Problem
I am facing a problem I do not understand. When I shoot with my Condor at about 11 yards and I adjust my scope to be centered left and right at this distance, when I then start shooting at lets say 40 yards the left and right POI changes a lot (even in no wind). Why is this? What does this mean? What is going on?
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Bushings will rotate. You need to pull the barrel out and loosen the set screw that holds the bushing to the barrel.
Mark the top of the barrel as it sits in the gun with a marker. Pull the barrel and then pull the bushings off. Now you need to find a real flat surface so you can roll the barrel to see if your barrel is perfectly straight. See how it compares to the line you made and if there is a curve in your barrel, put a new mark on the barrel. Now you need to install the barrel with that mark on the top or bottom.
My .308 had this problem.
I will test to see if my crosshairs are vertical with that technique.
Can someone please tell me, when i loosen the screws at the bushings will the barrel move on its own or will the bushings move also as i rotate the barrel?
Ergonomics is of utmost importance ❗
Another reason to improve ergonomics by lowering the tank with TTTA (TalonTunes Tank Adapter) and using a WOK Butt is the high mount of the scope and slight slant of the rifle will cause in increasing left movement of the POI as distance increases. That’s for a right handed shooter.
Many use a level to make sure that at least the frame is level while aligning the vertical crosshair. With the rifle level and a plumb line at 20 yards I got mine really good. However, if you are to quick to align your crosshairs on target, with your head tipped to the side, you may not be acquiring good vertical alignment. Better ergonomics helps a lot.
remember, it could be a lot of things, that one just stuck out to me.
im unsure if AF takes care of aligning the rotation of the barrel, but since drum made mine, he went so far as to jewel mark the 12:00 of the barrel.
maybe call the AF tech dept. and find out if they do this, it has to be done on a lathe very carefuly, which makes me wonder if their barrels are commonly out of alignment, being a high volume/corner cutting company…and LW barrels, while if you got a good one, dont get much better. but ballistic alignment can be super critical on the average ones, due to imperceptible bends made by the rifling button.
Ok i will definitely try to turn the barrel as said.
By the way, when i loosen the screws at the bushings will the barrel be free to move only or will the bushings also move as i turn the barrel? If so, how do i turn the barrel while the bushings stay at the same position?
I seem to have found the appropriate FPS.
I never really shoot at short ranges but the fact that the POI changed so much it got me thinking something is wrong that could affect at long ranges. So thanks for the ideas and i will be trying them shortly.
I experienced a similar problem with my .25 shooting 28g Benjamin domes. I started at 50 yards (my zero) and then shot groups at 100 yards. The POI shifted left. I finally determined that slowing down the FPS from 975 to 950 helped a lot.
Keep us posted on your findings.
Also, keep in mind that frame is aluminium. The 4 screws holding the barrel bushings can strip out the threads. I believe most use a litttle blue locktite to keep the screws from coming loose. They need to be tightened in a sequence that will best align the barrel with the verticle plane. That means tightened pushing the bushings upward against the top of the frame first.
I believe RiffRaff came up with this idea.
So, after the bushings are properly aligned and secured to the barrel, install the barrel/bushings aligned to the 4 set screw holes, get all 4 screws snugged up then back all off just a little. Then snug up the bottom screws, front first then rear. Then tighten the front a little, then the rear. Next, do the same for the screws on the side but maybe a little less tight. Using very little blue locktite when you installed the screws will set up after a while and insure they stay tight.
Also, consider your scope mounts can cause a similar problem. If the mounts set a little off center to one side or the other, your verticle planes of barrel and scope can actually cross. This wouldn’t be very noticeable at close range but will cause the POI to increasingly move to one side as distance increases. Even if the mount is offset a tiny bit it won’t be intolerable if you don’t over compensate at short range.
A new scope can be aligned initially at close range but I would start with the scoope ‘optically centered’ note which side of center it is hitting on at close range but don’t adjust horizontally until you are shooting at a greater distance. That way you will nit have over compensated at close range. This needs to be done without side wind.
good chance your barrel isnt in the vertical ballistic plane.
shoot a group at short, then long, with no horizontal adjustment.
lets say your groups are are further to the 9 o clock position at long, turn the barrel in its bushings 90 degrees clockwise. remount and do again.
someone else could prob. explain in length, but i recommend reading the barrels section at leupys custom shop site, he explains it better than i can.
but in short, no barrel is perfectly straight in the bore, and you want the bending of the bore to aim at 12 o clock.
ps- this may not be the problem, but is strongly suspect…
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what doug said… 😀