Savage 111 won't hold zero

M

militant

New member
I have a savage 111 xp trophy hunter in .308 that came with a Nikon 3x9 that I cannot get to hold zero. I put new rings on it and everything is tight, it jut won't hold zero. What do you recommend I do? Call savage? Nikon?
 
I would start with savage, followed closely with Nikon. I suspect savage will say it is a Nikon issue anyway. So.... both simultaneously.

If that goes nowhere, buy a Vortex.:D But I think Nikon will stand by their product.
 
When you say it won't hold zero, what's it doing? Does the zero shift as the rifle gets hot? When you fire a cold-bore shot and then let the rifle rest for 24 hours, then fire another cold bore shot, does the zero shift?

It would help to know exactly what the problem seems to be.
 
I'll sight it in at 25 yards and get it to group very well. Then I'll move the target out to 100 yards and it won't even stay on the target. Then I'll move it back to the 25 yard line and it will be all over the target again. Cold bore or not, the rifle should be able to stay on a 12x12 target.
 
you should be able to hit a 12"X12" target at 25 yards with no sights at all. That sounds like defective optics to me. If you don't have another scope of known quality laying around see if you can borrow one from a friend for a week or so. If it shoots well then you know.
 
Sounds about like what I experience with my daughters Weatherby Vangard. It will put the first 3 rounds into a nice 1" group. As the barrel heats up, the grouping opens exponentially.
So far I have found that the stock was unevenly pressed up against the barrel. I have since free floated it.
Then I noticed that there is a lot of movement in the forestock. I used a Dremel and made grooves in the forestock lengthwise, and crosswise, and opened up the channel some more so I could glass that in. It is much stiffer now, but still same problem.

Next is a new crown...
 
I'd take the scope off and make sure the base or bases are tight and then tighten up the rings again and start over...

Tony
 
Put the scope on another gun and check if you get the same problems, if you do, the scope is the problem.
 
The stock is free floated from the factory. It looks like the barrel isn't in the stock right. It's more to the left rather than in the middle. This is very frustrating. I though I could shoot this thing out of the box like my other rifles and get good results.
 
Put a known good scope on your new Savage and put your new Nikon on a known good rifle, shoot both and you'll have your answer as to what the problem is.
 
Did it fail to hold zero before you replaced the rings? What type of rings did you install and why did you replace them? Was it the first step in trying to trouble-shoot the problem or did you replace them for another reason?
 
I replaced the original scope rings because bimart stripped them out. They were replaced with Weaver scope rings. The rings are tight now but the rifle will not hold zero. This is getting expensive.
 
20 years ago, I bought a used Savage 110FP which had a cracked barrel nut. It shot crazy groups like your rifle. The barrel could be turned by hand. Replaced the barrel nut and now it shoots 7/8" groups at 100 yds.
 
First thing you need to do is try another scope.

Also, wait 3-5min between every shot. There is no "cold bore or not it should", some guns simply will not shoot with a hot barrel. I have a heavy barrel Remington 300WM which is a .5MOA gun if I keep the barrel cool, but becomes a scattergun if it gets hot.

Cleaning could also be an issue, some factory barrels copper up quickly. You can't tell much by shooting a rifle at 25 yards.
 
Dont Jump!!!

Militant stop freakin out, there's a couple of simple cures. First lets start with quality rings, bimart does not provide quality rings with anything they sell including burgers..;) Now lets assume that you have the necessary tools for proper scope installation, and the procedure was done to a snap... It also could be junk scope, junk ammo, junk technique, and lastly junk rifle... I'm putting my money on the first three,.. There is no Savage rifle that a competant human cant make shoot decently with little or no work.;)

If none of the above works box it up and PM me for shipping info.:)
 
My technique is fine, I was shooting 1 moa the same day with my Remington that I installed the scope on, using the same scope mounts I purchased for my Savage (weaver). Ammo used was Winchester white box 147gr fmj. I'm thinking the scope is faulty. I took the scope off and the base and reinstalled everything very tight. If I was to tighten any of the scopes hardware, I'm sure it would strip out.
 
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