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Old 12-02-2005, 19:14   #1
dr. mabuse
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Need advice on shooting gremlin

I'm new to this type of rifle set-up and observed something strange today.

Put together a Bushmaster lower w/~3# trigger, A3 upper with 24" bull barrel, 1/8 twist, floated fore-end, Harris bipod and Leupold Mark IV on top.

I shot small 3 shot groups and reloaded after each group but each group was floating around within a ~ 3 1/2" diameter.

I folded up the bipod and shot off a ruck and then got consistent 1/2" or less groups without the groups wandering around.

Used the bipod and the problem returned.

I don't have to use the bipod but is there a way to cure this with a bipod attached?

Never saw this before with a bolt gun or a shorter AR.

Thanks
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Old 12-02-2005, 19:54   #2
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I believe it is a harmonics issue.

But I'm no expert in the field.
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Old 12-02-2005, 20:07   #3
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I'm thinking the same thing as smokin joe and I too know little about this type of issue.

Sounds like your barrel doesn't like the bipod.

I could be wrong. Wouldn't be the first time.

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Old 12-02-2005, 20:45   #4
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Doc and Joe are all over it.

Lose the bi-pods. They were designed for machine guns, not for precision shooting, not unless they are attached to a free floating stock. Even then they should be specialized bi-pods, make to take shock away from the weapon.

The internal ballistics can be affected if the rifle is fired while in contact with a "hard" surface (frozen ground, wood, rock, road, building, window ledge, table top, truck bed etc.). Contact coming from the surface, transmitted to the bi-pods, transmitted to the barrel, before the bullet has left the barrel, you get the picture.

Could also be you changed your body position when shooting off the ruck. Could be due to a number of reasons, stock weld/spot weld might also have changed when you went from a bi-pod position to a ruck position.

Mr. Long-range and Mr Econ are the heat here as far as long rifles go. I’m sure they might offer more in the way of opinions.

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Old 12-03-2005, 00:30   #5
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TS is right, though you can shoot off the bipod on a soft surface with better results.

I would also tell you that I am not a fan of three shot groups. Five to ten will tell you much more about the consistent (and probable) accuracy.

TR
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Old 12-03-2005, 15:32   #6
dr. mabuse
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Reaper
TS is right, though you can shoot off the bipod on a soft surface with better results.

I would also tell you that I am not a fan of three shot groups. Five to ten will tell you much more about the consistent (and probable) accuracy.

TR
Thanks TR, TS, Doc, Smokin Joe.

TR, the 3 shots were a quicky group to find out where the initial bore sight was on target on a new gun. I also prefer 5-10 shot groups.

Shot this morning on ground with bipod and the ground seemed to "decouple" the vibration. Cold bore shot produced 1/2" group with bipod, ~3/8" with ruck.

I'll probably stick with the ruck because it settles the rifle lower to the ground. I usually shoot heavy bolt guns and hadn't seen this before.

Also, maybe I was just excited by that new gun smell yesterday.

Last edited by dr. mabuse; 12-03-2005 at 15:35.
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Old 12-05-2005, 18:56   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dr. mabuse
I'm new to this type of rifle set-up and observed something strange today.

Put together a Bushmaster lower w/~3# trigger, A3 upper with 24" bull barrel, 1/8 twist, floated fore-end, Harris bipod and Leupold Mark IV on top.

I shot small 3 shot groups and reloaded after each group but each group was floating around within a ~ 3 1/2" diameter.

I folded up the bipod and shot off a ruck and then got consistent 1/2" or less groups without the groups wandering around.

Used the bipod and the problem returned.

I don't have to use the bipod but is there a way to cure this with a bipod attached?

Never saw this before with a bolt gun or a shorter AR.

Thanks
If the bipod is mounted to the barrel there is your problem, if it is mounted to the forend then I don't really know, but what comes to mind is maybe a loose screw/bolt that needs to be tightened--not the same but I had that problem with one of my bolt guns...a possible solution for the barrel mount would be to shoot the bipod with padding attached to the feet, dampen the vibration as you say this only occurs off hard surfaces...you can't always put a duffle roll under your gun in the field and you'll have to rely on the bipod...just a thought
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Old 12-05-2005, 19:11   #8
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What distance did you shoot your groups?

Can you post a pic of your rifle with the bipod attached?
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Old 12-05-2005, 21:58   #9
dr. mabuse
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NousDefionsDoc
What distance did you shoot your groups?

Can you post a pic of your rifle with the bipod attached?
Shot groups at 100 yards. Pardon the iffy picture. I just went out in to the garage and shot the pic in the dark with the wife's digital.

Well, I get an error for an "invalid post" when I click on upload. Pic size is o.k.

Any ideas?

Last edited by dr. mabuse; 12-05-2005 at 22:01. Reason: attaching picture
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Old 12-05-2005, 22:09   #10
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Usually file size, file type, or already posted elsewhere here.

TR
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Old 12-05-2005, 22:18   #11
dr. mabuse
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Reaper
Usually file size, file type, or already posted elsewhere here.

TR
Just a standard jpeg at 811Kb. I just took the picture about ~20 minutes ago so it couldn't have been previously posted. Let's try it again. Had to resize to make under the 800 X 800 limit.

Well, it uploaded but I don't see it in the "Attached Thumbnails" field?
Attached Images
File Type: jpg IMG_0002.jpg (509.5 KB, 53 views)

Last edited by dr. mabuse; 12-05-2005 at 22:22.
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