Zeroing 22lr, and running out of elevation. 30 MOA rail?

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Zeroing 22lr, and running out of elevation. 30 MOA rail?

Post by Ardeer » 17 Dec 2023, 12:16 pm

Hi, I have just got a new gun, a ruger precision 22LR. When Iv gone to zero a scope on it at 50m, it is shooting very high and the scope has run out of elevation to get it up to where the impact point is. I then noticed that the picatinny rail on the rifle has 30 moa printed on it. Is this my issue?, a quick google I see you can get 0 moa rails for it, will this raise my scopes angle and bring it closer to the point of impact so I then have enough elevation on the scope to get the reticle the rest of the way? I’ll be ringing the gun shop I bought the gun from but it’s not open for few days. Thanks
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Re: Zeroing 22lr, and running out of elevation. 30 MOA rail?

Post by No1Mk3 » 21 Dec 2023, 4:40 pm

Why did you buy the rifle? If it is for plinking or rabbiting get rid of the 30 moa rail and get a flat (zero moa) rail but if you intend to shoot PRC, you will need the elevation of the current rail for 400m targets.
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Re: Zeroing 22lr, and running out of elevation. 30 MOA rail?

Post by bladeracer » 22 Dec 2023, 12:36 pm

Ardeer wrote:Hi, I have just got a new gun, a ruger precision 22LR. When Iv gone to zero a scope on it at 50m, it is shooting very high and the scope has run out of elevation to get it up to where the impact point is. I then noticed that the picatinny rail on the rifle has 30 moa printed on it. Is this my issue?, a quick google I see you can get 0 moa rails for it, will this raise my scopes angle and bring it closer to the point of impact so I then have enough elevation on the scope to get the reticle the rest of the way? I’ll be ringing the gun shop I bought the gun from but it’s not open for few days. Thanks


You need a scope that has more than 60-minutes of elevation adjustment in it to be able to zero at 50m on a 30-minute rail.
A zero rail will allow you to zero at 50m but if you bought the rifle for long-range shooting you'd do better to keep the 30-minute rail and get a scope with more travel. Or you can get an adjustable mount and use that to zero the scope.

You can also use a small strip cut from a Coke can to shim the scope up in the front ring up enough to allow you to zero at 50m, I have to do this when I use a 10-40x scope as it doesn't have enough travel to zero on the 30-minute rail.
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Re: Zeroing 22lr, and running out of elevation. 30 MOA rail?

Post by Blr243 » 22 Dec 2023, 1:31 pm

30 lashes for whoever gave u that rail
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Re: Zeroing 22lr, and running out of elevation. 30 MOA rail?

Post by Marlin44 » 23 Dec 2023, 9:50 am

Blr243 wrote:30 lashes for whoever gave u that rail

Factory fitted

As mentioned, Ruger do offer a 0 moa rail for your application.
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Re: Zeroing 22lr, and running out of elevation. 30 MOA rail?

Post by bladeracer » 23 Dec 2023, 11:15 am

Blr243 wrote:30 lashes for whoever gave u that rail


The trajectory of .22LR is such that you need a lot of elevation adjustment to dial even moderate ranges. If he doesn't have enough adjustment to zero at 50m on a 30-minute rail, with a flat rail he won't be able to dial out much further than 150m with the same scope. You don't have to dial the turret to shoot longer ranges but it does help. If he swaps in a zero rail, even a scope with more than 100-minutes of adjustment won't let him dial much further than 250m, though I don't think most PRS competitions shoot much further than 300yd. The RPR is a perfectly good 50m rabbit/fox rifle, but long range shooting is bloody good fun with the .22LR. I have iron sights on mine as well which puts the scope about 85mm above bore axis, which gives a significant offset for close-range shots on rabbits, it hits about 50mm low at 10m when zeroed at 50m.
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Re: Zeroing 22lr, and running out of elevation. 30 MOA rail?

Post by Blr243 » 23 Dec 2023, 12:18 pm

It’s Xmas time. And I’m feeling lazy. And hazy. And I’m just goin to accept that I was wrong. I thought zero was for close / medium and twenty was for further out. And 30 was for stuff way over yonder.
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Re: Zeroing 22lr, and running out of elevation. 30 MOA rail?

Post by Blr243 » 23 Dec 2023, 12:22 pm

I saw something the other day about bullets leaving vapour trails in certain conditions. So I YouTubed it. And there was vapour trails arcing very high awsy from line of sight. Then I realised they were shooting 1000 metres. I never shot beyond 300. I never realised how high a bullet has to go when shooting at 1 kilometre. I just never gave it any thought. It’s something like 3 metres high at 600 metres. On the way to a 1000 m target
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Re: Zeroing 22lr, and running out of elevation. 30 MOA rail?

Post by bladeracer » 23 Dec 2023, 3:57 pm

Blr243 wrote:It’s Xmas time. And I’m feeling lazy. And hazy. And I’m just going to accept that I was wrong. I thought zero was for close / medium and twenty was for further out. And 30 was for stuff way over yonder.


On a high-velocity centrefire you'd be right, a 30-minute rail would be for very, very long ranges. Subsonic cast bullets have such a high trajectory that you need a lot of adjustment at even moderate ranges, well outside realistic hunting distances though.
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Re: Zeroing 22lr, and running out of elevation. 30 MOA rail?

Post by bladeracer » 23 Dec 2023, 4:01 pm

Blr243 wrote:I saw something the other day about bullets leaving vapour trails in certain conditions. So I YouTubed it. And there was vapour trails arcing very high away from line of sight. Then I realised they were shooting 1000 metres. I never shot beyond 300. I never realised how high a bullet has to go when shooting at 1 kilometre. I just never gave it any thought. It’s something like 3 metres high at 600 metres. On the way to a 1000 m target


.22LR zeroed at 300m will rise about 1.6m en-route, the muzzle is pointed about 3.5m above the target. At 500m it rises about six metres above line of sight.
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Re: Zeroing 22lr, and running out of elevation. 30 MOA rail?

Post by Blr243 » 23 Dec 2023, 4:35 pm

Wow. That’s old archery type curves
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Re: Zeroing 22lr, and running out of elevation. 30 MOA rail?

Post by No1_49er » 23 Dec 2023, 9:33 pm

Blr243 wrote:Wow. That’s old archery type curves

If you think that's impressive, you should have a look at the trajectory of a 400+ grain bullet reaching out to 1,200 yards from a 45/70.
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Re: Zeroing 22lr, and running out of elevation. 30 MOA rail?

Post by Larry » 24 Dec 2023, 7:09 am

What I always find amusing is the trajectory of the 50 bmg everyone considers it to be this amazing long range cartridge the truth is yes it will go a long way however it has the arc of a brick. or at least very similar to the of the 308 out to 1000 yrds then the 308 runs out of legs pretty quick.
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Re: Zeroing 22lr, and running out of elevation. 30 MOA rail?

Post by Blr243 » 24 Dec 2023, 7:10 am

I just did , 11 m rise. Does anyone know when bottleneck cases were invented/ designed ?
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Re: Zeroing 22lr, and running out of elevation. 30 MOA rail?

Post by Jorlcrin » 24 Dec 2023, 8:44 am

About 2 years back, I bought a Ruger 10/22 with an 18" barrel.
Fitted a little Nikko Stirling 'MountMaster' 4x32 scope on it, on top of a (Nightforce)Zero degree rail.

Bought it to replace an elderly Stirling semi-auto, which had started choosing when it might like to fire, rather than the shooter...

I didnt expect too much from the 10/22, but I know they were much coveted when I was a young lad, as a fantastic .22lr.

I've never expected much from a .22LR semi, as the cartridge is small even for a bolt gun.

Well, the 10/22 pretty much renewed my respect for the .22LR, and has pulled off some fantastic shots.

I sighted it in at 50m, and it was producing tiny groups at 50.
Since then, I've shot 3 rabbits out at 100m with it, by giving about 4 inches holdover.[CCI Velocitors]
First time, I thought it was a simple fluke.
Tried the same trick a few days later, and nailed a second one.
Same trick again about 5 days later, and same result.
[This wasnt from a benchrest; just resting atop a tripod out in the garden]
Couldnt ask for better out of a semi .22lr with a short barrel.

Lost count of the number of rabbits it's nailed, along with quite a few other ferals.
So, I'm thinking a 30 degree rail is overkill for the sort of range I'd usually shoot things with the 10/22.
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Re: Zeroing 22lr, and running out of elevation. 30 MOA rail?

Post by Faedy » 24 Dec 2023, 12:58 pm

What scope you running?
Mine is fine with 30moa poc rail.
Im running a Nighforce scope

Ardeer wrote:Hi, I have just got a new gun, a ruger precision 22LR. When Iv gone to zero a scope on it at 50m, it is shooting very high and the scope has run out of elevation to get it up to where the impact point is. I then noticed that the picatinny rail on the rifle has 30 moa printed on it. Is this my issue?, a quick google I see you can get 0 moa rails for it, will this raise my scopes angle and bring it closer to the point of impact so I then have enough elevation on the scope to get the reticle the rest of the way? I’ll be ringing the gun shop I bought the gun from but it’s not open for few days. Thanks
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Re: Zeroing 22lr, and running out of elevation. 30 MOA rail?

Post by daza » 24 Dec 2023, 5:14 pm

Blr243 wrote:Wow. That’s old archery type curves



Turn OFF your sound, and jump ahead to 17:30, the slowmo is good enough to see the whole trajectory!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beCQGlmGpiA

But that accent, and his clinical inability to stop talking...
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Re: Zeroing 22lr, and running out of elevation. 30 MOA rail?

Post by Blr243 » 24 Dec 2023, 5:21 pm

Cool daza
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