Bushmaster barrel issue?

[Green Leader]

I have a 16in Bushmaster V-Match carbine that I picked up recently. The rifle in general has not given me any problems and I am really enjoying it, I have noticed a small issue that when shooting I concentrate my grouping slightly left of the bulls-eye.

Since my rifle is an ORC model without any iron sights, it's hard to determine if it's the barrel (I read the story about older bushmasters being over torqued), the red dot itself,ammo, or me..haha. Does anybody have any suggestions to figure out what the culprit is?

[40Arpent]

I don't know what I am missing here, so I'll ask the dumb question....have you not tried adjusting your optic to move the point of impact over?

[Green Leader]

I don't know what I am missing here, so I'll ask the dumb question....have you not tried adjusting your optic to move the point of impact over?

I know, it sounds odd. I have tried moving the windage setting over but it doesn't seem to make much of a difference. The red dot is centered over the target which it pretty much obliterates, the sight is a vortex sparc.

[Crow Hunter]

I know, it sounds odd. I have tried moving the windage setting over but it doesn't seem to make much of a difference. The red dot is centered over the target which it pretty much obliterates, the sight is a vortex sparc.

At what range are you shooting and having your POI being slightly left of POA? How far over left is it?

No offense intended but if you have made adjustments and it is still to the left the same amount it sounds like it is you pulling it to the left slightly. Is this your first rifle? Do you have experience shooting other rifles?

Do you have someone else that could shoot it and see if it does it for them?

If it is an ORC there are no sights to be canted so having the barrel over torqued wouldn't cause an issue for you.

The only other thing that I can think of is if the dot is "obliterating" your target as you say, you may not be holding in the center of the target and drifting slightly to the left. Try stacking the target over the dot being very careful on your left to right bias and see if it clears it up.

[m1a_scoutguy]

At what range are you shooting and having your POI being slightly left of POA? How far over left is it?

No offense intended but if you have made adjustments and it is still to the left the same amount it sounds like it is you pulling it to the left slightly. Is this your first rifle? Do you have experience shooting other rifles?

Do you have someone else that could shoot it and see if it does it for them?

If it is an ORC there are no sights to be canted so having the barrel over torqued wouldn't cause an issue for you. How is the Group,,,,nice a tite,,all over the place,,,if its a good Group of shots then I would say its the site,,espcially if ya can't get the POI to move over.

The only other thing that I can think of is if the dot is "obliterating" your target as you say, you may not be holding in the center of the target and drifting slightly to the left. Try stacking the target over the dot being very careful on your left to right bias and see if it clears it up.

+1,,,I agree,,,,,I think the Dot is 4 MOA on the Sight your using,,,so at 100yards you could be off just a tad !! Are the sight adjustments working OK ? I would get a buddy to shoot it also,,"just in case" .;) Are you smooooth on the trigger,,a Dreaded Flinch would make you pull to the left. I know the Bushy ORC have been around for awhile,,but I don't think they are that old. I guess first off,I would get a buddy to shoot it,,if its the same,,try some different ammo,,if nothing works,,,maybe the Optic. Keep us posted on how ya make out !! :)

[JSantoro]

I have tried moving the windage setting over but it doesn't seem to make much of a difference.

How far left are you, and at what range?

"Much" difference, or no difference at all? Please define "much." If it's not moving, then you are either at the end of your adjustment range (which is fairly unlikely, you have 45MOA of adjustment in either direction from mechanical zero), or your windage is just ganked up, is not adjusting, and needs to be repaired or replaced.

The SPARC is a 2MOA optic, with 1MOA/click adjustments; pretty gross. Depending on whatever details come out, it could also very well be that the leftward strike is "in between" clicks on the optic, meaning that 1 click to the right could produce a more or less equivalent strike to the right of what's desired.

Need more info. Having somebody else shoot it to see if the trend remains isn't a bad idea, presuming that they are of equal or better ability than yourself, and the conditions are replicated.

If you're still grouping, it's unlikely that it's a problem with the barrel.

[Green Leader]

The range tested is at 50yrds. This is my first rifle so I could very well be pulling to the left slightly. My POI is off roughly 1-2 inches in a 3-4 inch cluster group.

I think JSantoro nailed it as being in between clicks. My main concern was the barrel being over torqued, but it seems now after reading comments that it is in fact myself or the optic. I need to try this weekend with having a more experienced shooter give it a go and see the results. Thanks again for the help.

[JSantoro]

Nah, that actually makes that possibility seem less likely.
- 1MOA/click = 1" @ 100yds.
- Reduced distance = increased clicks, making it .5"/click @ 50Yds or 2 clicks/inch @ 50.

Having the group being in between clicks at your distance would result in a group consistently less than 1/2" out to either side, but that's difficult to nail down without tighter groups. So, ideally, you're 2-4 clicks to the left of the center of your shot group, but need more info.

Do as you plan, just make sure it's with good match ammo (for no better reason than to eliminate ammo as a culprit, if nothing else). Let us know the results. Luck!