Originally Posted by
flyinlowe
That makes sense, I will try that. When I get back in town next week I will check the hinge and then take the scope of and test fire it with the open sites to see if it is the gun or the scope.
Its a good idea but, most won't need reaming unless its really bad and in most cases then, you can actually feel the barrel movement in the frame. It would take near .006" of movement
AT THE HINGE to throw bullets like you explained. That you should be able to feel at the end of the barrel. You stated that you've checked for "wobble" and found none. To be sure, check it again.
However.....................
Reading over your original post again, you dropped the charge 10grs and you adjusted the scope down 3" and it remained 5" high.
That's a considerable amount of combined adjustments with no change in POI height, short of your left and right. Just dropping 10grs of propellant should drop your bullet 2"+ then you adjusted down for an additional 3" and
the POI didn't follow.
If......... the scope is good, your POI should follow the adjustments (down) with the changes you made to the charge and scope adjustments, even if.... the hinge was loose or had significant play. Yet the POI didn't follow the drop in charge or scope adjustments and remained 5" high. No disrespect intended, but if you're a good shot and have a great rest, that POI should have changed with those adjustments and it didn't. Certainly evidence of a possible scope malfunction.
Although you did right by changing out the breech plug, in most cases just 100 rounds won't erode a flash hole enough to cause the accuracy issues you're experiencing. With my Encores I found somewhere after about 400 rounds, then I may see a slight change, as the flash hole would start to erode.
Pull the scope and shoot the irons to check your group. Even if its not dead zero, just shoot it to check how it groups. Chasing even iron sights wastes bullets and propellant, unless you intend to shoot iron. No disrespect intended again but, if you're a good shot with a great rest and the rifle will group to your satisfaction with the iron sights, then your issue may be identified.
Also...FYI... some rifles, not all, will not shoot to POA with a clean barrel. This debate has been going on for years, as some say their rifles will. But it is WELL KNOWN that many rifles will not. Some argue its the type of lubrication, while others state it doesn't matter what they use, it won't shoot to the same POI clean as fouled.