Is my grouping ok?

[Diversity210]

So last week I found my Ruger American Hunter Rifle in my closet. Yes I literally found it, because I had completely forgotten I even had it. I bought the rifle like 5 months ago, but some other on going projects took priority over it and I stuck in my closet with out ever firing a shot. It was buried in the back corner of my closet behind all of my wife's hanging clothes. She was taking down all of our winter clothing to make room in the closet for our spring and summer clothing like she does every year. I walked by and saw the rifle as she was taking clothes down and was like "Holy crap, I forgot I even had this. That little story was completely irrelevant to my question, but Its kind of funny so I thought I would share it.

Anyway. So I took the rifle down to my local gun store to look for a scope to put on the thing. The employee recommended Viper Vortex HS-T 6-24x50. Well hes actually the owner of the store son, I dont know if you would call him an employee, rather the successor. Anyway hes a nice guy, I buy most of my guns from them and hes never steered me wrong so I went with it. Had to buy the rings to and recommended the Vortex Precision matched rings. He gave me a discount on them since I was buying the scope and said they would mount the scope for free. Surprisingly it didnt bother me to spend 700 bucks on a scope. Heck I have camera lenses that cost a couple grand, so I know the value of good glass. What hurt though is the 130 bucks for the rings. That one hurt, but I did.

Sorry for all the irrelevant information. Im kind of bored right now.

So I took the rifle to the range today. Got it all zeroed at 100 yards. After zeroing, I consistently shot 1 3/8 - 1.5 inch groups with off the shelf 140 grain Remington Core Lokt ammo. My question is. Is that good for 100 yards, or am I screwing up somewhere?

[theLBC]

i dunno what to expect, but maybe try some kind of match ammo?

[Spyder]

Mine shoots better than that.

But Core Lokt isn't exactly known for precision.

[Divernhunter]

What is it chambered for?
I do not shoot much factory ammo but my American rifles will do better.

My "personal" opinion is you wasted money on the rings. You can get excellent rings/bases for far less. Also for what you paid did they lap the rings?? Also if using the rifle for hunting(such as deer/pigs/bear/pronghorn) the scope is too much. Then there is the whole 50mm thing that is not needed in a hunting scope and places your head in a position for a poor cheek weld. IF it is just to be a fun gun/range toy then the higher power of the scope means little and can even be helpful.
This is just a guess but the "salesman" seems to lack real world experience on matching equipment to the rifle.

IF it were for shooting squirrels the scope would be fine. I suspect it is not since you were shooting 140gr Bullets.

Last I do not know your shooting abilities or if you were using bags and such to be able to tell you if it was the rifle or the shooter for your group size. Then again handloads MAY be able to shrink the group.

My post was not meant to offend and is just my thoughts with the limited amount of info in your post. Please enjoy your rifle. The Ruger American rifles are really an excellent rifle and I have found all that I have shot to be good shooters.

[baih777]

Mine shoots better than that.

But Core Lokt isn't exactly known for precision.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ that ammo is consistent 1.5 to 2.0 groups.

[Diversity210]

Mine shoots better than that.

But Core Lokt isn't exactly known for precision.

Yeah Ill have to try using some match ammo next time I go out. Didnt even think about match ammo. Went to the store right before I went to the range earlier and grabbed 3 boxes of the cheapest 6.5 CM they had, and that was the Core Lokt.

[JackEllis]

My standard for consistency with hunting rifles is right around 1 inch at 100 yards, but then again I don’t shoot live critters past 200-250. My hunting buddy in Alaska and I have shot plenty of game with Core-Lokt’s so while they may not be as consistent as match ammo, our experience is that they’re good hunting ammo.

I agree with Divernhunter on your scope choice. That particular scope is great for squirrels. Move it to a .223 or use it to ring steel at 1k plus yards. For game you need a scope in the 2.5-8 power range. Last week I shot an aoudad through the shoulder at 250 with the scope only my rifle turned down to 3x.

[Diversity210]

What is it chambered for?
I do not shoot much factory ammo but my American rifles will do better.

My "personal" opinion is you wasted money on the rings. You can get excellent rings/bases for far less. Also for what you paid did they lap the rings?? Also if using the rifle for hunting(such as deer/pigs/bear/pronghorn) the scope is too much. Then there is the whole 50mm thing that is not needed in a hunting scope and places your head in a position for a poor cheek weld. IF it is just to be a fun gun/range toy then the higher power of the scope means little and can even be helpful.
This is just a guess but the "salesman" seems to lack real world experience on matching equipment to the rifle.

IF it were for shooting squirrels the scope would be fine. I suspect it is not since you were shooting 140gr Bullets.

Last I do not know your shooting abilities or if you were using bags and such to be able to tell you if it was the rifle or the shooter for your group size. Then again handloads MAY be able to shrink the group.

My post was not meant to offend and is just my thoughts with the limited amount of info in your post. Please enjoy your rifle. The Ruger American rifles are really an excellent rifle and I have found all that I have shot to be good shooters.

Absolutely no offense taken. I agree I probably did waste money on the rings. Ive bought and used 20 dollar scope wings that worked just fine, I just figured there were some nuances in shooting longer ranges that required more precise rings that I wasn't aware of. I do not hunt. This rifle was meant to be my intro into some longer range shooting, and will be used solely for paper targets and steel plates. Im not begging the question of whether the scope is right for my application or not though. It may be a little much, but Im ok with a little overkill. I live by "Id rather have and not need it, than need it and not have it" haha, as long as that overkill isnt hindering my abilities. Im ok with it. This being a firearms forum, Id think most would understand that principle as we all bare arms to protect ourselves, but statistically the chances of ever actually needing that firearm to protect yourself is about 0.9%, but I can pretty much guarantee every gun owner would rather have their guns and not ever need them than need them and not have them.

The guys at my local gun store are quite knowledgeable though. He took what I said I wanted in and out of a scope and ran with it, ultimately recommended the Vortex Viper because I suited what I wanted and had the best warranty. I used the scope today, and was very happy with it.

My long range rifle skills are very limited. The longest range Ive ever shot is 200 yards with my AR. So going beyond that will be a whole new experience for me.

[Diversity210]

So what Im getting is that I should be shooting 1 inch groups at 100 yards and maybe try some better ammo. Will ammo selection really make that big a difference at 100 yards?

[ar15barrels]

After zeroing, I consistently shot 1 3/8 - 1.5 inch groups with off the shelf 140 grain Remington Core Lokt ammo.
My question is. Is that good for 100 yards, or am I screwing up somewhere?

My question is what size targets are you going to be shooting at with the rifle?
If they are larger than 1.5" at 100yds, then your groups are fine.

[ar15barrels]

Will ammo selection really make that big a difference at 100 yards?

Yes.

Does your rifle have a heavy barrel or a skinny barrel?
Is this meant to be a hunting rifle or a target shooting rifle?

[buffybuster]

The Vortex Precision Matched rings are rebranded Seekins Precision rings. They are very high quality rings and do NOT need to be lapped. If there's any misalignment it's not the rings it's the base. Lapping those rings is a sure way to mess them up.

[Diversity210]

My question is what size targets are you going to be shooting at with the rifle?
If they are larger than 1.5" at 100yds, then your groups are fine.

I shot those groups in 3" targets today

[Diversity210]

The Vortex Precision Matched rings are rebranded Seekins Precision rings. They are very high quality rings and do NOT need to be lapped. If there's any misalignment it's not the rings it's the base. Lapping those rings is a sure way to mess them up.

The people that mounted the scope did not lap the rings.

[SmokeTheClay]

I suggest watching this : https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Zhaan8Hsox8