Howa Alpine Mountain first shots

[MN Public Hunter]

So I finally had some decent weather to take the new Howa Alpine out to the range and sight it in. Set up is a Howa Alpine in 308 with a Leupold VX-3i 4.5-14x40 on top with Talley rings. Ammo was Federal and Nosler.

Took 4 shots to get it on paper(is was 12 inches low and 9-12 inches to the right) and then for some reason I just kept shooting all over the place, mostly to the left. I love the weight of the rifle and the size. After 1/2 of Federal and 1/2 box of Nosler I have it at 1 inch over at 100 yards. I'm sure the more I shoot it the more accurate it will be, but I was surprised it kept shooting all over the place to the left, maybe it's just me. After shooting 20 rounds my shoulder does not hurt at all, I find that a plus. I actually liked the safety after getting used to it and the action was smooth as could be.

I did the barrel break in of shooting once about every 5 minutes and then running a dry patch through in between shots.

As for the scope, that was crystal clear at 100 yards at 14x. Now that I have the scope dialed in I can't wait to order the CDS dial and see how that works over the summer. I can't wait to shoot more and get prepared for my WY mule deer hunt this year. Let's hope I get the more I shoot the more accurate I get

 

[JohnCushman]

I still think you should have sent the rifle to me and I could have had it sighted in months ago

 

[brockel]

Is the barrel fully freefloated?

 

[MN Public Hunter]

Is the barrel fully freefloated?

I have read that it is, but I also thought someone said it's not so I'm not 100% sure.

 

[noharleyyet]

The action is pillar bedded in the stock, and the barrel is free floated over its entire length,

http://ontargetmagazine.com/2015/03/howa-alpine-mountain-rifle/

 

[sbhooper]

It may very well get better, as you shoot it more. It may be that you are holding it a bit differently every time. As you get used to shooting it, it will get better. Inch groups will do you just fine, though.

 

[Deleted member 16014]

It's either floated or its not, you can check for yourself in about 10 seconds. Fold a piece of paper and run the barrel channel. Enjoy the new rifle!

 

[.280 Remington]

A few thoughts:

1) Running a dry patch down the bore every few shots does absolutely nothing to "break in" the barrel. Breaking in a factory barrel is mostly a waste of time. Just shoot it.

2) Unless you have the Leupold 4.5-14 with an AO, those scopes have a TON of parallax. How big were your groups? Parallax could be part of the problem.

3) What were the exact factory loads you were shooting? No all of them are good for accuracy testing. Some rifles don't like some bullets, and some bullets are liked less by more rifles. I'd run a box of the cheap Federals that come in the blue box to develop an accuracy standard for the rifle.

4) Re-check ALL screws. Action screws, scope mounts, etc.

5) If those fail, try a different scope just to eliminate that variable. Some scopes go bad. Some come bad.

 

[mike123red]

buy a box of federal gold match .308 168 gr or 175. if it all over the place it could be 1) you 2) the scope or mount. you might let some one else take a shot, if I have a bad day I usually let some one else shoot