Extreme sensitivity to heat in .222 Rem CF?????

[NTSOG]

G'day,

I have an old - 30+ years - Anschuetz 1532 in .222 Rem. with an ATN 4K Pro NV sight. Notwithstanding some pitting in the bore it is very accurate. It is bedded. I have been hitting hares and foxes shooting off quad sticks out to 280 yards at night.

Late last year it lost accuracy. I checked with my bore scope and found a high copper build up so cleaned it thoroughly. It returned to accuracy after about 25 shots. In fact it shot a three-shot clover leaf off my bench early in the year. Soon after the firing pin broke while I was hunting. The local gunsmith repaired the firing pin and test fired the rifle.

Two weeks ago, I re-attached the NV scope and set up to zero the rifle. First shot was high and wide as I expected. After adjusting the reticle, I fired three shots. Two shots [at 100 yards] hit in my aim point, a 30mm black dot on white paper. The next two shots were 100mm low, 40mm right but spaced at 20 mm apart. All shots were taken 1-2 minutes apart at least with rifle left to cool with bolt open in a strong breeze. There was about 12 minutes between groups. I quit at that point being somewhat confused and wondered about temperature.

Yesterday I attempted to zero the rifle again, but with different ammunition - Fiocchi. First three shots at 100 yards gave a 15 mm group 60mm high and 30mm left. [I expected to be off target with different ammunition.] I adjusted the reticle, and the first two shots [of three] were inside my 30mm aim point. The third was 110mm low, 25mm left. As before I left a couple of minutes between each shot and there was about 12-15 minutes between groups. I shot one last three shot group without changing scope settings. The centre of last the group was about 110mmm low, left 25mm. Curiously three of the four last shots formed a group of about 22mm! The worst shot was 150mm low.

I have checked the action screws, the scope and ring mounts. They are all tight. Clearly the rifle is accurate but is not consistent.

I tried to allow for temperature given the rifle has a lightweight barrel. The only other thing that comes to mind is the settings within the NV scope. I keep record of what they are. What else can cause such POI changes?

Jim

[bladeracer]

G'day,

I have an old - 30+ years - Anschuetz 1532 in .222 Rem. with an ATN 4K Pro NV sight. Notwithstanding some pitting in the bore it is very accurate. It is bedded. I have been hitting hares and foxes shooting off quad sticks out to 280 yards at night.

Late last year it lost accuracy. I checked with my bore scope and found a high copper build up so cleaned it thoroughly. It returned to accuracy after about 25 shots. In fact it shot a three-shot clover leaf off my bench early in the year. Soon after the firing pin broke while I was hunting. The local gunsmith repaired the firing pin and test fired the rifle.

Two weeks ago, I re-attached the NV scope and set up to zero the rifle. First shot was high and wide as I expected. After adjusting the reticle, I fired three shots. Two shots [at 100 yards] hit in my aim point, a 30mm black dot on white paper. The next two shots were 100mm low, 40mm right but spaced at 20 mm apart. All shots were taken 1-2 minutes apart at least with rifle left to cool with bolt open in a strong breeze. There was about 12 minutes between groups. I quit at that point being somewhat confused and wondered about temperature.

Yesterday I attempted to zero the rifle again, but with different ammunition - Fiocchi. First three shots at 100 yards gave a 15 mm group 60mm high and 30mm left. [I expected to be off target with different ammunition.] I adjusted the reticle, and the first two shots [of three] were inside my 30mm aim point. The third was 110mm low, 25mm left. As before I left a couple of minutes between each shot and there was about 12-15 minutes between groups. I shot one last three shot group without changing scope settings. The centre of last the group was about 110mmm low, left 25mm. Curiously three of the four last shots formed a group of about 22mm! The worst shot was 150mm low.

I have checked the action screws, the scope and ring mounts. They are all tight. Clearly the rifle is accurate but is not consistent.

I tried to allow for temperature given the rifle has a lightweight barrel. The only other thing that comes to mind is the settings within the NV scope. I keep record of what they are. What else can cause such POI changes?

Jim

Have you got a conventional glass scope you can put on to rule out the digital one?

[NTSOG]

G'day bladeracer,

Having written that long screed it made me think that the problem is not the rifle, but more likely a gremlin in the electronic scope that randomly changes reticle settings in some way. I think your suggestion is the best way to go. I have a couple of 'glass' scopes I can fit to the rifle for elimination purposes. If it turns out that the scope is the issue I may be able to do a factory reset. If that doesn't work, I may even have to buy a new NV scope.

Jim

[bigrich]

if the rifle is bedded , and it's been apart , maybe a bit of crap has got in between the bedding and action . happened to me years ago with a bedded model 70 . as blade suggests go back to a glass scope and see if it's more consistent

[NTSOG]

G'day bigrich,

I hasn't been apart for 4 years. It's tight in its bedding. I've reset the ATN scope to factory settings and will test the combination shortly. if there is still a problem I'll put on a Nikko Stirling I've got.

Jim

[bigrich]

G'day bigrich,

I hasn't been apart for 4 years. It's tight in its bedding. I've reset the ATN scope to factory settings and will test the combination shortly. if there is still a problem I'll put on a Nikko Stirling I've got.

Jim

good luck with it jim

[NTSOG]

G'day,
Well br & br you were correct. It was the ATN scope having an electronic tantrum that stuffed accuracy. I did a factory reset and re-zeroed. The rifle's on target now, though not without some issues with Fiocchi ammunition. I had several misfires and one casing jammed in the chamber and required a .177 cleaning rod inserted from the muzzle to knock it out. The rifle has never had a problem with Winchester, Federal and Remington ammunition, but I'm becoming a little suspicious about this Fiocchi stuff. Unfortunately, the Remington ammunition I have been using is not available locally.

It may be that electronic scopes should have a factory reset every so often to keep them stable.

Thanks for your advice. Sometimes I get too closes to the problem and can't the forest for the trees.

Jim

[bigrich]

G'day,
Well br & br you were correct. It was the ATN scope having an electronic tantrum that stuffed accuracy. I did a factory reset and re-zeroed. The rifle's on target now, though not without some issues with Fiocchi ammunition. I had several misfires and one casing jammed in the chamber and required a .177 cleaning rod inserted from the muzzle to knock it out. The rifle has never had a problem with Winchester, Federal and Remington ammunition, but I'm becoming a little suspicious about this Fiocchi stuff. Unfortunately, the Remington ammunition I have been using is not available locally.

It may be that electronic scopes should have a factory reset every so often to keep them stable.

Thanks for your advice. Sometimes I get too closes to the problem and can't the forest for the trees.

Jim

glad to hear it all worked out for you mate . your issue with ammo is why a lot of guys own 223's these days . i reload for my 222 rem 700 and use that in comps at my local range .
my 223 tikka is for the paddock . i reload for it most of the time , but if i lose 223 cases it's no big deal as the 223 stuff is freely available . ADI manufacture good quality 223 ammo if i want it