Stoeger M3000 first shoot (Issues with Lonbeard XR's or something else?)

[357MAGNOLE]

Let me shorten this up, might get more opinions this way.

I might be crazy but I swear the Longbeard XR are not hitting to the same point of aim on each shot.  As in I can shoot at the same spot twice and hit in two different locations... Anyone else seen that happen? I felt like I have read it somewhere before.

I got the gun sighted in at 25 yards and it might send the densest part of the group a hair left/right/up/down but I figure its just me.

I go back to 40 and hold aim on the bulls-eye and I will hit 5" left.  Take the same shot again and 5" low and right... Same shot again and now its 5" left and high.....  Any ideas? Could it be the gun, choke, ammo? I dont have a ton of experience with shotguns so I am looking for help on what it could be. I know its not my trigger control, and the red dot is not budging. Its holding to the same spot each and every shot.

[Devastator]

? What brand of red dot?

[357MAGNOLE]

? What brand of red dot?

TRS-25 Bushnell.  Dot is holding perfect, I know its not the dot. I had a speed bead mount on another gun and I could visually tell that red dot was moving. This one did not move unless I made adjustments.

I started another thread as well asking what distance people prefer to sight in their optics.  at 25 I could get it to hit pretty solid, once I went back to 40 I felt like I was chasing the pattern.  Gonna head back out with a couple more boxes of ammo and do more test later this week.

[SumToy]

I have seen some movement in them out of a SX3.  That the only one we shot more then a few times.  It had a FFIII

[owlhoot]

Does it do the same with other turkey loads?   

Or another turkey choke ?

[Izzyjoe]

when you get time I would try different kinds of ammo just make sure, but it sounds like the red dot is wandering around, cause if you are shooting from a steady rest I can't see the pattern moving that much. And was it windy that day you shot?

[357MAGNOLE]

Does it do the same with other turkey loads?   

Or another turkey choke ?

Dont know yet, I have just the Sumtoy and factory turkey choke.  I already anticipated on the long beards being my go to load so I had a bunch already.  I am happy with their numbers, just need to figure out the POA and POI.  I guess it COULD have been me  but my trigger control was consistent and I felt like it was on point. I generally have good trigger control. I will be trying again this week and being more scientific about it. Today was just a try out/ sight in day.

[357MAGNOLE]

when you get time I would try different kinds of ammo just make sure, but it sounds like the red dot is wandering around, cause if you are shooting from a steady rest I can't see the pattern moving that much. And was it windy that day you shot?

Slight breeze, it was just before a storm.

I dont think it was the red dot, I know it's a possibility but using the bead on the barrel from a reference point my red dot did not move unless I changed the setting.  At 30-40 yards it would have to move a noticeable amount to result in my 10" spreads being moved around that much.  If it is the red dot I will be back to admit I was wrong but for now I think its good.

[357MAGNOLE]

Thanks for the replies thus far, I will get at it again this week and take my time.  I was somewhat in a rush today and only brought 15 rounds to play with. I will bring a few boxes with me later this week and put some more effort behind it. I am going into it under the assumption that it was me and not the gun, If it seems to be doing the same again then I will swap out the chokes/ammo for further testing.

[longbeards]

Check your magazine cap for tightness

[357MAGNOLE]

Check your magazine cap for tightness

Good point, I will check it when I get home.

[owlhoot]

With Those tight pattern it doesn't take much movement to be off a smidge but you are not the first to have problems with the wandering longbeard patterns.    Good you are shooting a few to check it out

[357MAGNOLE]

I think I have the problem figured out.  Seems that the Stoeger was off possibly due to two issues. The first is myself, which I cant rule out. The second is that I did not clean the barrel at all between shots because I left my cleaning kit at home.  I think the debris in the barrel was enough to make each shot change POI. 

I went back out today and ran 20 rounds through the gun.  After 4-5 to get sighted in correctly I put down some decent shots. I am comfortable with this gun now.

I only took 1 single shot from 40 to see what the grouping would be like. It was not bad, and actually I miss judged where to draw my 10" circle. I had room to move it down and probably pick up another 15 additional hits.  I still had 210 but you can see how the pattern was a little more open toward the top.


After this shot I moved back up to 30 and did my final sighting in at the 30 yard mark.  Here where I hunt, I will be surprised if I ever take a shot less than 20.  I think the 30 yard mark is my comfort zone.  In this picture, this was the LAST shot I had left and I did not do a good job of making it count. I pulled the shot a hair low.  Otherwise the densest part of the pattern would have destroyed it.  That is a almost 1" circle with a 3" circle around it.  Paper was probably a 7"x7" sheet.  Still, not bad. Would certainly do the job.


The 25 yard targets where absolutely mangled.  Not even worth posting up, the pattern is very tight up to about 25 and slightly spreads between there and 30. 

[jepcho]

I would've guessed the red dot to be moving, but glad to see you got her dialed in. Does that gun come with the weight you can put in the stock for recoil reduction like the M3500? If so do you have it in? A lot of what I have heard about that gun is that it kicks pretty hard but you're saying the opposite which is good to hear.

[357MAGNOLE]

I don't believe that it did. Yeah to me the recoil is not bad and I shot 20 rounds of 3 inch long beards today without a sled. I I am a little sore but not like I would have been with the SX3