10/22 scope is maxed but shooting low - need advice

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lpmartineau

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Hello Everyone,

I picked up a nice custom 10/22 precision rifle and took her to the range today for the first time.

Truly amazing! oh the difference good parts (especially trigger and the action) makes!

My problem though is the scope is as high as it will go yet I am shooting 6 inches low (nice and consistent though!)

This scope has turrets.

Now I should mention I am using Match Ammo that is rated at 1070fps, in a 10/22 semi-auto action, could this be the issue? perhaps its just losing so much power that it drops a lot?

If not, What can I do to raise the scope some? I figured I would ask before trying too much!

Edit: shooting 100 yards

Thanks so much.

Luma
 
I might suggest more details. Scope make/model? Factory action? Aftermarket? What scope base? Etc.

I can think of a ton of things that could cause that, but might not apply to your setup. Example: you installed a 30MOA rail backwards and you scope does not adjust enough to compensate. (Not even sure if this is a possible combo, but it would do it.)
 
Yeah I suppose that would help!

It is a STI Force 10/22 action. The scope is a older Bausch & Lomb 6-24x.

Will upload a pic in a sec as soon as I figure out how.
 
Ammo used today was CCI Pistol Match 22LR.

P1010431.JPG
 
It could be the barrel "sagging". Is the barrel free floated, or supposed to be?

Try switching your rings front to rear.

If all is well, consider Burris Signature Zee rings. You can add/subtract MOA with inserts.
 
I meant I am shooting low and the scope's turret is adjusted to its max (tried both ways just in case). I am pretty new with optics which is why I asked for advice. Thanks

FightingIrish said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you're shooting low, doesn't that mean you need to LOWER your scope, not raise it?
Click to expand...
 
FightingIrish said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you're shooting low, doesn't that mean you need to LOWER your scope, not raise it?
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same thing, first you said you adjusted the scope as HIGH as it would go, and then you asked if there was any way you could make your scope HIGHER. Just make double sure you are adjsuting the scope in the correct direction, you should be bringing the scope reticle DOWN to achieve what you are trying to do. Looking at your photo, which is a beautiful rifle by the way, it looks like your scope is mounted quite high. I would try lower rings as a starting point.
 
ok just to be sure let me ask this. On the turret it says up with an arrow. Do I turn the turn it up to make the bullet go lower, or vice versa? I just want to be sure lol Just to make sure I am not confused.

I thought I tried going all the way up and also all the way down and seeing where it hits but maybe I am wrong.

And Thank you, It shoots very nicely, great action and the trigger is just amazing. As soon as I get this scope figured out it should be some great fun.

MarkJnK said:
I was thinking the same thing, first you said you adjusted the scope as HIGH as it would go, and then you asked if there was any way you could make your scope HIGHER. Just make double sure you are adjsuting the scope in the correct direction, you should be bringing the scope reticle DOWN to achieve what you are trying to do. Looking at your photo, which is a beautiful rifle by the way, it looks like your scope is mounted quite high. I would try lower rings as a starting point.
Click to expand...
 
up on the scope turret means bullet strike will go up.
if you shim up the back of the scope (place layers of aluminium foil or bits of brass or whatever shim-stock you can find) under the scope within the scope ring. you will raise the point of impact. I'd suggest though, that you dial the vertical turret to "mid-range" so that you can have lots of adjustment up and down. Do your initial zeroing at 25 or 50 m and then move out to 100.

THAT'S WHAT I'D DO. you may want other opinions.
 
I put a 6-24 on my Savage 93 and when I originally attempted to sight it in I found I was maxing out the windage. and couldn't get it to zero at 100. Eventually, I accidentally dropped the rifle on the ceramic tiled basement floor (approx 3' drop), landing upside down and directly on the elevation turretf:P:2: . The scope now zeros properly and I have no issues with it not holding zero or adjusting. I wouldn't recommend this technique however, chances of this 'fix' being effective twice are slim to #### all....
 
I would follow AikiNut's advice, and keep Joe's technique as a plan B :p If you find that you have been adjusting it correctly and it still maxxes out, consider trying to bring the scope down a bit with lower rings to get closer to the bore. Or you might need a canted one piece scope rail, or you can shim like Aikinut suggested.

Report back when you have some progress..
 
Those scope lacks adjustements, I sold my 8-32 Elite 4200 for that reason, 26 in. of travel max at 100y, that's only one foot up or down from mid-range. I could reach the bullseye at 50y, but ran off of clicks at 100y.

Burris inserts... or another scope
 
At 100 yards, you shouldn't need to correct much outside of a centered scope. Try spinning the scope back to factory, and as mentioned above, shoot from a shorter distance, say 10 yards, then walk it back to 25, 50, 75, then 100. At 100yds, I'd be really shocked if you needed to come up more than a couple clicks.

Edit: Reading Wcat's post - do the 10/22s really suck that much speed out of a .22LR? My only .22 is bolt action, and it doesn't require a tremendous amount of adjustment to get it on target...
 
Hi Everyone,

Thanks for the advice.

I took the scope off and checked the rings and all that good stuff. I put it back and adjusted for the way I hold the rifle/cheek placement and buttoned it up.

I went to go shoot it but the police force had booked the range! So I have to wait until Sunday.

I will report back on Sunday.

If that does not help I will replace the rings with some lower ones are these do indeed seem quite high.

Thanks again.

Luma
 
Technically speaking, the rings could be a foot above the barrel, or more, as long as the crosshair lines up with the point of impact, and the scope is vertically above the bore, it shouldn't really matter. Makes for a trickier time shooting at distances away from your "zero" distance, but yours doesn't look too high above the bore.

If your Sunday shoot went well then mission accomplished. If you're still shooting low, try shimming the rear end of the scope in the rings. Or, since you were using lower velocity target ammo, you could ALSO try something warmer (faster flight, less bullet drop per unit distance)..The bullet drop is still dependent on gravity once it leaves the barrel, but a faster bullet gets there before it falls as much as a slower bullet.
 
You need to shim the rear end of the mount if you can. A 0.005" shim on the rear mount or ring would drop your point of aim by approximately 18" at 100 yds.
 
At 100yds you are already getting a bullet drop of 6 - 8 inches with SV ammo (and SV is usually the best choice for target shooting at this range.). Also, your scope is mounted quite high over the bore. That is why you have run out of internal adjustments in the scope. (If that's not clear, draw yourself a little diagram and you'll see the problem.)

I would turn the scope adjustments back to about the middle of their range, then remount the scope using Burris Signature Zee low rings. Use the inserts to get the POA and POI roughly in the same place then fine tune with scope turrets.
 
Hi Everyone,

Sorry for the lack of update, On Sunday we received 2 feet of snow! (I wish I was joking!) so I have not had a chance to go try anything out.

I did shoot some hotter rounds last week though and with the scope maxed out those shot pretty much in the middle. I ended up putting medium rings that I had here on there and now I want to go try it out.

As said many times here I will most likely need to shim.

I took the time to take this rifle apart. It was the dirtiest rifle I have ever seen to be honest. I know that 10/22's and 22's in general don't need that much cleaning but wow! took all day to clean it out.

I will report back soon!

Thanks, A great group of folks on this forum!
 
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