Ok here is the deal I arrived in my wifes hometown last night and spoke with my father in law about the deer and he had nothing but great things to say. We have 4 big bucks on the camera that aren't coming out every day but we do see them on camera quite a bit. These deer are two tens and two twelves. I am going to be doing some work at the ranch so I can usually hunt every morning and evening if I want. Now the problem. I have a 308 wich is plenty of gun to accomplish what I want but the scope on it is an old weaver K4 and I do not trust it and I don't want to miss or injur one of these deer. Now my uncle said that this scope is great but I can not get the gun on to my likeing and I can't afford a different scope. What should I do.

Practice at the range and get that things sited in.

Take me hunting, let me shoot a 12 point and I will let you borrow my other gun?

Seriously, when you say you "...can not get the gun..." to your liking, is this because of the scope issue? Does that mean you are not hitting consistent groups on the range target? What is causing the lack of confidence/trust?

Is it an issue that you can't get the gun zero'd or is it that the scope is old and you don't trust it?

I'll tell ya about those Weavers are good scopes. No they don't have the fangled anti-fog and multi-coated lenses but once zero'd they hold.

I have an old K4 on a very old .22 and it's dead nutz each time, every time. That gun and scope bounce around in the trunk of my patrol car and has for several years. I also have an old K6 on a .22 mag. It's definitely a solid scope and never needs adjustment.

My suggestion is to grab a box of shells, put up a target and shoot until your confidence in the gun and scope improve. You can start saving now for a new scope for next season.

When I had it "sighted in" I couldn't get a good grouping or even stay on paper consitantly. I wear glasses and the magnification on the scope is what really gets at me I think. It may also be the gun considering how old it is. Winchester 308 model 88 lever action it was my grandpas and he bought it new 50 plus years ago when he gave it to me. I want to bore site it and my father in law said he is going to show me a trick to getting it on paper that he was shown by a Texas Ranger back in his hay day but I'm just wanting the advice of yall too.

give it a shot and see....your gonna need to shoot it more either way...

Let me shoot one of the 12's and I'll loan you a gun to shoot the other.

In all seriousness, you're just going to have to practice. Try sighting in the gun without your glasses on. That might help.

Could be any number of problems at work here. First could be you. I don't mean any disrespect but consistent accuracy with a rifle requires some acquired skills. Such as how you hold the rifle, your cheek weld to the stock, trigger control, breathing and even your glasses.

Secondly, the scope could be bad or it could have lose mounts/rings.

Could be the gun too. Or it could be a combination of all the above. It's hard to say without being able to check out the rifle/scope or watching you shoot.

Let someone else shoot the gun and see if they have the same problems. If they do, see if you can borrow a gun from someone.

How big of a target are you shooting at and at what distance? You made the remark that you can not keep it on paper!! If I had the chance at a twelve pointer....I would go to Academy right now, purchase a new rifle and scope. Take it to the range and sight it in. Surely, someone in your family has a newer or better set up then what you have and surely they would lend it to you!! I am not bashing the scope or the gun but.....seems like there are more problems such as maybe....lack of shooting skills? NEED PRACTICE!!

Sounds like your base mount screws may not be tight. Hold the rifle as steady as you can with one hand ( arm ) and grasp the scope with the other hand and try to wiggle the scope. If you feel ANY kind of movement you need to take it out of the rings and check the base mount screws for tightness.

I had a friend who couldn't get a good group on paper and that's the first thing I did. I could feel his scope move. Remounted it and used loc tight on the base screws and it shot the way it should have after that.

Well I am trying to get someone to come hunt with me that will let me use their gun and that is a good idea on letting someone else shoot the gun. I would go and get a new gun and scope but can't afford either.

Even if you are borrowing someone else's gun....go to the range and shoot it!!

Go to swfa.com they are in Red Oak. I ordered a 3x9x40 nikon used but refurb. for $99.00 and it is spot on, had it in 2 or 3 days. Just checked they have some on the site now.

Thanks Jim I'm about to go sit in the blind with a pair of binocks and see what I see.

Any of the old Weavers when they were made in El Paso were made to last. I have an old K6 and a V7 and They are still mounted and still dead on they were both purchased in 1972 when I was 2 years old. They just don't make them like that anymore.

Chuck I was told that as well and about this scope. I think what I need to do is wait. I saw quite a few deer and I may be down here for a while. I'm going to check the mounting and the rings and make sure that it is correct. Then if my father in laws method doesn't work I'm going to have it bore sighted and then I'm going to have to practice practice practice. If all esle fails I'll be doing what Jim said and buying a refubished scope.

Check everything.... I, with years of shooting experience, suddenly had a rifle open its groups way up...... missed paper a couple of times at 100, moved to fifty, group was terrible..... went home very frustrated. Later while checking the rifle I noticed that the stock screws were just a little loose and the entire action and barrel would wiggle in the stock. Tightened the screws, next outting everything was back to normal.

If the rifle is already hitting somewhere within the target there is no sense in bore-sighting it again. It needs to be zeroed. All bore-sighting does is get put it on target. It's up to you to "tune" it to zero after that.

I agree with LandPirate. My 33 year old Ruger .270 was throwin' bullets all over the place whan I shot it this year. I brought it home and found that the trigger guard screw hole was cracked and the action was loose. Look at all screws on action, scope base, and rings. Tighten everything. If it won't group after that, worry about the scope. I have an old Weaver 2x7 that the cross hair turned loose from the adjustment dial! Good luck and God Bless!

There is also a company that restores and repairs old Weavers, I am considering sending mine to them for a little TLC. The site is http://www.ironsightinc.com/

I would clean the rifle to start, not sure what has been done with it in the past 50 years, but dont sound like too much.

Check all moundting hardware, scope rings bases

Make sure you are only using one kind of ammo.

Shoot with glasses on or glasses off, dont mix it up.(if you have contacts wear glasses, i noticed my accuracy was off with my contacts in. Eye doctor said they moved too much on my eye to be consistent for shooting my best)

Shoot the gun in off of a good rest and sand bags if you can, take as much of you out of the picture as possible

Do not adjust the scope based on one shot, shoot a group and move based on the group

let gun cool after every couple shots

Like others have said it is hard to know without seeing and knowing what is going on. If you are hitting paper the gun doesnt neet to be boresighted. No disrespect, but it doesnt sound like you are very familiar with guns try to find someone who knows a little more and can hands on show you some pointers.

Good Luck!

matt

x2. Inconsistant groups is normally the shooter. Old Army Lesson. Kept me on many ranges in the past. Really take your time an squeeze every shot.