I understand where you are coming from. The rifle is a 700 Remington ADL that has been on the mark every time that I have taken it out since 1974 or 1975. The scope is a Universal Brand 3x9 made in Hialeah,FL that I bought when I bought the rifle. He has fired at least 5 boxes of shells through it this year without a problem. He's really developed into a good shooter. He focuses on his grip, breathing, and squeeze after he makes sure that he has a good sight picture. Benchrest, prone, and shooting off 'stix' he did well. Never shot at a live animal before that though. That's why I originally suspected a touch of 'fever' LOL. I also thought that he might have been raising up as soon as he shot to see what he shot, looking over the scope. I have seen that occasionally when teaching my neices, nephews, and daughter to shoot. Like I said, I immediately took it to our bench, supported it well, and I shot two shots about the same distance low and then it trued up. My biggest inconsistencies are usually in the 1-2" range on my worst day and they are always horizontal. The one day at the range that the rifle started shooting 6" leftI and then 6" right, 6" low and then 6" high really got me worried. That's why I went back the following week because I didn't want anything to ruin his first real hunt. It was grouping within a couple of inches that day. I suppose it's possible that it's shooter error but from my position (less than a foot away from the bolt on both of his shots) I didn't see anything that would indicate that.