Help with a 44 Mag

[nabob]

I have a Redhawk 44 Mag with a shorter barrel. My eyes need help, so I put a Busnell Trophy red dot on top.

I've sighted it in at 30 yards and I'm nowhere near bullseye at any other yardage. What's going on? Why such a difference at every other yardage? I'd like to be able to not have to judge distance quite so closely but as it is, there is a 2"  difference between, say, 20 and 30 yards. That can't be the normal ballistics of the bullet, right? I'm using 240 grain softpoints.

If I sighted the gun in at 100 yards, the ballistics tables say I shouldn't be too terribly high at 50 or 25. Should I just go ahead and sight it in at 100 yards?

[Redhawk1]

At 25 yards you should get consistent groups, them move out to 50 yards and work on getting good groups and consistent groups. Then go out to 100 yards. Make sure your hold on the grip is the same, and use the exact placement of the gun on the rest. Don't place the barrel on the rest, but the use the frame to set the gun on your rest.

Once I get my gun on paper at 25 I move to 50 and then 100. Once I get my gun sighted in at 100 yards I shoot it again at 25 yards and the point of impact is the same for 25 as it is for 100 yards.

[longwalker]

The suggestion I would make to you, is not to rest the gun at all. Use sand bags to rest your forearms on. Elbows on the bench. This way you will be gripping the gun as you would when you are hunting. Concentrate on trigger pull and grip. Establish groups at closer ranges then advance to the longer ranges.

If you still have funny targets try different ammunition. I got lucky with my Super Redhawk three different brands and I knew I had a great combination.

longwalker

[Redhawk1]

The suggestion I would make to you, is not to rest the gun at all. Use sand bags to rest your forearms on. Elbows on the bench. This way you will be gripping the gun as you would when you are hunting. Concentrate on trigger pull and grip. Establish groups at closer ranges then advance to the longer ranges.

If you still have funny targets try different ammunition. I got lucky with my Super Redhawk three different brands and I knew I had a great combination.

longwalker

I have to disagree with you 100%. The reason is because a rest aids in holding the weight of the gun and your grip will be the same as if you were hunting.  It takes out one element when sighting in a gun, so you can concentrate on trigger pull and grip. Why do you think they use a ransom rest, because it shows you what the gun will actually do, then you can work on your form. JMHO

[Lawful Larry]

I have to agree with Redhawk1.  He hit the nail right on the head.  I want to control the conditions of sighting in any gun.  That means placing the gun in a rest.  I can shoot the gun later as you put it with the sandbag and resting my forearms along.  But for now I am looking for the best performance the gun will give me while I am sighting in the gun or making groups. 

As to your way Longwalker, that is stage two and one that is very important in a hunting gun.   

[nabob]

I've been practicing pretty regularly and I'm still having trouble.

The problem isn't my shooting, I don't think. Something else is going on.

I get mighty fine groups at 50 yards. I'm dialed in with the red dot scope and things are just ducky.

When I shoot at 25 yards, my groups are uniformly three inches low. Nice group, very tight, directly below the bull's eye, so I'm shooting OK. However, I'm three inches low all the time.

Should there be THAT sort of variation between 50 yards and 25 yards? I mean, for goodness sakes, that would mean a trajectory like a rainbow. Is it because my red dot scope sits high above my bore or something? I figured that sighting it in at 50 yards would make it reasonably close for shorter distances but three inches is a lot.

[safetysheriff]

i suspect that the reason you are getting such variations in point of impact is simply that the Red Dot's little red dot is so high above the barrel that when you sight it in at 50 yds you have a bullet that must 'climb' how high to get to the red dot/point of aim!

it's like putting a set of 'high' rings on a rifle........the bullet must climb higher in order to meet up with a reticle that is centered/positioned at your point of aim.    if anybody here works with the Lee "Shooter" program they will tell you that it shows variances in bullet distance from point of aim (your 'zero' yardage) depending upon the sight-height that you program into "Shooter".   

if you want to, you can sight in for possibly 80 yards and you'll see that at 25 yds' you'll be low....below the point of aim, a little bit higher at 50 yds' but still below the point of aim, and then you'll be on at 80.   you may at that point be a little high or low at 100!   

does this make any sense?

if you go with a smaller diameter 'scope' on low rings you will find that the way your bullets impact at different yardages will change if you continue to sight-in at your present 50 yard bullseye.
 
take care,

ss'   

[nabob]

That makes a lot of sense to me.

I'll give it a try!

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I appreciate it.