Thread: A question for the sharp shooters..

Originally Posted by Missalot

Groups have been shot lying across the flat deck of the ute on a bipod, spare hand tucked under the butt of the rifle. A good solid rest, but nothing at all to stop the front of the rifle jumping. No one likes admitting it could be shooter era and to be fair I hadn’t really thought of that… but it would make sense and I need to rule it out.
I’ll have a crack over the next few days prone off the ground where I can get the bipod spikes into the ground and load some weight onto it to stop the rifle jumping (that’s how I’d typically shoot when hunting). Part of me hopes that doesn’t solve the issue but I’ll report back on how it goes!

Bipod on solid surface with nothing holding the forend is a recipe for what you are seeing.

One other factor to consider, I was shooting groups off the flat deck of my ute once, terrible groups, I didn't realise old mate was leaning and moving against the front end of the ute during the process, so if you have anyone along to 'help' when you are shooting off the back of your ute, make sure they aren't in the ute or leaning against it while you shoot. One other thing I have noticed about shooting off of the back of a ute, is that if the engine is running, especially diesel, it will affect accuracy. I doubt you were shooting groups with the engine running but I mention it to rule out all options.

If shooting off the ground with the bipod still doesnt fix the issue, try what Husky suggests, shoot off a solid sand bag. While not a great way to simulate hunting shots, it will tell you if the stringing is caused by shooter position or something at the loading bench. If you can confirm it is shooter position, at least you won't be chasing tails at the bench trying to troubleshoot a non-problem.