Try sitting it in so that it is on at 25 and if it is off buy alot at 100 or even 50 bring it to a gun smith

My brother in law had the same problem. We tried sdjusting the scope to no avail. Turned out the scope rings were a tad cocked, not really loose but not tight. First question would be has it always been a straight shooter. I would first check the scope rings for tightness. if they are 1/10th off it will be a few inches at the other end. If the gun fell over it could just have needed the scope realigned. You can get the kits online or just bring it to a gunsmith. If its not the scope rings or mounts then it could be a stock issue. Either way I would have a smith take a peek so you dont spend lots of time and money replacing parts.

I would wager that it is the scope mounts and or rings completely out of alignment. Does it have open sights? Can you take it to a range and have it bore sighted. 10 will get you 20 that the young lad has been messing with the mounts.

If it is putting a tight group, I'd say it is the rings or mounts. Don't place a lot of faith in bore sighting. If you can't correct with the windage adjustments (i.e. the adjustments run out), I'd suggest shimming the mounts a bit. If the group is five inches left of the bull, you'd shim the right side of the rear ring mount. Use a brass shim that won't rust. Many car parts places sell (or used to sell) brass electronic ignition points feeler gauges that work fine as shims.

You touched on fouling but never went any further. Agreed on all the above mentioned scope/mounts concerns, but you might also give it a good thorough scrubbing. When I bought my .257 Roberts (used), the previous owner said they couldn't hit anything with it. I had a gunsmith check it over and when he ran a patch thru it, it looked like a wad of bubblegum when the patch came out.

The important question still unanswered is: does the gun throw a consistant group five inches from bull? This question must be answered before further diagnosis. If you have a consistent group, I would rule out shaving lead or fouled barrel. It's simply a mount issue. Shoot several rounds through it and see what happens. If it shoots a group and then suddenly starts shooting errant rounds, I'd say it is a problem with the barrel. Otherwise, just try to use the windage adjustements to correct. Have you tried to correct with the windage adjustments on the scope? I'd go that route first. If you run out of windage adjustement on the scope, THEN do some adjustments via the screws on the Leopold mount. There are lots of reasons why a gun that never needed adjustment year after year would suddenly need adjustment. I wouldn't worry about that. Use the scope/mount adjustments to bring it back to the bull and then keep an eye on it from time to time. If it stays put, you're cured. If not, you need to look at either the scope/mount or perhaps the stock having some issues. If the stock is swelling or warping, it can affect the accuracy (but rarely to the degree that you are indicating). And a final question: Are you using hand loads or factory ammo? Have you recently switched brands/loads?

Rookies or Range Monkeys?

LMAO

This thread brought to mind an experience from my days as a kid working in my former father-in-law's sporting goods store. A guy came in with a fine pre-64 Model 70 rifle that he wanted to trade for a new gun. Claimed it wouldn't hit anything. He'd taken it back to the store in adjacent town three times to be bore sighted but still couldn't get on the paper with it at 25 yards. Hmmm. I put it on the bore sighter and told the guy to have a look. He couldn't have hit a bed sheet at that range. Asked him if the other joint had let him look through their sighter. Nope, but they had warned him that if it wouldn't sight in, the barrel was probably defective, blah, blah, blah. Might need a new gun, and of course, they had plenty of those in stock. I sent him off (free of charge) with a couple of targets to see what he could do at the range. An hour later he showed up back at the shop with a big smile on his face. The gun spit a tight group on the edge of the paint at 25 yards and he quickly had it fine tuned to the center of bull. Moral of the story: 1) careful who you trust with bore sighting and 2) bore sighting is only meant to get the gun on the paper. It's up to you to get it in the bullseye.

Barrel whip etc and off axis?

YEP! You can bet it will sling it out 5 plus!

WA Mtnhunter

Those Range Monkeys they hire sure can ruin a Hunters trip! I was in the BX, for you Civilians that's the Base Exchange for short kinda like a mini Wal-Mart. Any how I was at the Gun Counter when one of the Vendors was telling the BX General Manager about the new products that would be great for Grizz protection, 90 grain Hollow Point 9mm's. Ya' you know me, had to put my 3 cents in and told him he was full of it. The General Manager knew me and said, congratulations Clay, your my New President of the Sportsmen Council. What Sportsmen Council I replied. I've been thinking about it and you're it "COOP"!!!! Open mouth insert foot perhaps, not this time. Raised hell I did, finally got our wish lists filled and no more junk!

Never mind. I just googled it and got the answer. I haven't seen anything to laugh about, however.

99explorer, you're not alone. The silly technogeek acronyms get old with me too. I try to write as coherently as I can. And generally in complete sentences too. It's a reflection of the way I think - with originality and clarity.