New Nikon scope problems or just me?
 

Hi Folks,
This is a duplicate post from a different forum here as I think I posted it incorrectly the first time.

I have a brand new Nikon Slughunter 3-9x40 mounted to a brand new remington 870 with a 23 inch slug barrel.
I'm firing Hornady SST 2-3/4 slugs.

Target range 50 yards.

I can't get the scope to zero.. I had it to the point were I was about 2 inches left and 2 inches below the target. The scope adjuster says 1MOA or 1/4 Inch per click at 100 yards.
So, being at 50 yards, I moved it 8 clicks up and 8 clicks right. That should translate to a 2 inch adjustment at 1/2 the distance right?

My point of impact is now almost 7 inches higher on the first shot and 6 higher and 3 right on the 2nd shot.
It moved up all right.. A long way up.

Faulty scope or did I do something wrong?

Murby, you are right in your calculations. The Slughunter scope you have is set for 1/4 inch adjustments at 100 yards or 8 clicks per inch at 5o as you said. How high is the mount ? I know this sounds general, have you checked the mount to make sure it is secure? Did you run out of adjustments or just give up because the rounds were inconsistant in their impact? I have used the Hornaday's and found them to be very good in rifled barrels. Run a bore brush down the barrel and make sure it is clean. I would then suggest shooting at 25 yards, a bit easier to dial in. Check out Spot On and see where it tells you you need to be for a 50 yard zero, then move to 50 yards.
If you can't get it down at 25 do you have another scope you can swap out to see if things are better? I had a similar incident happen last thur., we weren't getting accuracy we expected and guns owner said it was the scope, we swapped out the scope and no change in poor accuracy. Just trying to help you with variables. Please keep me informed and I will help you all that I can.
Bart
[email protected]

1 MOA is 1.0473 per 100 yards so each click is .52365" or just over 1/2" at 50 yards so your adjustments moved it 4+" at 50.
RR

I'm using weaver grand slam steel rings that are 1 inch tall.. The front of my scope (the objective) is about 1/8 of an inch from touching my gun.. I have it mounted as low as it can go.

I did not run out of adjustment. In fact, after the initial mount, it only required about 1/2 of a turn of the dial to get it in close at 20 yards. I have given up because the rounds are not impacting consistently.

My buddy says the same thing.. this is why I am using them.

Seriously? This gun has only fired about 15 rounds since I bought it three weeks ago!

Ya, well my problem at this point is that these rounds are basically $3 every time I pull the trigger. I've already spent $45 messing with it.

Now an update:
I just discovered that the poly-tipped slug in my Hornady 2-3/4 SST shells are loose. Both boxes I have left are this way. If you shake the shell, you can feel the it rattle inside. If you put your finger on the red tip, you can move it around. The sabot is solid, the slug is moving inside the sabot. Is this normal???

Not normal. Take them back to where you bought them and hopefully you will get a full refund and buy something else. Very strange indeed. No idea why,moisture,old, factory error? Hope the place you biught them from understands. I know they are expensive and sighting a slug gun in is zero fun! Everything else you have is top notch, you should expect some excellent accuracy and beleive me, a one shot stop!
I look forward to more info on the new ammo.
Chalk this one up to one more strange solution,hopefully!

Had a similar issue as you with my 870 scope. What I found out was the scope was mounted tight but when you shot a round the scope would move in the rings. You could try with your hand and it wouldn't budge. So had to remount the scope after putting rubber on the tube.

I'm going to call Hornady in the morning Monday to see what they have to say..

we just had 2 scopes on the range Saturday
Nikon 4x14x50 with BDC (parallax)
Leopold VX1 3x7 Adjustment) back wards and would not hold point of aim
both were bad out of the box

Scopes
 

Lone, I have seen on occasion where the parallax doesn't line up exactly on 100 and might have to be turned a bit more or less.
I hope that is all it is with your scope ?

UPDATE: I just called Hornady and spoke with a tech about the issue. The facts so far are as follows:

1) They are claiming that a small bit of movement "rattle" is normal.

2) I informed them that I can load up my buddies SST rounds, which are from a 4 year old lot number, and they fly straight and make clovers at 50 yards. His 4 year old slugs are tight and have absolutely no movement inside the sabot or shell.

3) I informed them that the rounds I purchased are making 12 to 16 inch diameter (6 to 8 inch radius) groups at 54 measured yards.

4) They are sending me a pre-paid UPS Shipping label so that I can return some boxes and some empty shells to them for testing. Testing is a bit backlogged and can take up to 3 weeks but should be done sooner.

5) I asked the following questions and DID NOT receive definitive answers: a) If the slug is loose and wobbling inside the sabot, how can the rifling impart positive spin if it is slipping? b) If the slug is loose and wobbling, and the tip of the slug exits the barrel and or the sabot at slightly different angles due to the wobbling, how is it possible that it could fly the same way for each round?

When I called Hornady, the wait time to get to a tech was almost zero. They picked up the phone pretty darn quickly and the guy tried to answer my questions the best he could.

I'm going to be very interested to see what happens here.. I've blown quite a bit of money on ammo and am discouraged at the unreliability of my expensive toy.

I went out and pushed on some of my sabots and they are seated quite solidly. Keep us posted. Don't fret, you'll get your "toy" dialed in soon enough. Hopefully Hornaday will make it right for you.

Which is it, you reference your buddy saying they shoot good then tell the Hornady rep that they shoot good in your gun? I think you're going in the wrong direction here. If it was my firearm, I'd take the following steps: 1) clean the bore 2) pull and remount scope 3) try a different ammo. If these didn't correct issue, I'd 4) try another scope. If problem still persists, have to next determine if it's you or the firearm?

I think you missed something.. My buddy has hornady rounds from 4 years ago and they shoot fine in my gun.. They DO NOT rattle or move in the sabot..

The new Hornady rounds I just bought do not shoot well in my gun.. they rattle in inside their case (inside the sabot) when you shake them. Others on the internet have also complained about it.

Does it affect accuracy? I don't see how it wouldn't.. If I can use my finger and move the point of the slug back and forth over 1 to 2 millimeters inside the sabot that is inside the shell casing, I don't see how they could remain accurate.

That said, if Hornady comes back and says the shells work fine, I might take your advice next and remount the scope..

I heard back from Hornady last night, they said they are working woth Murby to get this all straightened out. They are trying to figure out how this happened is my guess. At least a dialog has started so surely more to come.

Nope, didn't miss anything. Please show me where you posted that you had fired different ammo in your gun other than when you told the Hornady rep that. Also, if other ammo does shoot well and consisitent, why would you even consider remounting?

On a separate note, I have seen bullets that were loose in the sabot that shot fine. As the sabot is forced into the rifling, it squeezes the bullet eliminating any movement and thus imparting spin.

I stand by my earlier post but am interested to hear the final outcome.

Looks like I'm going to have to go back and reconsider my decisions in trying to diagnose this issue.

I agree a different ammo would be a good place to start. Then check how the scope is mounted.

We had a hell of a time sighting in my cousin's slug gun once... went through 4 boxes of ssts before I noticed slide marks on the scope tube... and I asked him if they were there before... and he said no...

Went & remounted the scope... and had it shooting clovers at 100yds in short order...

And just fyi... if you have a Dicks sporting goods around... they have ssts on sale for $9.98 a box!!!