A while back I was a student in one of Pat Rogers’ EAG Tactical classes. I’ve known Pat for years, I’m a repeat student, and I recommend him without reservation. We were getting our rifles zeroed at 50 yards and I wasn’t able to get a group smaller than 8 inches. After some gentle encouragement from Pat, as only Pat can deliver, he handed me a different rifle – Robar’s new PolymAR-15. My group instantly shrunk to less than 2 inches. I had automatically concluded that it was my shooting and not the firearm, the shooter is the cause 99% of the time. It turns out that the other rifle’s barrel was shot out – the lands and grooves had been worn.

What’s the moral of the story? If you have a gun that you think has a problem (shooting low left, malfunctioning, whatever), have someone else who is a good shooter shoot it without telling them what the issue is.  If they experience the exact same problem then the likelihood that it’s the gun is a bit higher. If they don’t have the same problem you did, then it’s probably you.

If it is the gun, then either contact the manufacturer or take it to a reputable gun smith.