Hmmm what happened?
I was shooting My M1 Garand in a 200 yard match on Sunday. All was going well. For using Greek HXP surplus and a gun with 5/5 ME/TE I was doing very well- I got an 87 in the offhand, 81 in seated rapid (usually my worst stage)- and was looking foward to mid 90s on rapid prone and high 90s in slow prone.
However I fired the prone rapid and got a 71. A nice tight group- in the 7 ring and low.
At first I thought it was me. And maybe so; however as the final round was slow fire prone I had time to look at the holes between shots. Sure enough, first shot slow prone, in the 7 ring low. So I brought the sights up 3 clicks and proceeded to put the remaining 9 in the black, finishing with a 91 2X for the SFP.
My first thought was that either the sights had slipped (quite possible if the tensioner screw works loose) or that something else had happened- loose gas plug, whatever.
Nope. For no apparent reason, between seated rapid and prone rapid, all of 5 minutes, the gun just started shooting 3 rings lower on the target. It was a sunny day, and it didn't go from sunny to cloudy or vice versa, which sometimes impacts where the bullet hits vis-a-vis my sight picture. All ammo was from the same box. Nothing apparent changed, just things went wonky.
What do you suppose happened?
However I fired the prone rapid and got a 71. A nice tight group- in the 7 ring and low.
At first I thought it was me. And maybe so; however as the final round was slow fire prone I had time to look at the holes between shots. Sure enough, first shot slow prone, in the 7 ring low. So I brought the sights up 3 clicks and proceeded to put the remaining 9 in the black, finishing with a 91 2X for the SFP.
My first thought was that either the sights had slipped (quite possible if the tensioner screw works loose) or that something else had happened- loose gas plug, whatever.
Nope. For no apparent reason, between seated rapid and prone rapid, all of 5 minutes, the gun just started shooting 3 rings lower on the target. It was a sunny day, and it didn't go from sunny to cloudy or vice versa, which sometimes impacts where the bullet hits vis-a-vis my sight picture. All ammo was from the same box. Nothing apparent changed, just things went wonky.
What do you suppose happened?
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Tight sling? 0 -
jonk,
I'm thinking you've seen this before, but your zero changes from standing/sitting to prone. For me it's usually the other way. I won't get down far enough on the rifle and it will shoot high. That's what I'm thinking.
However, you may have experienced a lot change in ammunition. And the ones you got when shooting prone were loaded down a bit. I always have issues with shooting ammo from some foreign countries. I've had wide variations with Greek 8mm ammo in the same brand and weight. I often feel that loose ammo is cleaned then re-packaged. And that is what you may have gotten a hold of.
I hate to say it but better luck next time.0 -
I sighted the gun in prone to start. Then to offhand. While I sometimes DO notice a change when doing so, it isn't usually that drastic.
I'd buy the idea of different lots repackaged into one box, but it would seem very improbable that I shot all of lot X, then all of lot Y in exact order.
Sling tension may be a factor as you re-position the sling and don't use it offhand at all. So far that's the most logical suspect to me.0 -
I vote for sling tension or angle of tension changing from position to position. Another possibility is butt plate slip. 0 -
Sling Tension +1 0
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