|
Rimfire benchresters commonly throw the first five shots away, then shoot a sighter for a few rounds, then begin shooting for score. It's not as much to foul the bore as to warm it and the wax on it to make a consistent situation for each round.
My rifle's first shot is usually about 1" high, then closer to the bull with each shot, until about the third shot, then the other two are for checking the wind and zero.
Rifles that tend to group on a diagonal most often have barrel bedding problems. The barrel tends to bounce off one side of the forend. Touching left side will string upward towards the right and vice-versa.
Vertical stringing, except for warming shots, tends to be inconsistent ignition, either due to the ammo, light firing pin spring, drag on the pin, or the shape of the pin's nose (usually too flat).
Peeshooter
| 
