MLKeith

If your Omega has a synthetic stock you may have a problem gettting the POI the same after disassembly of the stock and rifle. (He is not talking about taking the scope off the rifle just taking the stock and rifle barrel assembly apart). I have an early synthetic stocked stainless Omega and the stock to barrel fit is not great. The POI moves as much as four inches when not reassembled exactly the same as the previous time. I am in process of pillar bedding and making sure the barrel does not touch the stock forward of the front mount. My front mount is also loose in the barrel and the screw is bottomed out but the mount still moves. You might check yours to be sure that is not a problem also. I would post the results ofpillar bedding etc.but at the present time I have too many other rifles that need shooting to be concentrating on the Omega which is presently riding the gun safe for times when I have nothing else to do.

HEAD0001

Unfortunately theory has nothing to do with reality. Heck-many times no two people even shoot the same rifle to the same POI. I have witnessed this too many times.

Whenever a person has a rifle that is inaccurate, the first thing people ask them is: Is the barrel floated?? A floated barrel is not affected by the stock. Now when you remove the barreled action from the stock and then replace it-you are changing the barrel contact, and the action contact. This is why returning to the same point is imperative. By returning to the same point you are limiting the variables of stock contact-and that is always a good thing.

This is also why people bed the action also. Bedding the action makes the stock more rigid, and ensures that the barreled action returns to the same place every time. After you bed the action all you need to worry about is stock screw torque.

Personally for MZ's I am not a believer in free floating the barrel. I prefer a bedded barrel. But I prefer the bedding to be consistent along the length of the barrel. Personally I believe that is why my Knight LRH shoots so well. The entire barrel is bedded in a very heavy laminated stock. So there is no variance in barrel pressure.

As stated by another poster. He is also saying the synthetic Omega is worse. This IMO is due to the flimsiness of the stock vs. the stability of the laminated stock. Just my opinion. Tom.

Underclocked

Yes. You are missingeffectsof differing the contact/pressure points on a barrel. Each re-positioning of the barreled action in the stock creates slightly different pressure points. When a load is fired, the barrel moves as the bullet makes its way through the bore. The amount and direction of that movement (as well as the barrels vibration pattern)will impact where the bullet strikes - with longer ranges showing greater effects of those changes. Similarly, a barrel that is not properly stress relieved will exhibit erratic behavior as the barrel's vibration and movement are too greatly effected by even minor changes in temperature. The hotter loads in use today also contribute to an exaggeration of these effects and make proper bedding more important.

You can easily see the effect by simply changing forearm pressure/hold on many two-piece stocked rifles. Some are ultra-sensitive to even the position of your hand.

Pillar bedding eliminates almost all the variation associated with barrel removal/reinstallation. I agree with Head on this one but have to say that inmost cases, accuracy and consistency gains are minimal and often negligible in hunting muzzleloaders. A careful and consistent reassembly of the rifle will eliminate most significant shifts. If such a method does not yield the consistency of POI that you desire, you might investigate free-floating or pillar bedding.

lemoyne

I am amazed at how much difference is appearing in Omega stocks, now there is no doubt there will be some but if the recoil lug area is clean, the recoil lugs are seated all the way back toward the buttand you use between 25 and 30 inch pounds on the screws then at least some of the Omegas don't change POI more than 3/8 inch; then only time I ever had mine change much was when I miss read the gage and out 38 inch pounds on one of the screws and I have had that Z5 ever since wal-mart came out with them. Lee

desertloper

lemoyne,

what are you using to measure your torque on your screws-are there specialty gunsmithing torq wrenches--if so where do i look?

-thanks everyone for your insight--i thought it may effect it some-i guess it will take a range session!

will let you know---blackpowder is taking back seat to the scatter gun, duck season opened last weekend, hard to convince myself to shoot at paper, when I can shoot at quackers!

Underclocked

I use a much less sophisticated method than does Lemoyne. I simply note the positioning of the screw(s) and then try to tighten them to that same position.

SHulion

I do the same as underclocked. I mark the screws and retighten to the same position every time. I have also free floated my barrel back to the first recoil lug. Omega/Hardwoods stock

Dave at Work

Head0001 and Underclocked,

Thank you for those explanations. So based on what you guys say if if my scope is attached to the barrel and I remove it from the stock to clean it, my POI has a possibility of shifting even though the sight isn't being touch. Using the same principles, wouldn't the same thing happen to iron sights on the same barrel?

desertloper

Dave at Work,

Yes-they only difference is that using a magnified objective i.e 9x scope-you allow yourself to be more precise in your shots--and it will be more obvious if you encounter any poi changes from range session to range session. At 100 yds, it is just pretty darn tough to have the same precision as with a scope.

My concern is past 100yds-at this close range ang shift in POI will still result in a dead deer. The reason for getting the Nikon BDC, is so I can hunt deer in open handhills and plains-then ranges up to 250 make me worry a little more about shifting POI's

lemoyne

Any industrial supply or gunsmith supply will have them mine are about 30 years old [I used to have a gun and archery shop] which I sold many years ago when I retired.
If you decied to do the way a lot of the people here do and try to put them back in the same spot mark the screws so you get them back in the same hole switching them around by accident can screw you up[ no pun intended. Personally because of give and wear I believe that using a screw driver inch pound gage is much more reliable. Lee