Help a newbie set up his scope!

buttman

buttman

Member
Rating - 100%
63   0   0
Location
Vancouver Island, BC
Hey guys,

I have this Savage Mark 2 TR I got from Epps this month and finally got out to the range with it for the first time today. I purchased a second-hand Leupold rifleman 4-12x40 scope for it. The rifle already has bases on it, so I picked up some appropriate rings but they were too short at medium and the objective hit the barrel. So, I swapped them out for some high rings and the fit seems perfect, with a few mms clearance.

So I got out to the range today and boresighted it in at 25 yards and then clicked it out to 50 yards and had it pinned in pretty quickly, but getting it out to 100 yards almost required winding out every bit the scope could go. The scope is supposed to have 50moa range and it shows a numeric indicator of how many times around you have gone and it is bottomed right out pretty much just when I'm trying to get it dialed in at 100 yards.

Is this an issue with having a large rifle scope on a 22 where not so much drop is intended? Is there any way for me to compensate for this short of getting a base that increases the angle? Or am I simply doing something incorrectly with the install and setup? I did just sort of figure it out on my own, but it didn't seem like there was that much to it.

Tips appreciated!

Edit: here's a large, probably useless photo of the mount job.

http://i.imgur.com/0fOFP.jpg
 
You are thinking in the right direction. What you need is a 20MOA base or ,in extreme cases such as yours, a 40MOA base.
There are a few options out there such as Evolution Gun Works and maybe Ken Farrell and are available from site sponsors like Jerry at Mystic Precision. (Banner ad at top right of this page.)
 
Thanks, zimbu. i thought that would solve the problem, but wanted to make sure that I didnt do something wrong to end up with this problem. Am i right in my hunch that this problem makes sense because 22 rounds drop so much more than the rifles the scope is normally designed for?
 
Example: .22lr Federal 510 40gr solid point ammo with G1 Ballistic Coeficient (BC) of .139 and muzzle velocity of 1240FPS.

With a 50yd zero you need to come up 5.4moa in at 100yd, 21MOA at 200yd, and 40MOA at 300yd.

In contrast 40MOA up from 100yd zero will put my .223rem out past 1000yd.


The trajectory is a function of muzzle velocity and how well the bullet maintains that velocity as it travels. A lighter bullet with more drag (lower BC) will have a steeper trajectory than a heavier bullet with a less drag (higher BC.)

Once you sort your scope mount, you will be able to dial up enough to get you out past 300yd, which is great fun with a .22lr.
 
buttman said:
, but getting it out to 100 yards almost required winding out every bit the scope could go. The scope is supposed to have 50moa range and it shows a numeric indicator of how many times around you have gone and it is bottomed right out pretty much just when I'm trying to get it dialed in at 100 yards.
Click to expand...

It sounds like something isn't right, either with the scopes elevation adjustment, or the bases. You should not have to dial in all your elevation to just be "on" at 100 meters.
 
saskgunowner101 said:
It sounds like something isn't right, either with the scopes elevation adjustment, or the bases. You should not have to dial in all your elevation to just be "on" at 100 meters.
Click to expand...

Hi Sask. I'm certainly open to the possibility that I'm the problem but can you give me some ideas on how to eliminate the possibilities? For instance, I am sure that the elevation dial *works* in that I observed the picture moving around expectedly during boresighting. The rifle is brand new with factory bases from Savage, so barring a factory defect (they look normal), I haven't messed with them in any way.

The scope has only about 1/2" of room to move forward or back in the rings. Would moving it more forward or rearward have a measurable impact at all?

Could it be the remington hollow point 22LR rounds I was using are absurdly bad? Tomorrow I'm going out to the range again, this time with CCI Blazers and going to see what more I can figure out with this thing.
 
If it was me, I'd first confirm that the scope has all it's windage and elevation built in. Remove the scope, put it on it's lowest power, and crazy as it sounds, put the scope up against a mirror, and look through it. Wiggle your eye around a little bit, and you will see the actual crosshairs in the middle, and a ghost image of them as well.

Dial the windage and watch the ghost track one way, then do the same in the opposite direction. Center the ghost crosshair on the real one, and do the same for the elevation. This will tell you if you have the full range of windage and elevation. Finish with the ghost overlapping the real crosshair. The only thing this will tell you is that the dials have their full range, and work, and your scope is mechanically centered.

If the windage and elevation have their full range, we can look to something else as causing the problem. I know that ill matched bases can cause extreme elevation problems....maybe someone goofed?
 
Okay, Sask. So I put the scope against the mirror and screwed around and you seem to have figured it out. If I dial elevation all the way down and then all the way up, once I read the "2" marker (0,1,2,3 are levels on the base of the turrets to show how many rotations up you are), there are no more changes to the reticle position. Similarly, windage moves from left to right until the last half turn or so which has no effect on the reticle.

To optically center the scope so that the two reticles are aligned, there's only about 1 full turn, maybe a bit more, for each of elevation and windage to center the scope. So, it seems to me like it's all off zero or something because I'd expect optical center to be about two full turns so you have 50% adjustment in either direction available?
 
I would think that half way should center it. Do the windage and elevation turret dials come off so you can set them at half way? There may be 2 little allen wrench screws to loosen and you can set them at the half way point now that your scope is mechanically centered.
 
saskgunowner101 said:
I would think that half way should center it. Do the windage and elevation turret dials come off so you can set them at half way? There may be 2 little allen wrench screws to loosen and you can set them at the half way point now that your scope is mechanically centered.
Click to expand...

I can adjust the turrets, but remember that the full range of the turrent is like 3 full turns. Regardless of where the numbers are positions on the turrets, internally, the scope is centered with only one full turn. I will reset them to zeros and give it another try tomorrow and see how it goes. If the scope is defective, then hopefully it's a warranty covered type thing I guess.
 
I've heard Leupold has pretty much no questions asked warranty unless you used it for a hammer.:p While you have the scope off, if you're wondering if the bases are causing the elevation problem, switch them around. If the bases are the cause, your rifle will now have the opposite problem....it will shoot way too high.
 
Thanks for the lead on Mystic Precision. Jerry was really quick and clear with communication and got the item shipped out for me the day after I ordered it and it showed up here in a couple days.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom