Purchased a Savage 10T bolt action .308 rifle during a good fall sale, and didn't get it to the range until the following year, so warranty has come and gone. (Dumb, I know). At the range, I found that the point of impact at 50 yards was about 18 inches low and 4 inches left of where bore sighting would have it. Yes those numbers are inches, not MOA! I had to buy Burris Signature rings (with MOA compensating composite inserts) just get the scope physically moved enough that I could get within scope adjustment limits. I then adjusted the scope to actual point of impact, and it seems to be consistent/good even out to 100 yds. It will consistently group shots, and there are no keyholes. However something is clearly wrong.
For bore sighting methods, I tried an in-chamber laser cartridge, a SiteLite SL (at bore end), and even took the bolt out and peered down the barrel. All three methods are in agreement, yet the impact point is consistently way off to lower left. I took it to a reputable local gun smith and explained the problem, and after having it about one week, he essentially said nothing was wrong with the gun, but he remounted the scope with new rings, and professionally bore sighted it again for me. Went to the range again and it's still having the same problem (no improvement at all).
In the case of a bent barrel, I believe that the last few inches of the barrel dictate where the bullet goes, so the SiteLite should have been pretty close in this case (which it wasn't). So I think I can rule out a bent barrel, right? What else would cause the impact point to be so incredibly far off from bore sighting? I'm stumped, especially after the gunsmith didn't find any problems...
For bore sighting methods, I tried an in-chamber laser cartridge, a SiteLite SL (at bore end), and even took the bolt out and peered down the barrel. All three methods are in agreement, yet the impact point is consistently way off to lower left. I took it to a reputable local gun smith and explained the problem, and after having it about one week, he essentially said nothing was wrong with the gun, but he remounted the scope with new rings, and professionally bore sighted it again for me. Went to the range again and it's still having the same problem (no improvement at all).
In the case of a bent barrel, I believe that the last few inches of the barrel dictate where the bullet goes, so the SiteLite should have been pretty close in this case (which it wasn't). So I think I can rule out a bent barrel, right? What else would cause the impact point to be so incredibly far off from bore sighting? I'm stumped, especially after the gunsmith didn't find any problems...