I have a savage single shot 222. 12 power leupold scope.This rifle has won many local BR shoots with the previous owner. I cant do it !!!
I can shoot a winning group,Until I PULL one so far out it's not funny..usually my last shot.
I dont know what to do.I dont think it's pressure or excitement,But it is a good possibility. I've done the same thing for 5 years now.(1 shoot a year) Does anyone have any advice for me ? Thanks

1. Maybe the previous owner sold it because it no longer shot consistently.

2. Check the usual things like scope mounts and scope. If a scope gets old and a little loose inside, it can be the cause of inconsistency. If you think it may be a scope issue, return it to Leuopld telling them you suspect a scope malfunction and they'll check it out and return it to you. All it will cost you is postage to get it to Leuopld.

3. Is the barrel clean?

4. How is the barrel crown?

5. Can you shoot good groups of numbers of shots when it's not a competition?

6. Are you using exactly the same load as the winning shooter was?

First,

Shoot it more than once a year.

Second,

How are you loading/prepping your ammo? Are you an experienced benchrest ammunition loader? Do you sort your brass? How carefully/exactly are you weighing your powder charges? How sure are you that you're loading good, concentric, "match quality" ammo?

It could be ammo related, but if it's always your last shot you're pulling, I hate to say it but it's probably you pulling the shot. Are you too busy looking at your "winning group" to concentrate on your last shot?

Heck I've done that myself. I'll be just smoking a single hole, then last shot, TRAIN WRECK!

Take your rifle out to practice, not during a match, and shoot a group. If you have any flyers, pull that piece of brass out of the batch and keep it segregated. Go over your flyer brass when you get home, looking for weight variations and concentric issues.

That's a start, at least.

It's called confidence in what you do. Everybody does it, the people who win these thing just have a wee bit more than others. That's also why they sell bullets, brass, powder and targets. The better you get the less confidence the rest of these boys will have. It's not that hard your life does't depend on it.

See ya at the range

kidd

Thanks for the answers. The rifle does shoot..My reloads are as close to perfect as can be.slowpoke, I do get excited about the small group, and then like you said train wreck.
Is there something I can do to fix this problem ?
This is a small gathering. No prize money or trophys. So I would think no pressure but mabey I'm wrong ?

The size of the gathering of shooters does't mean you aren't excited. If you're pulling the last shot, then more practice is probably the solution.

About the only fix I can think of is practice, and mental conditioning. I think the accuracy game is at least as equal a part mental as it is anything else.

Concentrate on your sight picture, and not on the results on the paper. I know it's hard not to get distracted by the group, when you can see it on the paper. But focus on sight picture, and trigger release.

Don't know how far you're shooting, but I assume it's fairly close (under 300 yards anyway) to see a .22 cal hole with a 12x scope.

I mentioned the ammo, as it doesn't take much change at all to affect a 222 Rem case size. Either in powder charge, case capacity, neck tension, etc.

What about cleaning regimen? How often and how do you clean your barrel? At what point do you decide it's time to clean? Are you going by a specific round count, or just when the accuracy falls off. When I clean my 6.5x284 barrel down to "bare metal", it takes 13-15 rounds to get it to tighten up again. I think it has shot it's best group to date with 50 shots down the barrel in front of it. I have a couple others that will shoot tight "cold and clean".

Take your "flyer" brass and use it for barrel fouling shots, keeping it separated from your "match ammo".

Oh yeah, and try to practice more...

I had a pal who had the same problem , he necked the bad brass that shot fliers and went back to the range and they all hit the same hole , he also had some with primer holes that were not the same dimensions get a reamer and check all primer holes making sure they are centered in pocket ! off centered holes will shoot fliers .

I can't help with the equipment side of it but I've competed at a very high level in other sports so I know a little bit about the mental side.

The first thing that comes to mind is that you have to find a way to "be present". 100% focused on the shot you're making and not the shots you made or are going to make. Some people are naturally better at that than others but I know you can train yourself to do it better.

When you practice, make every shot the very best you can make. Most people think "practicing" means going out doing it a millions times. How you do it is far more important than how many times you do it.

To accomplish that develop a good repeatable routine that you do everytime. That helps you focus when you get nervous. Visualize that routine and making the perfect shot every time before you take a shot. Pretty soon it because second nature.

The last part is simply competing more. That will help build confidence and learn how to cope with pressure. If you're limited to one shoot a year, do the best you can and have fun. That's ultimately what this is all about.

Thanks everyone for the input. I'll try to apply more focus on my next shot and not the ones before.