I have a stainless short action Ruger MK11 that has given me fits over the years. I have rebarreled the action and restocked it with a laminated stock. It still is very inconsistent but shows glimpses of very good accuracy potential.

When I boresite this rifle, looking through the bore indicates a perfect center on a target at 100 meters but the bullets land about 3 feet to the left. What would cause this? First time I have had a rifle do this.

I also have a problem with accuracy inspite of a new barrel and new laminated stock. At 200 meters sometimes I get a great group then with the next group with the same batch of loads, it shoots terrible. Nothing is consistent. I have changed scopes and mounts twice and rebedded the action to no avail. The scopes are Leupold and I have lapped the rings to a perfect alignment and the rings aren't slipping. My loads are very accurate in other rifles so they are not a problem.

I was wondering if the boresite problem indicates a problem with the threading for the barrel in the action? I have replaced everything else so I am looking at everything. Sure would appreciate any suggestions you have. Thanks, Steve

It sounds like the barrel is looking off towards McDuffy's place.

Is the bolt hard to open? Usually if the barrel threads are that far off the bolt face is way out of whack and gets *really* hard to open with fairly mild loads.

Has it always had a boresite problem?

Figureing a 5 inch ring spacing, if it's off by 3 feet at a hundred, it means one ring is offset .050 inch. You should be able to see that!

The end of a 24 inch barrel would be nearly a quarter inch off the center-line......WOW!

I'm surprised the 'smith that barreled it didn't notice it, too.

....are you saying you cannot adjust your point of impact to hit the center of the target at 100yds? Or are you saying that all you did was bore sight it, and found it to be hitting 5" off at 100? My recommendation is always bore sight at 25yds.... then shoot at 25yds... get the rifle to hit center at 25, then move out to 100 and fine tune it. Just because you bore sighted it doesn't mean it will hit point of aim... that's just a rough way to get it on the paper...

Jack, Thanks for the reply. I will measure the runout by rotating the barreled action and will report back. I had a real problem lapping in the rings because I had believed that the front ring mount was machined so badly that the rings would hold the scope indicating rods I use 1/8" out in the middle. I didn't use the rods when I first setup the rifle but do now. When I boresited the scope to the bore on a 100 meter target the bullets would hit 3 feet to the left. It is possible that the mount machining on the action top is the culprit. I will check that too. Thanks, Steve

Maybe the receiver is shaped like a bananna. I have read that the actions are adjusted to straightness specs by a worker with a big hammer after they come from the molds. Plateau Hunter

SteveB---

Your whole problem could very well be in the scope mounting system.

The Ruger uses a cast-in socket that the scope ring fits into. If the bottom of that socket is too shallow the point of the ring hits bottom before the sides engage. So instead of a solid dovetail-type clamping system it will have only point to point contact in the bottom of the socket.

If that's the problem sometimes all thats needed is to grind the point off the rings so the sides can make full contact.

Ruger used to machine the scope mount sockets but quit some time ago.

The first thing i do when i buy a Ruger is throw the factory rings in the trash. I then slap on some Burris Signature rings with the poly inserts. My latest Ruger i bought the Burris weaver adaptors and they work great too. This should get the alignment fixed. As far as grouping goes, are you handloading? i would buy some factory ammo just to see. Perhaps your gun just doesn't like what you are feeding it. What caliber is it?

Only Ruger i ever had that wouldn't shoot was a #1. Every bolt of theirs i have had shot great straight from the factory.

SteveB,

It sounds to me from your first post that the barrel and scope are pointing in the same direction. A gun can appear correctly boresighted yet miss the target as you've described if there is uneven contact or pressure against the barrel.

Depending on if the barrel is floating and by how much, there still may be contact as the barrel whips under recoil. If the barrel isn't either under uniform pressure in the forend, or, free enough to avoid any amount of contact with the forearm, then your problem may well start here.

You can take a rifle that is sighted in and apply a little pressure or contact to one side of the barrel and watch your groups shift in the oposite direction from where you're pointing.

I once damaged a scope while hunting and could not get enough windage to bring me back on target. I placed a couple of business cards in the barrel channel on the opposite side of where I needed to move my bullet and BINGO, back on target.

When in doubt, check it out.

Good luck,

Malm

Thanks all for the suggestions. I am going to pull the barrel and measure the action for overall straightness and straightness of the barrel threads. Jack, I think you are right about the scope mounts and the machined areas you described however I don't think that would cause the problems I am having since the bore and scope crosshairs are both looking at the same point while the bullets are landing in another. The barrel channel is completely clear and free and appears to have enough clearance to prevent contact while the rifle is fired. Thanks for the suggestions. Steve