Sighting in trouble.

Last year my dad picked up a .338 lapua Sako 85 long range and put a Zeis scope on it.
After a few attempts and ~45 shots we keep chasing the zero at about a 3" group at only 100 yards even on the Lead sled.

All the screws and bolts on the scope are tight and it's properly seated. We're definitely not bad shots and we used a lead sled with the same problem so I'm seriously doubting it's user error. We tried different ammo as well with the same issue.

Any guesses on what might be the issue and anyone have similar experiences? I'd expect a top of the line gun and scope with ammo that's $10/round to perform MUCH better.

Is the barrel free-floating? You should be able to slide a $5 bill between the barrel and fore-end. I had a issue with my rifle shooting irrationally. Turns out that the fore-end was applying pressure to the barrel. It was a simple fix for me to do.

Or, perhaps the barrel needs to be bedded.

Is the scope new or off another rifle? I'd try another one you have to rule out the scope as the problem.

I had to take apart my Tikka one year ,removed from the stock ( plastic ) got caught in a wet day anyway when i went to the range with it it would not group called stoger and they gave me the proper torque spec for the action screws , did what they said and back to where it was .

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Originally Posted by MihajloSimsic

Last year my dad picked up a .338 lapua Sako 85 long range and put a Zeis scope on it.
After a few attempts and ~45 shots we keep chasing the zero at about a 3" group at only 100 yards even on the Lead sled.

All the screws and bolts on the scope are tight and it's properly seated. We're definitely not bad shots and we used a lead sled with the same problem so I'm seriously doubting it's user error. We tried different ammo as well with the same issue.

Any guesses on what might be the issue and anyone have similar experiences? I'd expect a top of the line gun and scope with ammo that's $10/round to perform MUCH better.

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Remove the scope and remount the rings and scope starting from scratch. Specifically, use the proper assembly sequence and torque on all the screws. The rifle and scope are first class units. They should work flawlessly. Let us know what happens.

Get a torque screwdriver. You’ve been given good advice to start. I’d agree with all that’s been posted above. If it where my rifle, I’d strip and remount as well as torquing the action screws to the right value. If that didn’t change things, I’d be looking to try a different scope. I’d also take a close look at the crown of the rifle. Is it a new rifle? It’s unlikely to be the scope, but it could be, I’ve had only one go bad on me over the years but I did have an older Leupold that crapped the bed, so while unlikely it can happen. Most likely it’s a mounting issue though.

Try different ammo, it might not like what your feeding it.
Even though its a Sako they can be finicky with different ammo from my experience.

What ammo You are using-it is a super duper to be at 10 $ a round.........

My 85 has a laminate stock, I found the action screws came loose last year, gun shot all over the place.

I ended up blue loctiting the action screws so I don't have to worry again.

But I want to piller bed the stock, I'm worried about overtighting with wood stock and cracking it or something.


So many variables, Is the scope new? Can you try it on a different rifle?

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I had a similar issue at one time, changed the stamped steel scope rings for tactical style from EGW and the problem was solved.