Linear group: What can tighten this group up?

It doesn't have to be "gusty". Most shooters don't understand winds effects on a bullet path or realize it doesn't have to be hitting you in the face to effect the bullet. You can have wind between you and the target that you can't feel. That's why the top shooters use wind flags and have learned about it. This small amount of drift shown by the OP can be just wind.....even at a 100 yards without being "gusty".
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I did not say it did. It has to be consistently enough from one direction (or add up to that) , it has to be a left to right at 90 degrees for the charts (or a breakdown of what the drift component is at other angle)

What I am saying is you have to walk you7 target out there and you have a pretty good idea doing so how much wind, what direction, how many yards of it total and if there is a variation.

Ergo, you don't need flags at 100 yards. Most times it zeroes out or is not enough or its not from enough of an angle to matter.

300 yards and more, yes we are talking a nice steady drift fro9m left to right will begin to play in and have an affect. Not 100 let alone someone who has shooting experience as does the OP.
 
Seeing as how I can shoot 1/4 inch groups with some regularity and easily under 5/8, I don't feel the least bit handi capped.
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You are in regards to shooting but is ok!!

Like me, you can and apparently have learned to overcome your handicap.

https://buckmasters.com/Magazines/GunHunter/Articles/ID/115/Sure-Cures-for-Wrong-Eye-Dominance

http://aliengearholsters.com/blog/cross-eye-dominance/

Me thinks you are making an opinion into a fact.
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Not sure what you are talking about here but whatever floats your boat. :)

Is it having bad eyesight is a handicap in regards to shooting or that iron sights require a higher degree of marksmanship skills than optics?

Or that a horizontal string is generally the result of poor trigger skills?

All of those are true. TXAZ situation though requires much more detail than what is given here in the OP posting.

For example, if this is a problem with just this rifle and he does not exhibit horizontal stringing with other similar rifles then I would look to the bedding of this specific rifle.

But it is a fact, the most common cause of constant horizontal stringing is marksmanship, specifically trigger skills.
 
TXAZ said:
Thanks RR99.


It seems like I have the vertical / elevation under control.

So the question is what causes the left to right difference?

While 1" at 100 yards is good, that multiplies out 20-100 times the error at 1000-1800 yards, due to other effects that come in to play at distance.
(We were shooting a mile this weekend, and some moderate wind and was slinging 6.5CM up to 300WM +/- 5 feet.

That's where I want to become proficient. So I'd really like to understand what may be causing the linear error.

ANY feedback would be sincerely appreciated.
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No bigger than that is, Probably you! If not I'd think you could do that everyday, probably you don't.The weak linc in shooting is the shooter!
 
once upon a time

I had a rifle that would string groups sideways. It was more pronounced with 10 shot groups.

The problem was that my stock was touching on one side of the barrel and not the other. I glassbedded the action and free floated the barrel and that flat fixed it forever as far as I know.
 
Shooting off a bipod is often not as precise as off a good front benchrest setup and rear bag. Other considerations are whether you are very consistent with shoulder contact, grip, and trigger squeeze.

Do you have wind flags in various distances from bench to target? Watch flags and shoot with a consistent condition. If the condition changes, shoot a sighter or two to determine a new aiming point or sight setting that keeps the next record round in the group.

With regard to the rifle, have you adjusted the action screws to a certain torque that shoots better than just a haphazard setting? That takes some testing.

Someone else mentioned parallax or objective setting.
 
TXAZ, Quit shooting Boomer before you shoot this one. That's your problem!

More than likely it is a combination of trigger, rest, and the shooter.
 
TXAZ,

Just a thought on another cause of the linear spread.
In addition to the possibility of wind gusts, I have noticed that with a solid front rest and rear bag, that I can cause the POI to move right if I do not have my stock set exactly on my shoulder. One indicator is that when the rifle recoils the scope is not on the aim point when the rifle finishes from the recoil.

When I have the stock set right, the scope come back to the POA. When it is off the correct spot, the scope comes back to the right of the POA and the POI is to the right, just about the same distance to where your right most three shots are.
 
Txhillbilly said:
TXAZ, Quit shooting Boomer before you shoot this one. That's your problem!

More than likely it is a combination of trigger, rest, and the shooter.
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Actually I hadn’t shot Boomer since we met at the GTG.
I’m thinking it was trigger finger position.
The front bipod is a rock solid Atlas and the back bag was reasonably solid.
 
There's another factor that people either don't know about, or forget. That is water vapor that causes the target to appear in a different position than it really is, either higher or to one side.

I can't say that I'm an expert, but have noticed horizontal or diagonal stringing when there is almost no wind, especially in the morning, or after a rain.

Since it can't be seen the only way to check is to set up a survey transit to monitor the apparent movement of the target. If you set your rifle on the bags and not touch it, sometimes you can note that the target appears to move sideways or diagonally on an angle when there's little wind.
 
TXAZ, what rifle, barrel and scope? When the scope was mounted was it mounted to you or for the person who put it on.

I ask because the horizontal stinging can also be a result of not having proper eye relief. Also is the comb height set properly? Do find you are fighting to get consistent cheek compression or is it spot on shot to shot?
 
I like to hold the forend down on the front sandbag to keep the rifle from moving at the shot. Just be careful to hold straight down and not more on one side. Also make sure that, if using an adjustable front rest, that it's tightened down well.

Check to assure that you're looking through the scope perfectly aligned each time. If your eye is the right distance from the eyepiece, the image will fit perfectly in the eyepiece. If too close to it, you won't be able to assure that parallax isn't present. Some manufacturers set parallax for 150 yards, so you have to be sure to center the image to prevent elongated groups cause by parallax errors.
 
Horizontal stringing can often be caused by not being squarely behind the rifle.
This is more common when shooting from a bench with a rest but can also be found when shooting prone with a rest.
When one is not squarely behind the rifle the recoil can push the rifle to the side.
 
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