help with a harrington and richardson rifle

I have harrington and richardson 7mm/08. i have a simmons scope on in and it will not shoot a group at all. each shot is like 8 inches away. 3 differnt people have shot it. still same results. so now on the 3rd box of bullets my granddad said it just needs to be bore sighted. it already has tho. any one with any experince with harrington and richardson guns? i dont wanna put a expensive nice scope on a POS gun. when i could just by a new gun. i got this gun for my 13th bday and couldnt find any veiws on the internet. thanks!

 

http://www.impactguns.com/hr-handi-...dwood-stk-blued-010633017085.aspx?mode=review

 

there is the gun^^^^

 

How is the scope mounted onto the gun? Could it be getting some tiny movement in the mounting points between each shot?

I don't think those have a reputation for tack-driving accuracy in any case. At least not the accuracy needed to truly take advantage of the longer range capabilities of the 7-08.

 

If it is shooting 8 inch groups, the problem is not bore sighting. Sounds like a faulty scope, or mounts, as someone else said. That is a scope meant for high powered rifles, isn't it? Several years ago a friend tried mounting a .22 rimfire scope on a .22 hornet rifle and had the same problem. The scope could not handle the recoil.

 

Couple of options:
1) Take a pencil and mark the scope where it meets the rings. Shoot it a few times and check to see if the scope is shifting in the rings at all.
2) Swap on a different scope. Borrow one from another gun, from a buddy, etc. See if that improves your accuracy.
3) Does the gun have iron sights? Try a few shots using the irons instead of the scope. See if it still patterns poorly or if the accuracy improves.

These all should let you narrow down whether the problem lies with the gun or the scope.

Also, are you shooting from a bench rest, or free standing? If you're shooting from a lead sled that will help you assess if the accuracy problem lies with the scope or with the gun. If you're shooting it freehand, though, there's also the possibility that you're flinching/wavering when you shoot, which obviously will affect accuracy.

 

.22 has a sharper recoil than other calibers. Make sure the scope is matched for the rifle, or you will knock the optics right out of the scope. If in doubt, call the scope maker and confirm. How does it shoot using just the iron sights? I'm assuming you are bench shooting and the rifle is stabilized when your are tuning the scope. If it shoots bad without the scope, I would see if the barrel is bedded correctly or the rifling is out of whack.

 

I know I would be flinching after shooting 7-08 out of a youth model Handi-Rifle.

 

If it's patterning instead of grouping, it's not an issue with being sighted. If 3 newbie shooters are shooting, I expect 3 bad performances. 99% of "bad groups" are because of the shooter. If it's 3 experienced shooters, I look past the shooter and start looking at the hardware.

Having said that, simmons glass is junk. I wouldn't be surprised if it's not holding zero. But start with the basics, remove the scope and tighten the bases. Reinstall the scope, tighten the rings. Sight and try again. If that doesn't work, switch scopes to a known good one. Sight and try again.

H&R (guessing you have a handi) are decent little rifles. I have a couple. The .243 for some reason is a universal lemon, but the other calibers do pretty well.

If none of the above works (in the hands of an experienced shooter) you can contact h&r, they will likely go over it for you.

And for a larger following of the handi and fixes for their various ills, graybeard outdoors is a good forum to join. There are lots of folks intimately familiar with the handi over there.