This will be a How-To on Confirming Proper Function of a "Precision Scoped Rifle". This article will consist of Explaining basic Proper assembly of the rifle, Zeroing/Confirming the accuracy of the rifle, and then Shooting a box test.
Proper assembly basics
Before you can expect a rifle to shoot well you must first properly assemble the rifle. Proper assembly of an accurized rifle consists of using quality components such as the Rifle itself, Scope, Rings, Base, and Bipod etc aswell as properly torqueing the components to spec. Improper torqueing of the bolts on the various parts can create a whole host of problems from damaging the scope to random accuracy variations from things like uneven torque on the action bolts. So it goes without saying its very important you have everything to spec before you even fire a shot. Most quality components will have the specs provided on their website or by contacting them for their specific product specs. I could go into great detail on the importance of quality parts on your rifle and what things are required for a tactical style precision rifle but for this article ill just make note that you need quality parts on your rifle that are intended for a tactical precision rifles role.
Some people will glass bed the contact point of the action to the stock on their bolt action rifles to maximize the accuracy potential and theres nothing wrong with doing so if youd like. But personally id recommend first shooting the rifle to see if its up to your satisfaction, if not then glass bed the action.
Zeroing/Confirming the accuracy of the rifle
So the first step is to get the rifle on paper. This parts pretty simple, setup your paper target at your desired zero range and execute the fundamentals and shoot the rifle. I also recommend you Shoot from the prone position as position will affect the Point of Impact of the bullet and since this is a precision rifle prone makes the most sense. As far as targets go id recommend one with a sharp edge for example one with a diamond or square bullseye so you have a sharp corner to help more precisely aim the reticle at. Its easy to open groups up when aiming at a 2 inch round black dot and guessing where the exact center is. So now youve taken your first shot. hopefully it hit paper. if it didnt then you need to either shoot some more and look for hits around the target or move the target closer to get it lined up better and then move out to your final zero range. so now everyones on paper. now you have a hole so far away from where you were aiming. How can you bring that hole closer with less shots?
Well if you followed the advice above then you bought a scope to fit the job and your hopefully dealing with a scope with a reticle with some sort of angular measure. With this reticle you can put the cross hair on where you were aiming and then count the up/down and left/right measurment and then just adjust that on the turrets on the scope and fire again. If you did everything correctly then your rifle is now zero'd or very close to zero'd. Make the proper final adjustments if need be and your finnished. If your having trouble getting the rifle zero'd because it seems like the shots arent doing what adjustments youve made either you need to work on the fundamentals or theres a problem with your rifle.
If you had no issues zeroing your rifle then the next step is to shoot a few groups to see what to expect from the rifle as far as accuracy.
Shooting a Box test
Now that your rifle is Zero'd and you know how it shoots the next test is to confirm the adjustments on the scope will return back to zero correctly after youve moved them around and that the turrets are adjusting the same as they say they are at least on a small scale. A simple box test wont show a change of .1 mills at 12 mills of adjustment but its a start on weeding out major scope issues. To perform a box test you bassically shoot and adjust in one direction or another until you end up back where you started. ideally youll have a perfect box with 2 shots touching where the first shot was made. Be sure to hold all shots in the same place. The bullets Point of impact will move around the target but you will keep the reticle in the same location through the entire test. Below is an example of a sequence of shots to do a box test.
Fill in the blank with either MOA or Mills with atleast 4-6 inches worth of movement and keep the same movement on each adjustment.
-Fire one shot near the upper left hand corner of the target
-Adjust the windage turret (Blank amount) right
-Fire one shot
-Adjust the elevation turret (blank amount) down
-Fire one shot
-Adjust the windage turret (blank amount) left
-Fire one shot
-Adjust the elevation turret (blank amount) up
-Fire one shot
With a total of 5 shots you should have one shot in 3 corners of your box and two shots touching or close to each other (depending on accuracy expectations from our initial groups) in the upper left hand corner. If your final shot dosent land back within the accuracy of that rifle close to the first shot you have an issue with something, either shooter or gear. Also while performing the Box Test be sure to keep the scope/rifle level. This way if your box is mishaped or canted you can be sure a canted rifle wasnt to blame. The best way to keep the rifle level is with a Bubble on the gun somewhere. you may THINK you can get your rifle pretty level by looking at the reticle but in a lot of cases you may be very canted and not even realize it.
So with this box you just shot you can measure the hits to see if they are correctly spaced to what you adjusted. and while your out there at the target measuring bring a marker and make 2 dots at exactly 1 Mil or 1 MOA depending on what reticle your scope has in it to then go back to your rifle and match the reticle up to the dots. If it checks out and it passed all other tests above then you now have a Rifle that is ready for some tactical precision shooting!
The final step never ends. The final step is you shooting the barrel out with thousands of rounds learning as much about each shot as you can along the way. Good Luck! [img]http://www.smileydesign.n
-Kenny
