Leveling Scope Reticle?

Quote:
I put the barrel on my toe then lift the butt of the gun up until you can see a light circle in the center of the scope. At this point most crosshairs change color, Center the circle then align the vertical crosshair with the center of the bore. Tighten equally side to side. Very fast and accurate.


+1 been doing it for years
 
I tried one thing I used when shooting a bow. I realized that in hunting you don't always get the same type of position and ect in a shot. I took a piece of flat plastic, taped it to my gun stock so when I put my eye in the scope the plastic piece would fit in the corner of my mouth like a kisser button on a bow string. That way my head was usually in the same position when I shot, no matter if standing or laying prone. Seemed to help while hunting.T.20
 
Canting a scope 10 degrees , which would be obvious to a blind man, will only change the windage about .26inches at 100 yard for a rifle sighted 1.5 inches high at a hundred. So if there is five degrees cant that distance is approx .13 inches.Probably won't cause a missed shot.It is unlikely most shooters will not be able to set up vertical within 5 degrees much less ten.Other issues with scope mounting are probably more important, such as ring alignment, lapping , torque , scope quality and integrity.it si good to have it as right as possibly but it does not have the effect one might believe.I have seen guys absolutely obsess over reticle aligntment and take huge amounts of time to mount a scope when its effect is actually quite small.
 
The effect may indeed be quite small at 100 yds, but it becomes exponentially more apparent as distance to target increases.
Those guys who "obsess" over this detail are probably driving top notch sticks with carefully hand rolled ammo and premium optics to maximize accuracy to the potential of their rig at long distances.
 
knock'emdown,
You may be correct sir. The problem as I see it is that if they go to all of that trouble to align the crosshairs perfectly but do not mount a level on the scope, then they are canting the rifle anyways. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
I may be wrong about this, but I think part of learning how to shoot accurately is learning how to mount the rifle without canting? I'm thinking a level on the scope, at least until mounting the rifle without a cant becomes second nature would be a good learning tool. If the reticle was centered and level and the rifle mounted and fired without cant, accuracy has to be improved. I'm more accurate when I know everything is aligned.
 
May not mean much in the big scheme of things but if Im gonna drop 1,500 bones for a shooting iron/optics, Im not gonna do a 2 minute job just for that fact alone if nothing else.
 
Weasel-UT,
You are correct in theory, but it doesn't work in the real world. I have picked up a few rifles that were owned by pretty dang good shots. The crosshairs were crooked as could be. Almost everyone thinks he ain't canting the rifle, when in fact he is canting it a lot. That is the point I am trying to make here.
 
Wow guys!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for all the awesome advice. I never imagined I would get such a great response.

Here is what I have decided to do. I think I will use a level to get the scope mounted correctly in the way many of you have described. Many of the other suggestions are great also and I will probably play around with those techniques as well.

I think I understand what your getting at Rich in regards to many people canting there rifle without even knowing it, but in my mind if you level your crosshairs by the way you mount your rifle you have already built a cant into your scope everytime you mount the rifle. Am I correct in thinking that? My thoughts are if your scope reticle is square to your gun than it will be much more evident when you do cant and therefore you will be able to correct the situation before you pull the trigger.

Thanks alot everyone for all the advice. If anyone has anything else to add I would sure like to hear it. This has been a great learning experience for me.

Mark
 
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