Sirs Shooting 25-06 dead on @ 100 yds., shot @ 200 yds hit 12" high, shoot again and the second bullet hit right at the first hole. Shooting H&R Handy Rifle, Hornady 117 gr. bullets Please advise to what the problem might be, the scope is a Charles Dailey 3 x 9, using 9 power

You need to check the seals and valves on the pump to make sure that they are all in good shape and that there is no scoring in the cylinder.

One thing about muzzle loaders, you should wipe or clean the bore after each shot. You need to find a method that works for you. I have an old CVA and I have to wipe the bore after each shot to keep it accurate, if shooting for fun I do not. But I would use my rod and with one patch in and out just to keep the fowling down.
Lets think of it this way. Even with the new powers they tend to build up. Now this build up causes each shot to have a different pressure and then each shot will run down the bore different. Hence one shot here another there.
Then there is the primer itself, The 209 primer has a very hot flame and can cause a bit of fouling.
See this link. Primers cause accuracy problems. It may help you understand what is going on. But the easy fix is to learn; wipe the bore after each shot. Use the same method to load powder, press the bullet in the bore, seat the bullet on the powder pellets, fire the gun, wipe the bore, start over doing the same steps, same motion, same pressure each time.

are you trying to shoot farther then the rifle/bullet can shoot to be dead on? 5 in out in 50 yds is a very long way out? could this be down to bullet drift

16 clicks is about 4" at 100 yards not 25. did you try shooting it at 100 yards? remember the scope is mounted at least an inch and probably higher than that above the barrel. at close range you will always hit low with a scope because the bullet has to climb at least an inch or more before it will be right on at 25 yards. if it is dead on at 25 it should hit way high at 100. (or the scope/ mounts are bad).

You sight it in by firing at a target. Place the target at 100 yds distance if that is where you want it set for. Then you use the knobs to adjust the aiming point so the bullets strike where you place the crosshairs. This can involve a lot of shooting, and it is best to use a bench so you don't get confused by inaccurate handheld shots. Once sighted in, there may be other knobs to adjust for different distances or windage. These should be set to a central or neutral position while doing the initial siting, or maybe set to the distance you are siting in. My sights don't have such luxuries, so I am not sure how they work.

It sounds good to me, don't forget, the 25-06 is a flat shooting round, you have your scope pointing up, the bullet crosses the line of sight twice, One at 100 yrds, your zero and the other on it's way down at about 500 yards. You can check the ballistic coefficient of that bullet and see where you need to be zeroing it in at. I would think about 250 yards, will be 1 1/2 low at 100 yards, 3/4 inches low at 200 yards, dead on at 250, then it will start coming down, say 8 inches low at 400 and 18 inches low at 500. Something like that. So your BDC will not be needed till you reach out past 300 yards, which is varmint country stuff. I have my .22 marlin sighted in at 100 yards, and it will put the lights out on anything at that range. You can probably find the charts on line someplace, if you don't have a reloading manual. Check it out.

well at 25ft you will run out of drop, its all down to how high the scope is above the barrel when its fitted to the rifle a 30-06 should be set up over 100 yds and shooting out that far it will be shooting low,,your rifle will shoot right out to 1000yds so you will get about 5ft drop out that far,,,and by the way,,,its very very dangers to discharge your rifle into a sand bag closer that 30 yds,, you may well get hit by a bit of the bullet jacket being striped off the bullet and coming back at you so done do it, right! shoot it over 100yds
however if its still shooting hight at say 50yds the only way to drop the point of aim is pack out the front of the scope mount with a strip of 35mm film slip it under the front ring (not the eye end) and sit the scope on it then do up the screws to nip it up this will lift up the front of the scope and it will shoot lower,,also if you were to put a strip under the eye end it razes the point of aim, i do this often for the members of my club on much biger rifles than 30-06's
and they dont drift or move off aim its a cheap fix, or you need a new mount?

Keep in mind Diane this is for a set distance. if you are taking a shot at a target further than your are set for (ie a target you wont get 3 shots @) remember how the bullet is travelling as it goes down range

one idea would be to set your rifle up down range and zero it in on a target (preferably paper) now adjust 1 MOA (try and have target @ 100 yards and 200 yards)

see how far the bullet moves for each moa adjustment. then check it against the next range.

this should remain constant @ a set number of inches per 100 yards.

so if you zero in @ 100 yards and then move 1 moa any direction and it adjusts (lets say and hope it is 1.047 inches") then you do the same for 200 yards. it should be twice as much movement. ie 2.094"

once you know what 1 moa represents on your scope you can adjust alot more accurately.

REMEBER the total inches of movement / adjustment per MOA is directly related to range (a precise range helps in shooting) so if your squirrel is 150 yards and your first shot is off 9" to adjust you divide 9" by the inches per moa so 1.5 (150 yards /100) X (Inches per 100 yards per moa you measured hopefully 1.047") its 9" divided by 2x1.047 = 9" / 2.094 = 4.29799

this number needs to be rounded to the nearest click on your scope (most are 1/4 MOA scopes and you can tell by looking at how many clicks/lines are inbewteen each large number on your windage and elevation dials

so to turn this into an adjustment we round 4.29799 to 4.25 which is 4.25 MOA or 17 clicks on a 1/4 min scope.

GL and any questions just post and ill help

not please rate this as fixya :)

Note i can provide EXACT information that would allow you to determine range, and windage and elevation adjustments by looking through scope and estimating range
then factoring in weather variables. NOTE you hafta enjoy math or just want to know how to shoot really well. :)

Ja, it's 1/4 M.O.A, so at 25 yards/meter it'll be ca 3 inches. You may have gone in the wrong direction. That is, if it was 3' high, and you went another 3 higher then you'd be at the top of the paper. Probably you've got it figured out by now.

The easiest, fastest, cheapest way to zero is with a rifle rest you can clamp your scope into, or alternatively somehow immobilize your rifle some other way. You take a shot, at 25 yards or so. It makes a hole. You now immobilize the rifle, via your rest or heavy sandbags, with the scope pointing exactly where you aimed before. You now, carefully and without moving the rifle/scope off of the point of aim, dial your reticle to point at the actual bullet hole. Your next shot will be at your point of aim now. So you just put it at the right height above your point of aim at 100 yards now.