I been haveing this happen for a while now and dont quite under stand it. When I've been out back shooting off the bench a couple of my rifles always seem to throw the first shot of a shooting session. One is my Savage .17HMR and the other is my 13yr old sons Winchester in .243. The aren't way off , maybe an inch or so at 100yrds. After that first shot though everything comes together and they both group well (both well under 1") at their previously sighted point of impact. It doesnt seem to make a difference if that first shot is out of a clean barrel or not. Does anyone have any ideas on maybe whats up?

Thanks
Tim

From a freshly clean barrel, my 673 in .350 Rem Mag ALWAYS throws the first shot 6" low and right. The second shot goes around 2-3" low and right. And on-target from thereon out.

My Marlin 336 35 Rem LTD Stainless tosses the first bullet off the whole paper from a clean barrel!

Fouling shots are mandatory for my guns after cleaning. I put three foulers downrange after a cleaning before doing any accuracy testing.

Now, onto YOUR specific question: throwing the first shot at the range. Yep, I do it. For me I'm convinced that it's a nervous "Warm-up" shot. I tried this different this time: I ran three dry-fires at the target, paying EXTREME care to watch the crosshairs on the target. The first one almost always has some fluctations - the second dry-fire exhibits a
vibration" and the third dry-fire is stable.

After the three DF's, I found that my first shot is right on target.

I shoot 12,000 rounds of pistol a year, mostly .45acp in my 625JM. I shoot weekly. I don't have any trigger pulling issues with first shot or any shots with a pistol that I own.

I shoot maybe 300 rounds of centerfire rifle a year, over 5 range sessions a year. Yeah, I have issues with centerfire and pulling the shots.

Practice, practice, practice.