{"id":727,"date":"2019-07-21T10:32:30","date_gmt":"2019-07-21T10:32:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tractoptics.com\/blog\/?p=727"},"modified":"2026-05-21T11:37:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T11:37:22","slug":"what-causes-your-point-of-impact-to-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/what-causes-your-point-of-impact-to-change\/","title":{"rendered":"What Causes Your Point of Impact To Change"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_83 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\"><div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\"><p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p><span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/what-causes-your-point-of-impact-to-change\/#What_Causes_Your_Point_of_Impact_To_Change\" >What Causes Your Point of Impact To Change<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/what-causes-your-point-of-impact-to-change\/#Atmospheric_Changes_Affect_POI_Point_of_Impact\" >Atmospheric Changes Affect POI Point of Impact<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/what-causes-your-point-of-impact-to-change\/#Blaming_the_Scope_for_Point_of_Impact_Change\" >Blaming the Scope for Point of Impact Change<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/what-causes-your-point-of-impact-to-change\/#Between_The_Barreled_Action_the_Stock\" >Between The Barreled Action & the Stock<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/what-causes-your-point-of-impact-to-change\/#How_the_Rifle_is_Rested_When_Shooting_Could_Be_the_Problem\" >How the Rifle is Rested When Shooting Could Be the Problem<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/what-causes-your-point-of-impact-to-change\/#Cold_Bore_and_Clean_Bore\" >Cold Bore and Clean Bore<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/what-causes-your-point-of-impact-to-change\/#Try_a_Log_Book\" >Try a Log Book<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/what-causes-your-point-of-impact-to-change\/#Whats_Next\" >What's Next<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/what-causes-your-point-of-impact-to-change\/#A_little_bit_about_Bobby_Hart\" >A little bit about Bobby Hart<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div><h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Causes_Your_Point_of_Impact_To_Change\"><\/span>What Causes Your Point of Impact To Change<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><p style=\"text-align: justify\">What Causes Your <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/my-point-of-impact-story\/\">Point of Impact<\/a> To Change On a recent visit to see our good friend <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/tag\/bobby-hart\/\">Bobby Hart<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hartcustomrifles.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hart Custom Rifles<\/a> we got talking about why customers sometime experience Point of Impact (POI) changes from one outing to the next.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify\">&#8220;Sighted my gun in last weekend and went to shoot it again today and I noticed that my point of impact changed.\u00a0 How can that be?&#8221;<\/p><h2 style=\"text-align: justify\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Atmospheric_Changes_Affect_POI_Point_of_Impact\"><\/span>Atmospheric Changes Affect POI Point of Impact<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><p style=\"text-align: justify\">Simply put, your bullet doesn\u2019t travel as well through denser\/thicker air and can affect your POI. A bullet will slow down faster in dense, thick air than it will in less-dense, thinner air. How does this affect my POI you ask? A slower bullet will take longer to reach a target \u2014 and therefore be susceptible to being moved off of its original path by gravity and wind.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify\">The air\u2019s pressure will change based on certain weather patterns and does make a difference in your POI if there has been a big change in weather.<\/p><p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qrJuy5ASQYI?si=JOPysOZWqWRB_AO5\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify\">In this video, Bobby &#038; Jon discuss some of the causes of POI shift.<\/p><h2 style=\"text-align: justify\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Blaming_the_Scope_for_Point_of_Impact_Change\"><\/span>Blaming the Scope for Point of Impact Change<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><p style=\"text-align: justify\">Most of the time, if our POI changes, we immediately think it\u2019s the <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"scope\" href=\"https:\/\/tractoptics.com\/riflescopes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"189\">scope<\/a>.\u00a0 The scope is mechanical so it is logical to think someone in manufacturing had a bad day. However, in our experience, it\u2019s not the scope. To be completely transparent, every person who has sent their scope back to us because it wouldn\u2019t hold zero or would not track properly, has been shown (without a shadow of a doubt) that the <a title=\"Finding the Perfect 6.5 Creedmoor Rifle Scope\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.tractoptics.com\/finding-the-perfect-6-5-creedmoor-rifle-scope\/\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"443\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">scope performed perfectly<\/a>.<\/p><h2 style=\"text-align: justify\">Between The Barreled Action &#038; the Stock<\/h2><p style=\"text-align: justify\">According to Bobby \u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s between the barreled action and the stock that\u2019s the problem.\u201d\u00a0For instance, if you have a factory stock, they are typically 3 points of bedding where the stock makes contact with the barrel:<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify\">1) Contact at the rear screw<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify\">2) Contact at the front screw<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify\">3) And the little pressure points up near the top the stock to keep the barreled action centered to the barrel channel<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify\">If you have any contact point where the barrel is touching the stock, as soon as the barrel gets hot, it\u2019s going to put pressure on it and cause POI change\u2026Or as Bobby calls it, \u201cwalk up the target\u201d<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify\">This can affect the barrel harmonics as well. As the bullet travels down the barrel, it vibrates. As the barrel vibrates, if it makes contact with the stock this can cause a change in POI.<\/p><figure style=\"width: 1142px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 516px;height: 300px\" title=\"Point of Impact To Change\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.tractoptics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Free_Floating_Barrel.png\" alt=\"Point of Impact To Change\" width=\"1142\" height=\"664\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Point of Impact To Change<\/figcaption><\/figure><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><strong>A gun vibrates 58-68,000 PSI and when bedded properly will come back like a tuning fork to a natural given harmonic<\/strong><\/p><h2 style=\"text-align: justify\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_the_Rifle_is_Rested_When_Shooting_Could_Be_the_Problem\"><\/span>How the Rifle is Rested When Shooting Could Be the Problem<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><p style=\"text-align: justify\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/videosview\/toric-2-5-15x44-sfp-turret-reset-to-zero\/\">rifle<\/a> should never be rested on a hard surface. When using any type of rest the <a title=\"Rifle Marksmanship Supported Shooting Positions\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.tractoptics.com\/riflemarksmanship-supported-shooting-positions\/\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"1723\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">position of the rifle<\/a> must be the same for consistency. \u00a0If you place the forearm of the rifle differently on your rest from shot to shot or between sessions this can also change the POI.<\/p><figure id=\"attachment_6681\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6681\" style=\"width: 761px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tractoptics.com\/riflescopes\/toric-34mm-elr-rifle-scopes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-6681\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.tractoptics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/TRACT-ELR_970x250.jpg\" alt=\"What causes point of impact shift\" width=\"761\" height=\"196\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/08\/TRACT-ELR_970x250.jpg 970w, https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/08\/TRACT-ELR_970x250-300x77.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/08\/TRACT-ELR_970x250-768x198.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/08\/TRACT-ELR_970x250-600x155.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/08\/TRACT-ELR_970x250-150x39.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 761px) 100vw, 761px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-6681\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">What causes <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/tag\/point-of-impact-shift\/\">point of impact shift<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><h2 style=\"text-align: justify\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Cold_Bore_and_Clean_Bore\"><\/span>Cold Bore and Clean Bore<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><p style=\"text-align: justify\">Many <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/5-reasons-why-you-missed-the-shot\/\">rifles<\/a> may print a different POI on the first shot from a cold bore, and then settle in with subsequent shots. This is something you should experiment with. A clean bore may also have a completely different POI impact as there may be some residual oil or solvent left in the barrel. One school of thought is that a \u201cfouled\u201d barrel provides better accuracy and a more consistent POI.<\/p><h2 style=\"text-align: justify\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Try_a_Log_Book\"><\/span>Try a Log Book<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><p style=\"text-align: justify\">Many experienced <a title=\"Shooting a 22LR Rifle in a Whole New Way\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.tractoptics.com\/shooting-22lr-rifle-in-a-whole-new-way\/\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"538\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">shoots<\/a> and snipers use a log book to track their POI in various conditions. This is a great way to track and verify the changes and results of any of your POI changes and can help solve the mystery of POI changes you may experience.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: center\"><a style=\"text-align: center;text-decoration: none\" href=\"https:\/\/www.trustpilot.com\/review\/tractoptics.com?utm_medium=Trustbox&#038;utm_source=EmailNewsletter3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/emailsignature.trustpilot.com\/newsletter\/en-US\/3\/5fc7afaa58a6e200016f0dfc\/520\/170\/light@2x.png?stars=5,4,3,2,1&#038;fontSize=default\" alt=\"\" width=\"520\" height=\"170\" border=\"0\" title=\"\"><\/a><\/p><h2 style=\"text-align: justify\">What&#8217;s Next<\/h2><p style=\"text-align: justify\">Bobby believes that a custom rifle is not for everyone, that why he offers an &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tractoptics.com\/blog\/improving-accuracy-of-a-factory-gun\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Accuracy Package<\/a>&#8221; for your factory gun to help improve consistency at the range and in the field. See the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tractoptics.com\/blog\/improving-accuracy-of-a-factory-gun\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Improving Accuracy of a Factory Gun<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tractoptics.com\/blog\/improving-accuracy-of-a-factory-gun\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Blog<\/a> for all the details.<\/p><h2 style=\"text-align: justify\">A little bit about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hartcustomrifles.com\/about-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bobby Hart<\/a><\/h2><p style=\"text-align: justify\">He was born in to a family tradition of custom gun builders and gunsmiths. He now has taken over the lead role from his father, Wally Hart, at Robert W. Hart and Son Inc. as a 4th generation custom rifle builder. Located in Nescopeck, Pennsylvania, this small, family run business is known world-wide to the <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"hunting\" href=\"https:\/\/tractoptics.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"305\">hunting<\/a>, shooting, military and law enforcement industries. Some of Bob\u2019s credits include:<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify\">5 Time Jr. Bench Rest Champion<br \/>1986 300YD Heavy Varmint Champ<br \/>2000 1000YD World Open Championship Light Gun<br \/>2001 IBS 1000YD International Championships High Score<br \/>A member of the Varmint Hunters 1500 Yard Club<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What Causes Your Point of Impact To Change | TRACT design and engineer performance-grade optics without the added retail costs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12189,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2257,1,2274],"tags":[2330,2331,2332,2333,2334,2335,2336,2337,2338,2339,2340,2343,3351],"class_list":["post-727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to-fix-adjust","category-uncategorized","category-video","tag-adjusting-a-rifle-scope","tag-adjusting-a-rifle-scope-left-or-right","tag-adjusting-a-scope","tag-adjusting-a-scope-on-a-rifle","tag-adjusting-rifle-scope","tag-adjusting-rifle-scope-turrets","tag-adjusting-scope-on-rifle","tag-adjusting-scope-to-point-of-impact","tag-adjusting-scope-turrets","tag-adjusting-scope-windage","tag-adjusting-turrets-on-a-scope","tag-aftermarket-scope-turrets","tag-wistia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=727"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/727\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12190,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/727\/revisions\/12190"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}