03/09/2026
Did you know your zero moves on its own?
You didn't touch a turret. Nothing fell out of the cabinet. The rifle shot beautifully in July and now it's throwing groups an inch left and low, and you're blaming yourself.
Three things worth checking before you start doubting your technique.
Temperature. Powder burns differently when it's cold, and velocity drops with it. A rifle zeroed on a warm August afternoon can print noticeably lower on a frosty December morning, and the further out you shoot, the more obvious it gets.
Ammunition lot. This is the big one for rimfire. Two boxes of the same brand, same product, different production run, and the point of impact can shift enough to matter at 100 yards. If you found a lot your rifle likes, buy it deep.
Everything that holds the scope on. Mount screws, ring screws, action screws. They loosen slowly and quietly, and by the time you notice you've usually blamed three other things first.
The fix is dull and it works. Ten minutes at the range before the season gets busy, on the same target you used in the summer, with the ammunition you actually intend to shoot.
Better to find it now than in front of witnesses.
When did you last confirm your zero?
