Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Before A Big Match
Something always seems to happen right before a big match. I have been working on my HW97 match stock in preparations for the 2005 Cajun Classic this coming weekend (April 2&3 2005). I finally got all the upgrades done to it that I have been wanting to do and got it out back of my house to try it out and practice a bit. The zero was really off, more than I expected for the changes that I made to the stock, so I rezeroed and shot for a bit. I began to miss high which isn't unusual for me until I get settled in and start following through on my shots. However the groups remained high even after I felt like I was doing my part.
I reset zero again and switched from 25 yards to 50 and shot for a bit and the same things started happening again. It seemed strange but I had been suspecting that there might be a problem with my Bushnell Elite 4200 6-24x scope for some time and decided to check it. The crosshairs didn't seem to be verticle anymore and I checked that with my scope leveler and a plum line. Sure enough, it wasn't straight with the top of the reticle out about 5 degrees from verticle.
Before I pulled the scope off the rifle I wanted to be sure it wasn't some other problem so I double checked all the screws on the rifle to make sure I didn't have anything loose, which they weren't. I went out to the garage to shoot the rifle over the chrony. I was fearful that my adventure into the Paul Watts tune may have been taking it's toll on the gun and that the velocity may be varying a lot or that the recoil may be affecting accuracy somehow. A few shots over the chrony revealed that my honey of a HW97 was still as consistant as ever, shooting between 873 and 884 fps. Everything on the rifle looked fine, it seemed to be the scope.
I have several of the Bushnell scopes of various magnifications but my favorite is the 6-24x. It is so clear and bright and usually very tough, if only they would make an 8-32x with a 50mm belle! I digress. I had been shooting about a year with this scope and now that I think about it I haven't shot as well with this scope, having more of the "what happened to that shot" moments. In fact it was this scope that shifted on my at last years Good Ole' Boys match that cost me my third win in a row there. I also had some pretty inconsistant shots at our first club match a couple of weekends ago. I originallly decided to shoot with this particular scope because it has the mil-dot reticle which comes in handy on very windy days giving a rest to the scope I had been using for a few years with very good success.
I decided to pull the scope and go back to my other Bushnell 6-24x scope that has the standard duplex reticle. After mounting it and getting everything straight and level I headed out to the backyard again to sight in and test things out. After getting a good zero at 25 yards I stretched it out to 50 and bam, I was back in action! My groups were tight again and I started hitting my 9mm & .45 cartridge cases. My airgun universe was in harmony again. Why is it that these things always seem to happen right before a big match?
I reset zero again and switched from 25 yards to 50 and shot for a bit and the same things started happening again. It seemed strange but I had been suspecting that there might be a problem with my Bushnell Elite 4200 6-24x scope for some time and decided to check it. The crosshairs didn't seem to be verticle anymore and I checked that with my scope leveler and a plum line. Sure enough, it wasn't straight with the top of the reticle out about 5 degrees from verticle.
Before I pulled the scope off the rifle I wanted to be sure it wasn't some other problem so I double checked all the screws on the rifle to make sure I didn't have anything loose, which they weren't. I went out to the garage to shoot the rifle over the chrony. I was fearful that my adventure into the Paul Watts tune may have been taking it's toll on the gun and that the velocity may be varying a lot or that the recoil may be affecting accuracy somehow. A few shots over the chrony revealed that my honey of a HW97 was still as consistant as ever, shooting between 873 and 884 fps. Everything on the rifle looked fine, it seemed to be the scope.
I have several of the Bushnell scopes of various magnifications but my favorite is the 6-24x. It is so clear and bright and usually very tough, if only they would make an 8-32x with a 50mm belle! I digress. I had been shooting about a year with this scope and now that I think about it I haven't shot as well with this scope, having more of the "what happened to that shot" moments. In fact it was this scope that shifted on my at last years Good Ole' Boys match that cost me my third win in a row there. I also had some pretty inconsistant shots at our first club match a couple of weekends ago. I originallly decided to shoot with this particular scope because it has the mil-dot reticle which comes in handy on very windy days giving a rest to the scope I had been using for a few years with very good success.
I decided to pull the scope and go back to my other Bushnell 6-24x scope that has the standard duplex reticle. After mounting it and getting everything straight and level I headed out to the backyard again to sight in and test things out. After getting a good zero at 25 yards I stretched it out to 50 and bam, I was back in action! My groups were tight again and I started hitting my 9mm & .45 cartridge cases. My airgun universe was in harmony again. Why is it that these things always seem to happen right before a big match?
