Vertical Stringing

[thefiremeister]

I finally got my scope and rifle together and took them out for a shoot.

I was getting 1 3/4 inch groups at 100 yards with a new Savage FP10 ( 308) and a new millet 4x16 mil dot, mil rad set up.

I have the rifle on a laminate stock and was shooting 168 gn federal match ammo and I was shooting off of a lead sled.

I would expect this rifle to shoot better than that. I'm going back out on Friday or Saturday and was wondering if you guys have any ideas on what to look for to cure the vertical stringing.

I have the scope rails down pretty tight and the scope rings have been torqued with a fat wrench but I will be double checking the scope and rail set up again

 

[Captain Kirk]

Re: Vertical Stringing

Well, nobody ever likes to hear this but.....let someone else shoot it, it will rule out the rifle or shooter. Vertical stringing @ 100 yards can usualy be tracked down to rifle hold or shooter input. It could very well be the rifle, load, or ammo, but another shooter can verify or rule all that out real fast.

Kirk R

 

[thefiremeister]

Re: Vertical Stringing

Your right, I didn't want to hear that but I did think of that already.

That idea won't be my last choice but for starters I was going to try some different ammo first and see if I can correct any shooter input this week end.

I would hate to have someone else shoot my new gun better than me. It would be embarrassing.

 

[CanPopper]

Re: Vertical Stringing

Shooting off a lead sled? I have never seen anyone shoot what I consider to be good groups off of sleds.

Maybe try the proven front rest and rear bag combo to see if this changes?

 

[dangerdan87]

Re: Vertical Stringing

If your saying your groups are up and down on a vertical plane, then 99% of the time its the shooter inhaling and exhaling while shooting.

 

[bohem]

Re: Vertical Stringing

Is the action properly torqued into the stock?
Get rid of the "lead sled" and shoot it with a rest and rear bag and see if that helps you out.
Take very careful note of your fundamentals
Let someone else shoot it, someone that you know can drive a rifle.

If all else fails, try new ammo. This would be the last thing I'd worry about though with that rifle and ammo combination, it *should* do better than that.

 

[Victor N TN]

Re: Vertical Stringing

Among benchrest shooters one of the main things to looks at for vertical is check the load. Either add or subtract .3 grains of powder and see if that helps. Of course if you are already pushing the pressure limits, just make the move with a lesser charge.

 

[Switchblade]

Re: Vertical Stringing

Breathe
Relax
Aim
Stop Breathing
Squeeze
Follow Up
Recover
Reload

My bet is it is all you man. Ask me how I know. Yeah, my very first groups were up and down from breathing, and across from jerking the trigger. When I got my act together one ragged hole appeared. The rifle will shoot better than me most days, but occasionally I find zen

 

[Armorman]

Re: Vertical Stringing

If I was you the first thing I'd do is ditch the lead sled and get a <span style="text-decoration: underline">good</span> front rest and rear bag. Then I'd read this excellent article:

http://www.6mmbr.com/verticaltips.html

It worked for me so it should for you! Good luck.

 

[thefiremeister]

Re: Vertical Stringing

OK, OK. I'll ditch the sled.

I can shoot a pretty tight groups with my ARs so I don't think my breathing is the problem. I'll definitely be paying more attention to it though.

Like I said this is a new whole new rig so I'm trying to figure it out.

How much could cheek weld or parallax affect shot placement?

 

[thefiremeister]

Re: Vertical Stringing

Why don't you think the sleds are any good?

My thought was to use one just for sighting in ( like I'm trying to do ) and load development. I wanted some thing that would hold the gun real still like.

 

[popeyecop]

Re: Vertical Stringing

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: dangedan87</div><div class="ubbcode-body">If your saying your groups are up and down on a vertical plane, then 99% of the time its the shooter inhaling and exhaling while shooting.</div></div>

Right on the money about that.