Help with .243 groups

[Creekcubb]

Bought my son a H&R break open .243 for hunting. Bought a $60-70 Tasco 3x9 scope and mounted it. I used 95 grain Remington accu-tip bullets and started at 50 yard line. Hit paper and got nice group and backed up to 100 yard line. Bullets all over the place, no constant hits, one to the right, one to the left, so on and so on.

I used shooting bags and let barrel cool down and also cleaned every three shots but no help. Checked scope for mounting issues but none found.

1. Change ammo brand
2. Change bullet weight (up or down)
3. Get better scope
4. Get better gun
5. All above

Thanks for input!

 

[sammie white]

243 want group

creek cubb try this before giving up, try a different brand ammo,try different bullet weight,last resort go to academy and get two boxs of monarch brand 243win ammo,shoot the first box for seasonig the barrel then clean barrel.then get serious about shooting some good groups,some barrels are sensitive to different ammo and bullet weights.those 243 win -monarch brand ammo is 14.99 a box .i seasoned my barrel the same way it now shoots .50 inch groups regulary,be sure to check forearm stock to see if its tight.i killed 10 deer over the last two years shooting monarch ammo ,the shot were from 100yds to 250yds,i had 9 drop in their tracks,1 run 25 yds ,bullet performance was perfect.it looked like they were shot with 300 win mag.

 

[JohnAL]

I don't have a high opinion of Tasco but if the shots are all over the place it's probably the scope or something not tight in the scope mounting system.
Before buying a new scope:
-take the scope and ALL of it's mounting hardware off and put back on using blue loctite on the screws. Don't over tighten and strip the screws but they do need to be good and tight.
-try different ammo - brand and bullet weight can matter
-do NOT rest the barrel on sandbags or whatever rest you are using. Rest the gun on the stock only.
-nothing personal but let someone else that is good with a rifle shoot it. It's easy to develop a flinch, no matter how slight, and pull the shots. I have been shooting longer than most on here have been alive but too many shots from a bench with a centerfire rifle can still cause me to start anticipating the recoil.

 

[SAWMAN]

Quick check to rule out/in the forearm. With the forearm OFF the gun,rest the gun under the frame,NOT on the bbl. Load the gun and lock the action as usual. Take your time,let bbl cool between shots. Shoot three to five shots(five is best). After the shot, open the action,the bbl will try to come off,that is fine,drop it down,extract the brass,let the bbl cool so it is NOT warm to the touch,put bbl back on and shoot again. Same way every shot.

I have several of these guns. Some of them like a pressure point all the way forward under the forearm. A couple of mine likes the bbl floated. Either is easy to do. The above "test" will let you know really quick weather it is the forearm or not. Log my guess as this: 1. scope rings and/or base loose 2. scope problems 3. forearm problems 4. ammo problems 5. shooter problems

Quick thought ---> If your getting good groups at 50 why would you not get groups 2 - 2 1/2X that size at 100 ??

Pls let us know what you find out. --- SAWMAN