ky chris

I have a newly bought Savage 10GXP3 .223 that I intend to use for Coyote hunting.

I shot three groups of four shots today at 100 yards and they were about 4-5" across. I was shooting off a bench on a Site-in and Clean plastic tray. I'm still using the Simmons 8 point scope that came with the rifle. I was using cheap Remington UMC MJ 55grain ammo.

I feel like my technique was pretty good. I braced myself on the bench, found my mark and very slowly squeezed the trigger. In 5 to 10 seconds the gun would fire, always a surprise. I do have a year of experience shooting my adult air rifle in the backyard. This is my first powder burner.

What I want to know is how to reduce my groups. Is it me, the ammo, the gun, or the scope? I bought the gun intending to replace the scope, I just haven't made up my mind yet. I'm leaning towards the Nikon Buckmaster 3x9-40 or the Leupold VXII. Also going to replace the rings and mounts.

The ammo I intend to hunt with is Hornady 55gr Vmax. I'm just using the cheaper UMC MJ ammo to practice with and set my scope.

Also do groups get better as the gun breaks in?

Thanks for any advice.

jeepkid

First- Make sure your barrel is free floating. Take a dollar bill from the front of the stock and slide it between the barrel and the stock. It should slide all the way down to the action with no resistence.

Second- That Simmons Eight-Point isn't helping much, toss that thing in the trash and get a decent scope.

Third- Ammo does play a big part in accuracy. Your gun may not like that ammo. Try different types until one groups better.

Fourth- Sometimes guns are just not accurate out of the box.

BigTiny

UMC is good for plinking and plenty cheap, but not so accurate. With a new scope, you could use it to get you in the ring and then switch over to your hunting loads. I have had really good luck with silver bear, and it's almost as cheap. I get 2-2.5" groups from the silver bear 223 shooting it out of an AK sporter carbine. Killed a 6 point with it in Nov. and was impressed with the expansion of the HP.

BrutalAttack

1. UMC is cheap
2. Simmons is garbage

start by fixing those two things. Then look to your techinique. I doubt you've been shooting long enough to recognize andcorrect yourself if you are doing something wrong. Get someone that has been shooting and have them help watch and make sure you aren't jerking etc.

I don't shoot Savage so I don't know what kind of potential you can expect from them but If you can get down to 1.5-2" I'd be pretty content.

Red Lion

I agree with changing the scope and likely ammo as well. Good starting points anyways. I did get very good accuracy, 1.5" @ 100 yards while breaking in the barrel of my savage American classic, .300 win mag while using Wolf Gold ammo, so even cheap ammo can shoot well.

bronko22000

First - from my experience with Savage - your 4-5" groups is way out of the norm. Before you go and dump the scope, even thought isn't a very good one, take it off and check to make sure the bases are tight. Reinstall and check the ring screws to ensure they are tight.
Next - I assume you don't reload as this is your first 'powder burner' is to try different types of ammo to see what one your particular rifle likes the best.
Clean your rifle well after each shooting session with a good quality powder and copper solvent. using a bore brush and patches. The rifle will shoot better after it get a couple hundred rounds through it.
Lasty, for coyote hunting, if you shots are going to be normally long, I would recommed you getting a scope in the 4-12X range. Depending on your financial situation - get the best scope you can afford. Leupold, Burris and Bushnell are reasonably priced and are pretty good quality scopes.

rem 700

I would switch ammo before I switched the scope; cheaper to try and find a solution that way.Your rest must be solid enough thatthecrosshairs aren't moving out of the "10" ring -- a solid rest is the key to good groups.So, change up the ammo and get as good a rest as you can, and make sure the scope is mounted tightly. Try again, and tell us how it goes.

statjunk

What groups are you getting at 50 yards?

Tom

ShatoDavis

I can't totally disagree with any suggestion that have been made thus far, but I can take exception to some.

To begin with I wouldn't go out and "trash" the scope just yet. I'm not a fan of Simmons scopes at all but there is no need to scrap it yet. I wouldn't even change ammo yet. Granted I believe to get the best accuracy you will eventually do both of those things but not just yet.

My first suggestion would be to stop using the site and clean plastic tray to shoot from. It may be sufficient for an air rifle but "powder burners" are another story. I would guess that you would have much better results with plain ole sand bags. that plastic tray is too rickity to shoot from. Get at least three Lead shot bags and fill them with sand. Use two to support the forearm andone to support the butt stock. Now you are shooting from a reasonable rest.

My second suggestion would be to turndown the pull weight of the trigger. Your savage hopefully has the accutriger, if so I'd turn it down as far as itwould go. that would probably give you a trigger pull of about 3 lbs thats a good place to start.

Now, its a good thingfor the shot to be a surprise solong asitisn't such a surprise that you jump.Rather than say a surprise I like to think of it as controlled. Ialways know when my trigger is about to break over. I now this because I've shot them so much. So my shots are never a surprise,But I certainly try to control them. I never want to jerk at the trigger, or slap at it etc. I try to push it with the tip of my finger rather than pull it with my whole finger.Push the trigger straight back towards the buttstock, don't pull it to one side or push it towards the over side. its veery important thatyou "follow through" That is to say that you should not pull away from the rifle. You should try to see the bullet hole form. Continueto hold your position for as long as you can.At some point the muzzle risemay cause you to lose your site picture though. With my heavy barreled 223's its not uncommon to maintain site picture and observe my hits/misses.

Now if you do all these things and you feel like you're shooting ability has exceeded the capabilities of the rifle then you can start experimenting with ammo or buying a higher quality scope etc.

ky chris

Wow, thanks for all of the great advice.

Using the Site-in tray I was able to keep the crosshairs exactly on the 1cm dot that I was shooting at. Even though it is somewhat flimsy, once I got my weight down on it and the rifle snugged up, I didn't have any problems keeping the sight on target. I might still try the sandbags though.

As far as the scope, I bought the rifle knowing that I would replace it so I might as well do it now and not have to worry about it. Just figured it would do until I decided on what to buy. It took me a few months to decide on a rifle! I figure the scope will be fine for plinking with a .22 RF but I'd rather have something nicer for a coyote gun.

I'm definitely going to adjust the trigger before I go back out. I meant to and just forgot. The pull IMO is way too stiff. A few times I actually stopped trying to fire and double checked the safety. Hopefully this will make a big difference.

Once I get a new scope, rings, and bases I'll also start shooting my hunting ammo, Hornady 55gr Vmaxs.

Thanks again for all of the advice.

chris