I'm having some trouble with a .243 win that I purchased for my girlfriend to use for hunting season and coyote season here in NY. The issue that I'm having is that the gun will not zero; I'm not sure if its an optics problem or that we haven't found the ammo the gun prefers. It's a CVA Hunter break action with a 1:10 twist. It didn't come with a scope so I put a Nikon BDC 3-9x40 on it for her. We are using Hornady American Whitetail 100 grain ammo. She is shooting off of a steady rest and we have tried to get a consistent grouping but it will not happen. She has shot rifles before, and man can she shoot. I'm open to any suggestions at this point.

Thanks,
Zeff

My first guess would be ammo. Had it happen with a friend. 3 different boxes later sub moa.

A easy check to make sure the mount screws our tight then the ring screws and nut that holds them to the bases. After that you shoot it and see if you can shoot it any better.

Can you slide a dollar bill between the barrel and fore end of the stock? Could be pressure on the barrel. Especially if a wood stock rifle. Rings not snugged up? Just some ideas.

Did you tighten every screw in the stock,bases,rings?
Did you check the scope for parralex?
New scopes will begin to get parralex if you adjust the eye piece back for better focus.
The more you adjust it back the worse the parralex gets.

The twist is a little slow but it should stabilize a 100 grain ball
Hope you get it worked out

All the screws are tight in the stock, bases and the rings. The stock and forearm are synthetic and I have not tried the dollar bill method. The scope came off of a gun of mine and I don't remember it having any adjustment for focus or a parallax adjustment knob. After every 3 shot group we have been cleaning the rifling to prevent fouling.

excellent suggestions from all. my suggestion is shoot the (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) out of it. every day until you run out of ammo. than buy more. find the ammo the rifle likes.

I didn't mean a actual parralex adjuster knob.
I ment the eye piece.
Think of it this way. The scope comes with x amount of nitrogen in it,the further you screw it back the more volume the scope has. So now the nitrogen is just not a full scope.
An old gun but showed me this years ago.
This is a more common problem than you would think.

I have one just like you are shooting. Mine was the same, just keep shooting it and skip a few of the cleanings. Mine came around and will shoot around a 1/2 at 100 now. Try a few new loads it in, some guns love those whitetail loads, other not so much. Mine happens to like Winchester power points. Each is a little different. That's my advice, keep shooting mine seems to come around after about 10 shots or so.

Make sure it wasn't a 20moa rail that was added for the scope mount.
Also the crown of the barrel could be fowled

I know you said she can shoot but........

Did you shoot a couple of groups with it?


WS

Agree - that's the beauty of reloading- you can tailor a bullet and load to your rifle and get good groups.
Just a thought - look up the torque specs for your receiver / stock fit and make sure the mounting screws are within spec.

While we were at the range, I tried shooting a couple of groups to see what was going on, but I had the same result she had. I looked the scope over again and there is no adjustment for focus on the eye piece.

Here is the last group that we shot for the day, this is also the second target we made, (ran out of paper so made due with an old pizza box and trusty sharpie)
\

It is a neat little gun and my girlfriend loves it. Hoping to pick up a couple boxes of different ammo and head back to the range and plink away.

change bullet weight

try the dollar bill slide

everything else has been covered

Another suggestion. Stop cleaning it between shot groups, I have a rifle that shoots terrible the 1-2 shot after cleaning. It has been said that you should fire a fouling shot or two before grouping a rifle. I clean mine at the end of the season and use my sight-in/practice as the fouling shots for the next season. It might help.

Also looking at the grouping it looks like the shot group climbs straight up. That would suggest that there is pressure either on the stock or on the scope, make sure that the bell on the scope isn't touching the barrel.

it looks like your getting about a 4 inch group.

what distance is that at?

you say you are cleaning every 3 rounds What is your cleaning procedure I cleaned a 308 recently it took 5 rounds to settle in after cleaning , there is no reason to need to clean every 3 rounds


shoot 5 5 round groups without cleaning and see what you get

but another box of something else try 4 five round groups

also it is a break action it doesn't have a free floated barrel any pressure on the forearm changes the pressure on the barrel try with sand bags just resting the front let it slide and avoid any pressure on it you can

cheek weld if she lays her head on the stock eyes closed and then opens them does she see perfectly through the scope ? if not you need to build up , for now pool noodles or sleeping pad foam and horse wrap till you have it just right then wrap in an athletic tape.

just to try an work out human factor she turns her back you load the gun , the catch you randomly load the gun she will have no idea if it is loaded or not she just does everything the same every time.


even steady pull into the shoulder ?

if you grab the barrel and the wrist of the stock and twist , pull , ect do you get any movement.

it is possible you have a bad barrel , or loose lockup it happens.

if she really likes 243 and you want a guaranty on accuracy you might look at the Thompson center compass , they guarantee 1moa with premium ammo or they replace the gun. a guy at the rifle club has a few he had one that just had a bad barrel and they did replace he said the one that they replaced it with is the tightest shooter of them all

if that is a 100 yard group and most of it is up down the first 2 about an inch apart then the 3rd higher yet

how long are you waiting between shots ? remember the barrel is very much touching the stock and has pressure on it , a barrel heating up causing vertical climb is normal when it is not free from the stock.

fire a round set 5 minutes on the clock leave the action open till the end of that 5 minutes then place a round and try and fire it withing 1 minute of closing the action , then repeat , yes it will talk a half hour to get a 5 shot group. but if that group is tight you might have something.

if you have been cleaning and that first round is the high one , stop cleaning the 2 down low are only about an inch apart from the looks of it that is reasonable for the break action gun.

either way stop cleaning till you get to 50 rounds even top competitors in bench rest don't clean that often every 50 will be just fine honestly every 200 for a field gun once a barrel is broken in is more than often enough to remove the copper

also is she always at the bottom of her breath cycle when she sqweeeeeeeeeeezes the trigger? it can lead to vertical stringing.


your probably mostly fighting that your cleaning every few rounds it can double group size for the first few rounds if all you ever get is the first few rounds then you clean again that can be the issue.

Did the scope work fine on a previos rifle? Mwhat type of scope is it?

I think it is a scope problem. Is it a brand name scope or a "cheapie"? And I agree with others, do not clean the barrel every 3 shots. I have a 243 I got in 1967. It has killed game from NJ to Wyoming and I have never cleaned the barrel. Will still shoot a 3 shot group that is one hole.