I finally made it to the range today!!!!!!

[DalesCarpentry]

I finally made it to the range today with my Rem. SPS Varmint 243!!!!!!!!! This is the first range time I have had in 6 months. First off I would like to say that the Simmons White Tail 3x9x32 scope is truly a piece of crap. At 100 yards the target was not even close to being clear. It does not have an AO on it so I could not clear it up. Second I have not really shot with such a low powered in years. I have to say my groups suffered very much because of the scope and it being so long since I been to the range. One good thing out of the whole thing is my trigger is about perfect now. I will post some pictures tomorrow of my targets but they really are embarrassing. This rifle shoots much much better. Dale

[30-06man]

Did you take the scope off of your .243? If you did you are nuts because the 3/4" groups you had. What size groups are you shooting?

[DalesCarpentry]

Did you take the scope off of your .243? If you did you are nuts because the 3/4" groups you had. What size groups are you shooting?

Yea I did take my Mueller scope off my 243. I had a bad winter and had to sell it. The 3/4" groups speak of were really 7/8" at 300 yards with that set up. Dale

[DalesCarpentry]

Now I am wondering about my bad groups today? I think most of it is the scope I am using now. At least I hope that is the problem. See I also had to sell the original stock to this rifle this past winter. I did replace with the same factory stock and wonder if my rifle liked the original  better? I really just don't know. I am sure it is probably a combination of things. Mostly being the scope. Boy I hate that scope. Dale

[DalesCarpentry]

Oh yea. There is another thing that probably did not help the accuracy of my rifle today. I sighted it in with 100 grain Winchester bullets. Well I wanted to fine tune it with what I regularly shoot. That would be Hornady 58 Grain Molly coated VMAX. I brought my cleaning kit along with me because I have read that when you go from regular bullets to Molly coated bullets you have to clean the bore well or it will affect the accuracy. Well after I had it sighted in with the 100 grain bullets I went to go clean the bore and as I was putting the cleaning rod together I realized that I broke a tip off of one the screw ends the last time I used it. I completely forgot about it. Seeing as it has been 6 months since I cleaned my rifle. So I continued to shoot with the Molly coated bullets without a cleaning. The more I think about this, this could also be a good culprit to my bad groups today. Dale

[ms]

I had the shotgun scope white tail and it was crap.

[sniperVLS]

9x at 100 yds is low power? you're spoiled my friend Even lacking a parallax feature, if it's a decent scope, it should be crystal clear at 100. I'm tellin ya man, if youre short on $$ and cant wait to get the $300.00 super sniper, pick up the elite 3200 10X for 180.00'ish and when you're ready for something else, sell it and get almost 100% of that $$ back.

If you're using the same ammo and the barrel is clean, I'd definitely blame the scope and/or mounts. Its the same type SPS-Vstock right? just not the exact one? It shouldnt matter unless you didnt properly torque the action screws down.

[DalesCarpentry]

Yes I am spoiled when it comes to the power of a scope. The target was out of focus like when you need to adjust the paralax. I did switch from 100 grain regular bullets to 58 grain Molly coated VMAX without cleaning the bore well. Dale

[30-06man]

Ohh ok thanks for correcting me Dale. If I were you I would try to get a better scope like the Muller APV and try tighten the stock down to factory spec. Then I would clean it up real good or you could do this while the gun is apart and them hopefully it will bring back what you had. I am sorry to hear about your winter but if I were you and can't get it to shoot after this then sell it and get you a more versatile round like the .308 and maybe in the VTR. Good luck

[DalesCarpentry]

I am sure I will be able to get it to shoot again. Dale

[GRIMJIM]

If it was shooting 7/8 inch groups at 300 yards before, I think it's worth the time to tinker with it. Good luck.

[huntswithdogs]

Dale,
A small question without getting ya tweaked OK? Did you try adjusting the focus on the scope? I think most all are adjustable to some extent by twisting the rear eye piece in or out. I own only one scope that has higher then 9x now and it's only a 12X. Don't know what power the Mueller was but I remember when I took off a 6-24X and put on a 2-7X. Dang what a difference!


HWD

[DalesCarpentry]

Boy your not kidding about the difference. I am used to 24 and 25 power scopes and I feel handicapped at the range with this scope for sure. When I noticed the target was not clear that was the first thing I looked for. It does not seem to have anything to clear it up at all. Dale

[30-06man]

Just a cheap scope that's all. I never have used anything above a 9x power. My furthest shot at a deer was 200 yards (long for SC, most ranges are 50-100 yards) and that was with a Nikon 4X scope on a Rem 700 in .308. I am not used to high powered scopes like yall since I normally keep mine on 4x at all times.