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9-point
Optics Apprentice Joined: March/13/2008 Location: iowa Status: Offline Points: 53 |
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Posted: March/18/2008 at 10:25 |
I recently bought a scope and had the guy behind the counter mount it for me, after I brought it home I wanted to make sure that it was level. After I used a level and a yardstick to draw a verticle and horizontal cross on the wall I took the level and set it on the adjustment cap and leveled the rifle in a gun vise. The crosshairs intersected perfectly with the ones on the wall, is this enough to call my scope level. |
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cyborg
Optics God Gaseous Clay Joined: August/24/2007 Location: North Georgia Status: Offline Points: 12288 |
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The level should be relative to the rifle. You should first level the rifle and then adjust the scope to it.
The way you have checked only verifies that the caps and reticle are indeed level with each other.
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With Freedom comes great responsibility, you cannot have one without the other
An armed public are citizens. A disarmed public are subjects. OATH KEEPER #8233 Support us, and join our cause. Cyborg |
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Bigdaddy0381
MODERATOR Georgia peach Joined: February/27/2007 Location: Georgia Status: Offline Points: 13682 |
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It really depends on how technical your shooting is going to be. For normal hunting under 200 yards I would say that’s fine. But the best way to level one is to get a string with a weight on it and tie it to the ceiling and let it hand and use that as a reference point. |
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P&Z Firearms , Pro gun cleanings and gun repair and wood refinishing.
Ecclesiastes 10:2 |
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Dale Clifford
Optics Jedi Knight Joined: July/04/2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 5087 |
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a good way also, assuming you have a picatinny or full length mt, and a flat spot the bottom of the saddle, is to use a set of feeler gauges. works best on initial installation as the gauges will hold the perpendicular while you tighten down the mounts |
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9-point
Optics Apprentice Joined: March/13/2008 Location: iowa Status: Offline Points: 53 |
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sorry I didnt explain better(still very new to using scopes and terminology) what I meant to ask was is the crosshair level on my rifle
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cyborg
Optics God Gaseous Clay Joined: August/24/2007 Location: North Georgia Status: Offline Points: 12288 |
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Unless the level of the rifle was done first and then the scope put on level relative to the rifle then no it probably isn't.
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With Freedom comes great responsibility, you cannot have one without the other
An armed public are citizens. A disarmed public are subjects. OATH KEEPER #8233 Support us, and join our cause. Cyborg |
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Bigdaddy0381
MODERATOR Georgia peach Joined: February/27/2007 Location: Georgia Status: Offline Points: 13682 |
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9Point,
if your able to hold your rifle up comfterbaly and the horazontal line is horazontal then your good to go. I would go and shoot it off a rest and see how it dose.
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P&Z Firearms , Pro gun cleanings and gun repair and wood refinishing.
Ecclesiastes 10:2 |
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cyborg
Optics God Gaseous Clay Joined: August/24/2007 Location: North Georgia Status: Offline Points: 12288 |
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I agree if the intended application is not precision then likely you'll never notice.
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With Freedom comes great responsibility, you cannot have one without the other
An armed public are citizens. A disarmed public are subjects. OATH KEEPER #8233 Support us, and join our cause. Cyborg |
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Dolphin
Optics Master Joined: October/05/2006 Location: North Carolina Status: Offline Points: 1795 |
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Bottom line is, if it looks level to you, it is fine for hunting. If you are going to shoot long distances, target or hunting, the gun mounts need to be level, meaning the gun receiver and hopefully they are square, when you mount your scope, What Cyborg means is using the level to make sure this is the case, on top of the scope cap. You could lay the rifle on its side and turn your scope perpendicular with your rifle and put the level on the Elevation cap and adjust it to you lines and obviously it would not be mounted level in the proper plane. I use a small 4 inch level and rubber band and find a flat surface on the rifle and attach it there and level the rifle. I just mounted a scope on a Rem. 700 BDL and unfortunately, there were no easily accessible flat surfaces with the rings and mounts I was using and so I had to improvise. Some rifles do and some do not.
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cyborg
Optics God Gaseous Clay Joined: August/24/2007 Location: North Georgia Status: Offline Points: 12288 |
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Thanks Dolphin, I thought my answer was clear, you summed it up nicely sir.
I would mount my base first and then use that as a point for leveling the rifle, then set the scope and level it. This does have a problem in it's logic however, because there are instances where the base taps are not drilled properly with regards to being a true dead center. I prefer to use a level on a flat part of the receiver, when ever possible for the above stated reason, but that just isn't always going to be possible.
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With Freedom comes great responsibility, you cannot have one without the other
An armed public are citizens. A disarmed public are subjects. OATH KEEPER #8233 Support us, and join our cause. Cyborg |
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Chris Farris
TEAM SWFA - Admin swfa.com Joined: October/01/2003 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 8024 |
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RifleDude
MODERATOR EVIL OPPRESSOR Joined: October/13/2006 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 16337 |
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9-point, your method will get you in the ballpark and is sufficient for hunting use. Keep in mind one thing, though. Depending on how precise you want to be, your adjustment turrets or turret caps may not provide good surfaces to verify that your rifle is truly level. Sometimes the crosshairs aren't parallel and perpendicular with the turrets. I bought a very well-known, decent quality scope about 15 years ago whose crosshairs were NOT square with the turrets. As much as possible, I try to always use a mount base surface or any flats on the top side of the action as surfaces for checking level. As long as your reticle is pretty close to being in the ballpark of level, you won't have any problems.
Edited by RifleDude - March/18/2008 at 16:36 |
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Ted
Money can't buy happiness... but it's much more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than on a bicycle. |
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Longhunter
Optics Journeyman Joined: February/02/2006 Status: Offline Points: 466 |
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Pretty good advice here. First, you make sure the rifle is level. (It helps if you can find a flat surface on the top or bottom of the rifle.) Then you see if the crosshairs align properly with your plumb line (or other vertical straignt line target). You could also have some fun checking this! Sight in at 100 yards, and then fire some rounds at 200 and 300 yards. If the bullets drop straight down as the range is extended, then you are probably okay. If the bullet drop moves consistently and continuously to the right or left as the range is extended, then you may have tilted crosshairs.
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Bigdaddy0381
MODERATOR Georgia peach Joined: February/27/2007 Location: Georgia Status: Offline Points: 13682 |
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if you have a good shooting rest that locks your gun to the same spot shot after spot you can shoot one dead middle of target and then turn the turets 10 times up shoot and then 20 down and shoot then 10 back up and see if the line leans one way or the other.
You can tell at 100 yards if it is level or not but going out to 200 or 300 will be even more noticeable Edited by Bigdaddy0381 - March/19/2008 at 11:18 |
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P&Z Firearms , Pro gun cleanings and gun repair and wood refinishing.
Ecclesiastes 10:2 |
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Dolphin
Optics Master Joined: October/05/2006 Location: North Carolina Status: Offline Points: 1795 |
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Yeah, you were clear, I just think he did not understand. I usually try to use a flat surface on the rifle, as opposed to the bases also.
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Dolphin
Optics Master Joined: October/05/2006 Location: North Carolina Status: Offline Points: 1795 |
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Ditto. I bought a Burris FFII and the reticles were not even close to square with the turrets. They were not off enough to send it back, but to this day, mounted on the rifle, the fact that the scope appears a little canted still annoys me.
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cyborg
Optics God Gaseous Clay Joined: August/24/2007 Location: North Georgia Status: Offline Points: 12288 |
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You are correct Dolphin, That just drives me NUTS as well. I have an Aussie friend that says "It's as irritating as a zit on the scrotum" He sums it up pretty well I think.
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With Freedom comes great responsibility, you cannot have one without the other
An armed public are citizens. A disarmed public are subjects. OATH KEEPER #8233 Support us, and join our cause. Cyborg |
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