since day one my scope has looked like it wasnt installed with the crosshairs level. its got a light clockwise twist to it, just enough to bother me while looking through it. im thinking of loosening off the rings a little and twisting it straight. from what ive read when i tighten the rings ive gotta do them in a cross cross pattern. i dont plan on loosening them off too much, just enough where i can use a little effort and twist the scope. that being said, what are the chances ill loose my currently set zero?
need to twist my scope
- Thread starter uchi
- Start date
as soon as you touch those screws itll be off. anyhow to set it level, get your gun clamped level somehow. it needs to be rigidly clamped. then either put your level 25 yards out or hang a plum line. line your cross hairs up with the level or plum line. ##### cross pattern and blue locktite on the screws is also a great idea
ultimate_monkey
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- victoria BC
just a thought
MOST people think the x-hairs look off vertical, it comes from your head tilting and the way the eye picks up the light and transfer it to you brain, if you had some one compitant instaill the scope chances are the its correct
the scope X hairs couls be set to the bore, not your eye
a simple way to check, draw a viritical line, on a 24x24 peice of cardboard, set it up as you target (the line HAS to be virtical) aim at the bottome of the line and make a shot, diel up 3 MOA (12 clicks) keeping the point of aim the same (bottom of the line) make another short, dial up 3moa again and shoot repeat etc.. if your x-hairs are tilted to one side as you dial up the shots will move to that side... if they track up the line then your scopes fine...
granted this only works if your a decent shot, if they vary from left to right of the line your fine its probably your shooting, if they all fall to one side and turther away with each shot then your scopes out..
i sure hope i made sense, the fever has made me sweat out the smart.. so i probably dont, if all else fails let me know and i will make a video of how to level your scope with the proper tools
MOST people think the x-hairs look off vertical, it comes from your head tilting and the way the eye picks up the light and transfer it to you brain, if you had some one compitant instaill the scope chances are the its correct
the scope X hairs couls be set to the bore, not your eye
a simple way to check, draw a viritical line, on a 24x24 peice of cardboard, set it up as you target (the line HAS to be virtical) aim at the bottome of the line and make a shot, diel up 3 MOA (12 clicks) keeping the point of aim the same (bottom of the line) make another short, dial up 3moa again and shoot repeat etc.. if your x-hairs are tilted to one side as you dial up the shots will move to that side... if they track up the line then your scopes fine...
granted this only works if your a decent shot, if they vary from left to right of the line your fine its probably your shooting, if they all fall to one side and turther away with each shot then your scopes out..
i sure hope i made sense, the fever has made me sweat out the smart.. so i probably dont, if all else fails let me know and i will make a video of how to level your scope with the proper tools
no the cross hairs are off, the previous owner set it up and didnt dial in the scope either. not even sure he tightened the rings down in the correct sequence. im thinking of turning it and setting my zero again at the range at. it should be close enough to where i can just get to the 50y range and set it up again without much hassle. i can see its off just by looking at the turrets and seeing they arent lining up with the gun and everytime ive shot through it its off center. even used the above posters strategy and layed it on my floor and looked at the horizontal line across the tile on my bathroom wall.
ultimate_monkey
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- victoria BC
ah so it sounds like its off quite a bit! do you have a small torpedo leval? its sort of a ghetto way (compared to proper tools) but thats all you need to level a scope
For most rings, you would tighten them equally, back and forth side to side, to maintain an even gap as you increase tension to the desired level.
I like to hang a weight from a string to use as a verticle aiming point. Set the rifle on something you can hold it steady with, like a cleaning cradle, and try to level the rifle off some reference point like a flat top or bottom.
I like to hang a weight from a string to use as a verticle aiming point. Set the rifle on something you can hold it steady with, like a cleaning cradle, and try to level the rifle off some reference point like a flat top or bottom.
its not off too much but enough that its visible and it annoys me to look through it. realistically im only gonna shoot to 200y with this and once its set up it should be fine, but it annoys me to look through it and makes me feel like the gun is sitting crooked.
torpedo level yes and ive got some larger ones too to use for my horizontal line. i think i may have a vice in my garage i can bring into the house and clamp the gun into and level it unless you guys have an easier way
that works, ill hang a string rather than dealing with using a level across the floor.
no cleaning rig so ill have to make due with what i have. ill find a way to get her flat, thanks for the help guys
As far as I'm concerned, if you are holding the rifle the way you intend to hold it, or shooting from a bipod, or resting it on a rest and you set the scope up so that it is verticle with the plumb line, what's the difference if its miniscule off some "truer level" you take off the flats of the rifle, yet never truly hold it that way? Way more important that its level to you, that way up is straight up from how you use it.
well the best way to level the gun will to pull the scope right off, put the torpedo across the scope base and securely clamp the gun level side to side and front to back. Then set your longer level at some distance as long as its far away to be seen clearly through the scope (too close will be blurry) then drop the scope on and tighten it up. Make sure that the level you put out there is elevated pretty close to the same height as your scope. Like within a foot for every 50 feet or so, square it up to your gun too.
ultimate_monkey
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- victoria BC
im assuming you dont have a bipod??
ok so heres the break down..
bring your vice inside, or the gun out to it
get some kinda rubber mat or cloth etc to put between vice and gun to avoide damage
take your scope off by removing the upper 1/2 of the rings.
shoulde the rifle, with the scope still resting in the rings and decide where the eye releif needs to be (best done from what ever position you will be shooting most) with a pencil make a tiny mark on the scope relitive to the rings
with the gun in the vice, place the torpedo level across one set of rings left to rigght, twist the gun in the nessisary direction to make it read leval once leval tightin the vice down (no need to crush the rifle, just firm so it doesnt move around)
place the scope back into the rings and place the upper 1/2 of the rings on and start to thread the screws in, just enought the scope doesnt fly around but can still be moved,
(A)place the torpedo leval on the virtical adjust ment turret, twist the scope as nessisary to make that read level once thats done tighten down the rings , in a ##### cross pattern
or
(B) directly infront of the rifle (if you hgave the distance) hang a plumb bob, then twist the scope so the elivation lines are paralell to the plum bob line.. and tighten rings
hope this makes sense once again, sorry my smarts have leaked out today
*edit - this is a "ghetto" way of doing it, i would not sugest this method to be used for true presission at long range, any manufactuin defects in the rings or scope turret can and will make the centerlines untrue (tho be it a tiny amount) but for the type of shooting you seem to be doing at this point, this will be more then adiquit
ok so heres the break down..
bring your vice inside, or the gun out to it
get some kinda rubber mat or cloth etc to put between vice and gun to avoide damage
take your scope off by removing the upper 1/2 of the rings.
shoulde the rifle, with the scope still resting in the rings and decide where the eye releif needs to be (best done from what ever position you will be shooting most) with a pencil make a tiny mark on the scope relitive to the rings
with the gun in the vice, place the torpedo level across one set of rings left to rigght, twist the gun in the nessisary direction to make it read leval once leval tightin the vice down (no need to crush the rifle, just firm so it doesnt move around)
place the scope back into the rings and place the upper 1/2 of the rings on and start to thread the screws in, just enought the scope doesnt fly around but can still be moved,
(A)place the torpedo leval on the virtical adjust ment turret, twist the scope as nessisary to make that read level once thats done tighten down the rings , in a ##### cross pattern
or
(B) directly infront of the rifle (if you hgave the distance) hang a plumb bob, then twist the scope so the elivation lines are paralell to the plum bob line.. and tighten rings
hope this makes sense once again, sorry my smarts have leaked out today
*edit - this is a "ghetto" way of doing it, i would not sugest this method to be used for true presission at long range, any manufactuin defects in the rings or scope turret can and will make the centerlines untrue (tho be it a tiny amount) but for the type of shooting you seem to be doing at this point, this will be more then adiquit
I agree with grizzlypegs statement to a degree, but you should learn to hold the gun straight up. a canted gun will have the bore off to the side from the verticle axis of the scope. That means the bullet must travel horizontally from the bore to meet the bulls eye. The center of your group will then drift as range increases from your zeroed in range. While the drift is miniscule it is there.
excellent thanks for the write up. the gun is infact equipped with a bi pod but i like the way youre suggestion to set it up. i think i may play with it a little tonight. like mentioned i wont be shooting past 200 at the range im shooting at as theyre limited to 200. so it doesnt need to be 100% but i just want it to look level
thanks again for the input guys, much appreciated
thanks again for the input guys, much appreciated
ultimate_monkey
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- victoria BC
excellent thanks for the write up. the gun is infact equipped with a bi pod but i like the way youre suggestion to set it up. i think i may play with it a little tonight. like mentioned i wont be shooting past 200 at the range im shooting at as theyre limited to 200. so it doesnt need to be 100% but i just want it to look level
thanks again for the input guys, much appreciated
if you do have the bipod you can skip the vice,,
prop the back of the rifle up on somthing close to the same high at you bipod, pop can (full works better) etcand get it as close to level muzzle to action as possible. then place the leval on the rings, add sheets of paper under the bipod leg as required to level the rings out, just have to be very carful not to move the rifle once every thing is set
paper shims, you know sometimes its jsut so simple youd never think of doing it. lol. thanks for that.
oh while my mind is still working, if i raise the leg on one of the bi pods enough to make the scope level, does the gun still shoot true? realistically it shouldnt matter how the gun is held the bullet should fly straight and have the same drop etc right?
ultimate_monkey
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- victoria BC
basically put..
when shooting you want the centerline of the bore and the centerline of the scope to be perfectly true with each other and virtical, and to make aiming easier the X hairs would be true to those center lines as well..
whats your talking about is called "canting the rifle? this is when the 2 center lines are sloped one way or another " / " or " \ " (imagine those lines would be the true center line of your bore and scope" and this weill effect accuracy at longer ranges
with out trying to get TOO complicated it basically goes like this.. when you shoot the barrel occilates, when useing the same bullet weight / powder load the way to barrel occilates is different, then when u use a different weght / powder load, when the bullet exits the barrel it , depending on where the ocilation is in its cycle the bullet goes slightly up, down, left or right...
lets say your rifle , with your ammo has the bullet exit and move to the right (this is why we have to sight scopes in) no if your rifle is canted to the left what was one "right" is now up and right, as the barrel hasnt changes its occilation just how its relitive to the real world... so your point of impact has now change.. "rule of thum" is for about ever single degree of cant, your point of impact will move 5" at 1000 yards..
wow this is more drawn out then i thought it would be.. so i guess what im getting at is.. that the scope being leval is all about being able to dial for distance and wind changes and remain accurate on the oposite axis... as in if you change the x axis the y should stay the same, and vice versa.. if your scopes crooked when u dial up you move left or right as well..
scope over bore centerline is what dictates the direction the bullet travels
when shooting you want the centerline of the bore and the centerline of the scope to be perfectly true with each other and virtical, and to make aiming easier the X hairs would be true to those center lines as well..
whats your talking about is called "canting the rifle? this is when the 2 center lines are sloped one way or another " / " or " \ " (imagine those lines would be the true center line of your bore and scope" and this weill effect accuracy at longer ranges
with out trying to get TOO complicated it basically goes like this.. when you shoot the barrel occilates, when useing the same bullet weight / powder load the way to barrel occilates is different, then when u use a different weght / powder load, when the bullet exits the barrel it , depending on where the ocilation is in its cycle the bullet goes slightly up, down, left or right...
lets say your rifle , with your ammo has the bullet exit and move to the right (this is why we have to sight scopes in) no if your rifle is canted to the left what was one "right" is now up and right, as the barrel hasnt changes its occilation just how its relitive to the real world... so your point of impact has now change.. "rule of thum" is for about ever single degree of cant, your point of impact will move 5" at 1000 yards..
wow this is more drawn out then i thought it would be.. so i guess what im getting at is.. that the scope being leval is all about being able to dial for distance and wind changes and remain accurate on the oposite axis... as in if you change the x axis the y should stay the same, and vice versa.. if your scopes crooked when u dial up you move left or right as well..
scope over bore centerline is what dictates the direction the bullet travels
