My P35-177 has never shot as well as my P35-22 but I decided to try and improve it last week. I repolished the crown and did a little fire polish on the barrel. But unfortunately, I had an issue I was unaware of and I now need to repeat shooting the targets to see if I helped or not. The issue I discovered today is very simple and something I was well aware of but I still didn't check it. My scope mount was loose. I use inexpensive West Hunter cantilever quick release mounts on my P35s to put my scope where I want it. I moved my Athlon Talos 6-24 to the 177 this summer after putting a Vector Sentinel 8-32 on the 22. These quick release mounts are sensitive to the exact size of the picatinny rail and I didn't check it as well as I should have when I moved the scope over, I guess. I've been shooting it this way for months and wondering why I was getting an occasional flyer. It hasn't been shooting poorly, it's best 30 yard challenge score is a 194, but now I wonder what I would have shot if I had the scope tight.
What got me rethinking things was not being able to consistently hit my 1/2 inch swinging target at 35 yards. I switched to my P35-22 and hit the 1/4 inch swinger 5 of 5 tries (also at 35 yards) so I was pretty sure it wasn't me (this time). I thought maybe it was not sighted in right and shot a target to check and just couldn't get it sighted in. I'd get 2 or 3 in the same hole and then I would have a flier 1/2 inch off (at 30 yards). I finally thought of the mounts and sure enough, they were a little loose. With them tight I had no more issues sighting in or with the 1/2 inch swinger. Hit it 5 of 5 times when I struggled to get 3 in a row yesterday. I only shot at the 1/4 inch twice and hit once so I don't really know but I suspect it still isn't shooting like the 22.
After the recrown I shot a 184 on the 30 yard challenge and I shot a 188 after the fire polish. Those are not close to my best but not the worst I've shot with it either. But I'm hoping to do a bit better with the scope "fixed". But it's hard to be too disappointed with a gun that will hit a 1/2 inch target consistently at 35 yards.
Anyway, if you are getting fliers and/or your gun just isn't shooting like you think it should, check those pesky scope mounts. All screws are candidates for checking but particularly scope mounts. Quick release ones can be handy but also fool you by feeling snug when they really aren't properly tightened.
What got me rethinking things was not being able to consistently hit my 1/2 inch swinging target at 35 yards. I switched to my P35-22 and hit the 1/4 inch swinger 5 of 5 tries (also at 35 yards) so I was pretty sure it wasn't me (this time). I thought maybe it was not sighted in right and shot a target to check and just couldn't get it sighted in. I'd get 2 or 3 in the same hole and then I would have a flier 1/2 inch off (at 30 yards). I finally thought of the mounts and sure enough, they were a little loose. With them tight I had no more issues sighting in or with the 1/2 inch swinger. Hit it 5 of 5 times when I struggled to get 3 in a row yesterday. I only shot at the 1/4 inch twice and hit once so I don't really know but I suspect it still isn't shooting like the 22.
After the recrown I shot a 184 on the 30 yard challenge and I shot a 188 after the fire polish. Those are not close to my best but not the worst I've shot with it either. But I'm hoping to do a bit better with the scope "fixed". But it's hard to be too disappointed with a gun that will hit a 1/2 inch target consistently at 35 yards.
Anyway, if you are getting fliers and/or your gun just isn't shooting like you think it should, check those pesky scope mounts. All screws are candidates for checking but particularly scope mounts. Quick release ones can be handy but also fool you by feeling snug when they really aren't properly tightened.
