How to mount scope so reticles are level with action

[ployer]

Hi guys,

After some advice on your scope mounting techniques to get the reticle lined up straight.

I re-mounted mine last night. Took me forever to get the reticle right.

Put it on and it was a fraction rotated to the left. Turned right a bit to much. left, right, left right..... Aaaages!

Am I being too fussy? Do you guys bother to get your reticle perfectly straight?

Or what's the trick I'm missing to do it quickly?

[Baldrick314]

I bought a set of levels made by wheeler. Cost around $20 if i remember correctly. One goes in your action and the other sits on top of your scope. When both are level so is your reticle

[Chronos]

Having a gun vice or stable rest along with a spirit level is the easiest way

I use an MTM one but there are many different ones and they make cleaning easy too.

Stanley make a small magnetic level that's around 3" long and I sit this on a piece if flat steel and slide it between the scope and the action and level the action in the vice. Then I sit the leven on the elevation turret and rotate the scope till its level, I always recheck the action and the scope.

Then I nip up the rings and shoulder the rifle to check eye relief. It it's a target gun likely to be shot off a bipod or rest I usually test it to see if its correct on the bipod.

For a gun I shoot standing or sitting I often adjust the scope so that the reticle is level in a comfortable position, my centerfire metallic silhouette gun was always set up with a little cant as it looked level in my normal standing position.


Chronos

[Blackened]

Having a gun vice or stable rest along with a spirit level is the easiest way

I do mine with a spirit level also.

Put your rifle in a rest and get it straight with the level. Gently lower the scope on and do the same.

Just needs a bit of a soft touch, no real 'trick' to it.

[ployer]

Spirit level eh.

Hadn't thought of that. I have one I think will be small enough. It's 20cm or something...

Will try it out next time around.

Cheers.

[Stevo]

Here's my pic of how I did my T3 and some others before, simple, quick and works easy as long as the action is flat on top or you have a rail to work off.

Steve-Level-Scope-web.jpg (298.04 KiB) Viewed 9364 times

[disko]

Pro photo examples there Stevo

[ployer]

Yeah, cheers mate.

[sha]

Arrows for dummies

[Warrigul]

There is an old CZ452 kicking around the family that everyone uses on and off, every time I have a go with it I think "I must get that scope level one day" it has only been 11 years so far.........................................

[Kipper]

Am I being too fussy? Do you guys bother to get your reticle perfectly straight?

Yes and no. Depends on the shooting to be done.

If it's for a casual hunting rifle, short-med range, all you really need is the crosshair.

If you're using any holdover marks like mil-dot etc. to just distance, windage adjustment etc. it will effect the outcome.

Stick to windage for a second, with the reticle rotated slightly the space from your left to right is less than if it was flat. Might only be a few percent but over distance it will add up.

Depeneds what you're doing and how demanding of accuracy you are being.

Might as well get it right though

[Walt68]

Buy a scope leveling tool for $30' most gun shops have them.

[Herdsman]

Sort of related... You can buy clamp on tube spirit levels. Good if you have to take the scope off for reseating and for getting flat when shooting.

[Die Judicii]

Hi guys,

After some advice on your scope mounting techniques to get the reticle lined up straight.

I re-mounted mine last night. Took me forever to get the reticle right.

Put it on and it was a fraction rotated to the left. Turned right a bit to much. left, right, left right..... Aaaages!

Am I being too fussy? Do you guys bother to get your reticle perfectly straight?

Or what's the trick I'm missing to do it quickly?

Hi, By your very descriptive saga, I'd venture to say the answer is simple, "Get someone to do it for you while you watch and learn"

[Lorgar]

Put it on and it was a fraction rotated to the left. Turned right a bit to much. left, right, left right..... Aaaages!

Am I being too fussy? Do you guys bother to get your reticle perfectly straight?

Or what's the trick I'm missing to do it quickly?

I've done the same. OCD

A spirit level really speeds up the process, that's how I did mine last time (doing it that way for the first time) and it took 1/10th of the time to get it perfect.

[Mark TAC]

Yes to much of the above. I use a small bubble level on a flat bar, placed across top of action (a flat part obviously!!!) and then on turret caps.

But after you do all that, then go and check the level of your rifle when shooting. It won't be!!! I think it is over-rated as a visibly rotated scope will maybe result in a couple of inches of windage induced with elevation changes at a few hundred metres. A cow farting will do that.

[Tiiger]

I use a small bubble level on a flat bar, placed across top of action (a flat part obviously!!!)

Oh the flat part! That's what I was doing wrong.

[MrClark]

Ive gotta straighten up the scope on one rifle, would you bother about re-zeroing straight away or whenever you can? its only out by a few degrees, and surely rotationg the scope wont shift the zero

[Bennybigbores]

If you have an iPhone, done, use level on it, clamp rifle in vise find point to level off, I often use bottom side of rings If suits or pic. Rail take note of angle and simply match that angle off level point on scope, generally scope/turret cap sufficient, and if you are replacing an already sighted in scope have a look at my (handy tip) post before you remove old one could save some time and money

[brett1868]

The technique I use involves 2 sets of feeler gauges and a machinist's set of steel parallel plates. I mount the rings, scope and caps just firm enough to hold but loose enough so I can still rotate the scope. I place the parallel under the centre of the scope on the rail then using the feeler gauges I set the gap each side to be equal and gradually torque the caps down. I use thinner and thinner feelers till I get the correct torque of 18in lbs per bolt. I find this works extremely well with the Barrett Zero-Gap rings I use and is almost mandatory for ranges in excess of 1000m. A slight cant of the reticule is neither here nor there for general shooting but when winding up the elevation by 100+ clicks it can make a massive difference to windage.

[Gregg]

If you have an iPhone, done, use level on it

You reckon those level apps are that accurate?

Not having, never used one, just seemed like a gimmick compared to a trusty old spirit level for a few $?

[raptor_256]

step 1 : mount rifle in a stable and secure position
step 2 : use bubble level to ensure rifle action is level
Step 3 : shine torch through objective lens of scope (the front one). projecting crosshairs onto a wall
step 4 : using a plumb line ( tied off string with weight on the bottom) or something you know to be square, eg door frame, line up crosshairs.
step 5 : tighten down scope and re check.

this is one of my favourite methods as you only need a torch, a small bubble level and something to hold the rifle securely

[Homer]

G'Day Fella's,

FYI, I use the Horizontal Brick Course joints on a neighbors house, as an indicator of whats Horizontal!
I get the rifle in the appropriate/square position, then sight thru the scope onto the brick work.

Hope that helps

Doh!
Homer

[p3seven]

If you are in the country. Tighten screws till scope can just be moved by hand. Shoulder or support rifle so it is level. Sight on top wire of a fence and a star picketfor the vertical. Twist scope till crosshair runs along the top wire and check the vertical runs up and down the star picket .Tighten screws.

[Supaduke]

A good reference to use , either on its own or in tandem with your spirit levels is string. Tie a small heavy object like a nut to the end of the string and dangle it like a plumb bob. Guarranteed to be perfectly vertical. Then line up the vertical line in your scope with the string.

[crows2332]

I second the motion on the Wheeler Level Level Level. It worked a treat to ensure the rifle was dead on level (as scope turrets or fastened rails aren't always level).
(firstly making sure the level that sits on the action rails, shows spot on with it's bubble when placed flat on a tested level surface.
(Used a spirit level in a vice with soft jaws, level up the spirit level, then used another spirit level to ensure that was level (overkill), then placed the Wheeler action rail level on the known level spirit level, tested to be spot on).
Then go to work clamping the rifle in whatever vice with the Wheeler action rail level in place. Works a treat. Then go to work aligning the scope reticle, blue tacked a4 paper to the wall, used spirit level to draw straight line in black texta on the paper.
then align vertical reticle with the line, double checked with pre conformed edge of wall that the paper was on.
Hanging the plumb would work perfectly for the aligning the vertical reticle also.
that way you have your action spot on, and then your reticle spot on to the action.

[AusTac]

I've always just nipped up the scope rings, and got a vertical point, door, wall edging fence post etc and gone off that the rifles hardly ever 100 level when being used anyway

[bigfellascott]

I eyeball it.

[brett1868]

Slightly off topic but similar....Shot metallic silhouette pistol (practise) tonight at St Marys and for the 3rd time the friggen scope rail came loose. I've tried both medium and ultra Loctite and torqued the screws as far as I felt it was safe to without stripping the threads. I may need to buy another base as the screw holes in the current ones have become elongated. Was thinking to glue the base to the frame with some 5 min epoxy, I've used epoxy to glue scopes into rings but never a rail to a frame. Anyone glued bases before? anything I should consider and once glued how hard is it to remove?

[Apollo]

Do It the same way as you glue an action into a stock.

Epoxy, two part. JB Weld etc.

To remove, the same way as an action. Heat..!! Like an Iron sitting on it until it softens and you can seperate the parts. Use the screws to locate but I would put release agent on the screws / threads so they are easily removed afterwards if you remove the rail.