Rifle Scopes Do I have a scope problem?

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

My Savage with Athlon Ares BTR (4.5 - 27) 6.5 CM, Hndy 147 ELD, 39.0 gr H4350 was giving me issues at 600 yards. Background was grass so couldn't tell POIs. I thought it was sighted in at 100y, but something wasn't right. So I took it to the range to check the 100 y zero. Keep in mind, this is typically a 1/2 moa gun.

Group 1: First 5 shots about 1.6" low. A little surprised not a big deal. But group is 1.085 with a flier dropping low (0.53 + the 1 flier).
Group 2: Adjusted scope up 0.4 mils and get the same thing: 0.97" group with a flier dropping low (so 0.445" + the 1 flier). Impact of group is roughly POA.
Group 3 Shoot another 5 shots and get a 0.475" group (no flier this time). Great, BUT the entire group dropped about 0.3 mils from POA.
Group 4: Adjust up another 0.3 mils and shoot a 0.385" group. This time POI =POA.

Solid bench, no wind. Everything is tight on the mount. Makes me think the scope has issues. Also, during the last group, it seemed like the parallax adjustment got real touchy. I know this gun, my load and my abilities well enough to know something is awry. Thoughts?

 

[Matches Malone]

How many rounds down the tube?
Not saying it’s not the scope but it’s better to be objective and diagnose everything.

 

[Birddog6424]

I know this gun, my load and my abilities well enough to know something is awry. Thoughts?

I think you answered your own question.

Start troubleshooting, starting with the scope.

 

[Tunnuh]

Parallax is noticeably touchy, call Athlon and tell them what you're experiencing and see if they can help troubleshoot. If they think it's worth sending then send it.

 

[mtnhunter22]

I don’t have much as far as advice goes but would really be interested to see that if this is a scope issue how athlon takes care of it. I run a couple cronus’. Hoping I never have any issues but would be nice to know that they stand behind their products.

 

[supercorndogs]

My magic 8 ball said "Ask again later." You might have to figure this one out yourself.

 

[Tokay444]

Try a different scope.

 

[Jabot]

Try checking action screws if u haven't, seen them cause these same problems

 

[Mike Casselton]

Don't just check to see if things are tight.
Pull it apart and look at things.
My Creed was giving me fits so I took it apart and found a couple of issues.

The biggest offender was a loose scope base.
I checked it the day I bought the rifle and must have broken loose the thread locker that was on it.

As you can see, it had been loose for a while.

The forward screw had been taking a beating. Look at the threads on it.

Check the bottom of your receiver and the back of the recoil lug to make sure nothing is moving.

 

[FLguy55]

Did you notice any mirage? Any chance you could be mistaking mirage for lack of focus and bad parralax? You mentioned low impacts when parralax seemed off. Bad mirage could cause this.

 

[Runnineh]

Check your torques:
Action screws
Base screws
Mount/ring screws
If you're using a level, is it accurate?
Have you cleaned your barrel recently?
Were environmentals different than normal?

The key is isolation. Narrow it down so that it won't drive you crazy.

 

[RTH1800]

Try dry firing and see if reticule moves around. Also try checking torque on al bolts as mentioned above.