i believe the trans rifle being found is a red herring.
coordinated op
old guy distracts police.
rifle found with convenient messages?
too convenient
30-06 shot is easy from this range
scope setup was amateurish
red herring while real shooter gets away clean
where rifle?
bullets don't rise out of the muzzle
a high powered bullet at 50 yards will usually hit high in a rifle zeroed at 100 yards.
to someone not understanding ballistics, the bullet can be interpreted to rise. in reality, bullets begin to drop immediately out of the barrel
gravity works every time it's tried.