Scope / Bore Sighting ????? (Way Off)
 

OK, I recently purchased a Bushnell Banner 3x9 scope w/ bullet drop compensator for my 50 Caliber Inline.

I hadit mounted and bores sighted at Gander Mountain.

I finally had it out yesterday and at 100 yards nothing on a 100 yard sighting target. I shot 6 shots, two aimed dead center, 1 aimed on each side of target and not a mark.

I then proceded to 50 yards and the bullet hit the tree I had the target mounted on below the paper and to the right. I added 50 yards to the drop compensator and it brought it up 6 inches on the target, while I was at 50 yards. I added 50 yards to it again and not a mark on the target from 50 yards.

My question is this:

Am I doing something wrong or do I need to take the gun back to Gander Mountain and have them resight it at their cost?

50 Caliber Inline - New Frontier
Load - Started with 150 grain T7 Pellets, backed off to 100 w/ no help
Bullet - TC XTP 240 Grain
Sabot - Black


Need your wisdom

RE: Scope / Bore Sighting ????? (Way Off)
 

kkeiser

I do not have any information on your BDC Banner, but it would my suggestion to set the BDC @ 0 and sight the scope in normal if that can be done.

Start at 25 yards and get it on paper then 1" high on the dead center. Move to 50 yards and shoot a group hopefully it will be around 2.5" high. Then finally to 100 yards, you will have decide your heigth there or maybe with the BDC you shoot dead on and use BDC from there. I have not personally looked at BDC because of the different weights of projectiles I shoot or even the differences in powder.

If you can not get it on paper@ 25 or hold a group @ 25 you are into a different set of problems...

Hope it works for you...

RE: Scope / Bore Sighting ????? (Way Off)
 

Common problem with store bore sight jobs[:'(]. You have many things working in this situation theclerk behind the scope, colimeter placed inproperly,dropped& not zero'd, etc. Follow sabotloaders advice start at 25, then move out to 50 & 100yards.

Good luck

RE: Scope / Bore Sighting ????? (Way Off)
 

There's also no mention of this being a new ML, used ML - if he was using open sights prior.... description of spent sabots.... if hetried another bullet ... if he bought 30 gr pellets to help find a group... etc.

Hard to help someone when they offer so little on what was done prior to this. One thing I do know..... expecting a gunsmith to bore-sight at 100 yards inside a 12X12 workshop is alot different than boresighting a pistol for 12 feet defense use.

I had a mount drilled & tapped on my Traditions Deerhunter 50 to install a pistol scope there... halfway down the barrel between the two open sights. He offered to bore-sight - so I accepted. Way-off-paper at 25 yards. Must be the same gunsmith kkeister used. ;)


Thompson Center Arms -- Triple Se7en Powder -- Buffalo Bullet Co.

RE: Scope / Bore Sighting ????? (Way Off)
 

Here's the way I was taught to boresight and it has never failed me. if you have a gun rest this helps a lot. First pull out the breech plug and aim it at your target (start at 25 yards) looking through the open barrel. Try to aim the center of the barel at the center of the target. Next lock your gun in that position. Take a look at your scope crosshairs and see where they are in relation to the target at dead zero. I bet your are off the mark to where you will never hit the mark. If you are, adjust your sight to where it is dead center. Next load it up and fire off the rest as usual and make your fine adjustments so you get dead center. From there it would be up to you as to how far you would be shooting. As for me I like to be dead on at 100 yds as that is my farthest shot I will have during hunting season. Some guys like it 3" high at 100 yds to zero it at 150 yds etc. This technique will get you on the paper and pretty close. I take it an extra step and draw with a marker a crosshair on clear transparency paper and tape it to the front of the gun when looking down the bore in order to set it to zero. This is the poor mans way to sight in and has never failed me. BeforeI got into muzzleloading I did have a scope put on at Bass Pro and had the same problems, the guy seemed to have all tools and knowledge so I just wrote it off on the transportation from the store to the house as having bumped or moved it. If the scope is not locked down it doesn't take long for it to be off, and a liitle off is a lot when shooting at great distances.

RE: Scope / Bore Sighting ????? (Way Off)
 

Like Gotbuck, I do the same thing. Only believe this or not, set the rifle in a cradle. Even a cardboard box can be used if you have nothing else. I bore sight at 13 yards and set the BDC to 0. Then set the cross hairs to the bore.

Then go shoot at 25 yards and you should be very close. Then all you do is set your scope to the distance you want and work off there.

The other night a person in IM was asking me about the BDC on the same scope as you purchased. They asked if it was worth getting. I told them I have a scope on a modern centerfire with a BDC and have never used the thing... I sighted the rifle in the way I wanted and have just shot it from there. I was always worried that the BDC would not be accurate.

You've got some good information on here from Sabot loader and others. Try that out and let us know what happens.

RE: Scope / Bore Sighting ????? (Way Off)
 

I think I would go to a load that tends to shoot well in most guns - like two fifty grain Pyrodex pellets and 250 gr. T/C Shockwave. Get a big target - like the cardboard from the side of a refridgerator box. You should be able to get on the target at 50 yards without much of an issue. If not, I would suspect the scope (or possibly the mounting system) has been shaken loose by the recoil of your smokepole.

RE: Scope / Bore Sighting ????? (Way Off)
 

Well to answer some of the questions above....

Gun is 2 years old and I have put maybe 50-60 shots through her. Some power belts but mostly the XTP's mentioned above.

Last year I shot her with open sights and was OK to 75 yards or so. Where I hunt I might have an open field shot that may range in the 125 - 150 yard or so range so I wanted to get the BDC to make that possible/probable.

This is the first "new" scope I have had mounted all my others came with the guns and I didn't have any trouble with them just some fine tuning. (those guns bought second hand and all small caliber rifles)

This is my first BP gun and I got it to extend my gun hunting opportunities here in Ohio where traditional gun season is only 7 days long.

What load do you all suggest I start with?
My goal is to get good groups at 125+ yards with this set up.

I will do the trick of removing the breach plug and seeing where the cross hairs are at 25 yards.

FYI: The BDC goes from one click under 100 yards, up to 300 yards.

RE: Scope / Bore Sighting ????? (Way Off)
 

kkeiser... I happen to work the firearms counter at the Gander Mtn. here in Indy... and have boresighted many many guns. The boresight is only supposed to get you on paper at 30-50 yards.

I had my Omega boresighted (magnetic Leupold optical boresighter)last year when I put on the scope.. one of the guys told me that it would be on paper at 100yds. I shot 3 shots at 100yds... and went to the target to see how she did. Walked up only to find a blank target. Then I moved up to 30yds.. took 3 shots.. and found that I was dead center and about a2ft low at 30yds... adjusted the scope to center at 30yds.. then moved back to a 100yds and continued sighting in. I could have done the same thing w/o the bore sighting.

Got my father a new Encore for Xmas.. and just put a scope on it recently.. boresighted w/ the same Leupold optical boresighter and went to the range. At 50yds.. he was deadcenter andabout 2ft low. Made the needed adjustments.. and moved back to 100yds.

Talked w/ the gunsmith at work.. and he stated that he'd had the same issues w/ a few of his own guns that he'd boresighted.

So... moral of the story.. is boresighters are just a starting point.. and not a very good one at that. You'd be amaze at the amount of people that come in to get their guns boresighted because they are "goin huntin tomorrow".. and "don't have time to sight it in".

RE: Scope / Bore Sighting ????? (Way Off)
 

Yeah, I knew that I couldn't go hunting with the bore sighting, but I was under the impression that at 50 yards I was to be with in a 12" radius.

I will go out again this week with a large piece of cardboard, use the optical sighting through the barrel as described above. And start from scratch/start over.

I would of had the gun smith just mouth the scope and save my $40 dollars on bore sighting, if I knew it wasn't going to save me a bunch of shots. I could buy 100 rounds for that $40 and still be ahead when I go to the woods.

Not that I don't like to target shoot, but I was quick to get frustrated when I didn't see the results I expected.

Good thing I have a month to figure it out still.