picking off squirrels left and right with it this month (as is usual for me at this time of the year). It has never been out of alignment despite the abuse. I have a simple Weaver scope on it, nothing fancy. I do not have flat acreage.

I normally deer hunt with my sporter Argentine Mauser in .30-06. I only use it for hunting, meaning I don't carry it along in any sort of rattle-trap vehicle. I do believe I will check the sight in on it this fall anyway- quite soon!

quote:

30-06 with a 180 Hornaday and a max load of IMR4198

A maximum load of IMR4198 still wouldn't be much powder, and velocity would top out pretty low compared to more conventional powders for this caliber/bullet weight. Such a relatively fast burning powder could certainly play havoc with the zero of a rifle compared to more conventional loads.

Thanks for catching my mistake meant to type IMR4831

I had a friend that did not check his before we left for a plains game hunt in South Africa eons ago. By the time he did figure out the problem (loose scope mounts), he had shot nearly all of his hand loaded ammo. I was shooting the same caliber, only store bought ammo, and I ended up giving him a box of mine. We were both shooting 300 WSMs that were not popular in S.A. at the time, so ammo was not available.

I have a Ruger Boat paddle 30-06 with Burris scope pch. Has never lost zero since 1992. But I still check it.

I check each rifle before hunting and make sure each cartridge cycles through the action before counting on them to hunt with.

I've had my 30-06 be knocked off before while being transported to and from the rifle range. Yet a 7000+ mile trip to Africa and it stayed dead on. Go figure.

You are getting older, thus you are more anxious during your hunt, thus you PULL THE TRIGGER HARDER-THUS SENDING THE BULLET HIGHER (more velocity) which would have a tendency to over shoot your intender game animal!

Hip

Have you had the action out of the stock since last it was fired?

quote:

Originally posted by TCLouis:
Have you had the action out of the stock since last it was fired?

No it has just sat in the safe.

Funny this thread just came up here. There's an ongoing similar discussion about 'misses' on another site. Rather than retype them, here's the copy/paste of two replies I posted.

***********************

Many years ago, a member of our old Hunting Forum on Compuserve invited me to hunt whitetails on a ranch near Del Rio TX. (Yup, same one with the rat in another thread!) The place was huge, and there were only three of us hunting. It was neat because I could hunt it without being confined to a blind.

The first day I passed on several small bucks I had glassed. On the 2nd, I had walked about a 1/2 mile from the ranch house at dawn & set up to glass from a hilltop. Minutes later I spotted a huge buck feeding smack dab in the middle of a big field almost a mile away. I quickly dropped down into a gulley & worked my way closer, staying out of the deer's sight & sort of parallel to the field. When I figured I was about even, I duckwalked up a hill & peered over the top. The buck was still there. It was no more than 250 yds.

I was able to shoot from a prone position. When the buck turned broadside, I fired. The buck never moved. I fired again; same result. I emptied the magazine; nothing. While I was reloading, the buck saunteredd off in a slow walk, directly away from me. I shot twice more without harming a hair.

To be sure I hadn't hit him even though he didn't react, I went out & carefully followed the path he took. Not a drop of blood or clipped hair anywhere. Dejected, I went back to the ranch house, packed my stuff & left a note for my host. I told him I had blown my chance & was heading home.

So a month later on my annual Steenkin' Peeg Hunt back in AZ, I set up a target near camp at 25 yards & pulled out the rifle. Three shots never hit the paper.

It was really strange because I shot the rifle at a range just before the TX hunt, and it was dead-on where I wanted it to be. So when I got home I pulled out my bore sighter; it was so far off, I ran out of clicks!

I laid the gun down on the table, and that's when I noticed the problem; the front bell of the scope was way out of whack, canting down toward the barrel. With little effort, I was able to move it back to straight or to point upward, right or left.

Mystery solved. Evidentally, the weld between the bell & the main tube went kaput. Depending on the objective's orientation at the time, I was either shooting really, really high; really, really low; really, really left or really, really right at the TX buck.

So I made a call to the PR contact at Leupold. He used the replacement value of the old, now-discontinued scope, which I owned for 20 years, against a brandy new upgrade. That's the one in the photo.

******

I just remembered another incident where I missed badly -- a couple times. I was living & guiding in Colorado at the time. Because of the latter, I didn't get much time to hunt for myself.

After one hunt, tho, there were still two days left in the season. A friend, who owned a large ranch, had given me the key to all his gates. So one afternoon, I decided to drive up a little two track to the end, where there was a small cabin & corral. I parked my Chevy 4X4 there and took off on the Red Creek trail up the mountain. Saw two does but no bucks.

After two hours, I did an about face so I could get back to the truck before dark. As I was walking thru a thick stand of aspens, I spotted two bucks in the trees about 75 yds. away. They walked onto the trail & stopped when they realized I was there. I dropped to one knee & shot at the largest buck -- a decent 4X4. He didn't flinch. I shot again; same result. At that point, I had no idea where the bullets were going. At the 2nd shot, the deer took off, bouncing thru the trees as they went.

Knowing I never miss at that kind of distance, I was plum dejected. When I got back to my truck, I decided to check out the rifle. I found a cardboard box & set it about 25 yds. away. Then I rested on the hood of the truck & shot. When I did I heard this loud sort of 'twang' sound. I quickly found out what caused it, tho. The bullet had put an 8" long cut & depression in the outer layer of the hood.

Later that week, I was cleaning the rifle & discovered the screw that holds the action & stock together was loose, which allowed the action to move up & down. My bullets were likely going into the ground well short of where the deer had been standing.

I have a set of 3 Ruger 77's. Red pads and tang safety from the 80's. If I pull one out to hunt with the first thibg to check is the angled action screw. For some reason it seems to loosten sitting in the safe. I think probably the woid stock dries and shrinks? But, after 40 years you would guess that it would stop. The 458wm is the one worry about as they have a reputation of splitting the stock in the tang area. The 338 did split the stock there, but being a Ruger, the company replaced the stock at no charge. Bill was running the company then.

My ancient and beloved BDL in 270 and my CZ 550 in 500 Jeffery never move, but I check before going hunting anyway. It's a fun hour shooting and I don't worry.

I Have a 375 WBY topped with a 3x9 Trijicon. I's been a very dependable rig. A client of mine was coming to hunt Alaska from overseas and didn't want to hassle with bringing his rifle. I loaded some ammo took the rifle to the range and sited it in 2 inches high at 100. I sent it to the Alaskan operator in a plastic Plano case inside of a cardboard gun sleeve. I also packed it very carefully with extra padding. When my client tried it before the hunt it was 8 inches high at 100. He adjusted it down to 2" high and killed a brown bear with it. When I got the rifle back it was still 2" high a 100. There's no real logical explanation but I always shoot my rifle before any hunt.

It surprises me how many outfitters are not set up to allow you to check your rifle properly with a good rest. I had one guide tell me he didn't believe that scopes get knocked out of adjustment during travel!!!!!!!!!!!

Mark

quote:

It surprises me how many outfitters are not set up to allow you to check your rifle properly with a good rest. I had one guide tell me he didn't believe that scopes get knocked out of adjustment during travel!!!!!!!!!!!

After traveling for hundreds of miles I arrived for an elk hunt.

We asked the outfitter where could be test fire our rifles.

He look like we handed him a snake.

After thinking awhile he said well there is a hill over there.

I’ve hunted deer in Michigan for many years. In the Thumb of Michigan it’s shotgun only and I have an Ithaca Deerslayer Model 37 topped with a a Leupold scope. When it started spraying shots all over the target, my hunting buddy showed me where the mount which was not drilled and tapped would slide out of the dovetail on the receiver. When Michigan allowed straight walked rifle calibers I bought a .450 Bushnaster Ruger Ranch Rifle. It shoots cloverleafs at 100 yards and has dropped a number of nice bucks with a single shot. I shoot Hornady Black Box ammo in 250 grains out of it and have 100% confidence with it out to 200 yards.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:

quote:

It surprises me how many outfitters are not set up to allow you to check your rifle properly with a good rest. I had one guide tell me he didn't believe that scopes get knocked out of adjustment during travel!!!!!!!!!!!

After traveling for hundreds of miles I arrived for an elk hunt.

We asked the outfitter where could be test fire our rifles.

He look like we handed him a snake.

After thinking awhile he said well there is a hill over there.

Not unusual unfortunately.

Boat paddle stocks don't chang zero, at least mine never have, so Id suggest you check the screws, if not that strip it down and take a look at what you need to fix..maybe glass bed it..its moving in the stock, that much Im pretty sure of..let us know.

I take a bore sighter to camp or wherever and check it every morning before I hunt to prevent such problems...I learned this years ago after more than a few screw up on POI for whatever reason, its good insurance and no trouble at all.

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
Boat paddle stocks don't chang zero, at least mine never have, so Id suggest you check the screws, if not that strip it down and take a look at what you need to fix..maybe glass bed it..its moving in the stock, that much Im pretty sure of..let us know.

Ray I have had this rifle for a couple of decades it was glass bedded years ago.

I think something inside the scoped changed

As every thing else is fine.

I have been puzzled by this issue a few times over the years and outside of the obvious, bedding, rings, loose screws etc. A CSR at Swarovski told me scopes over time springs (internals) scope can or do weaken and and move your zero. Like others It has baffled me when you take a rifle straight from the bench dead-on and put in safe and take out and be off sometimes a lot. So I guess if you take everything else off the table it could be the scope itself.

Great points. I had planned to buy another Leupold 1-5x and set of Talley Rings for my 500 Jeffery (of course I do have iron sights, but sadly I'm only good with those to 50 yards). I'll sight both scopes in and if one dies, I just put the other one on. Typically removing and replacing a scope with my Talley QR steel rings is usually with 1/4" at 100 yards. Cheap insurance for an expensive hunt.

Before I go on a hunt, I shoot dozens of rounds checking my loads and eye.

P-dog Im sure you will figure it out, it has to be in the screws, scope, or scope mounts..unless you put the stock too close to a campfire stove. Ive seen that ruin a composite stock..

After I sight in, I check with the bore sight and record the coordinates on the ammo box. After I travel, I'll check with the bore sight to make sure still at same coordinates. If I have to move the scope, I'll send one down range to make sure.

I took a new-to-me 6mm-284 from Connecticut to Montana, when I test-fired it, the bullet was four inches thataway from right.
Back to its case, and get out the ancient Model 70 that didn't move from Utah to Alaska to North Carolina to Connecticut to Montana and Wyoming.

Back home two weeks later, back where it was when I sighted it in at Blue Trail. I sold that BDL stock and went to a synthetic with bedding block.
All fixed after that...