Turn your rifle 90 degrees, fire a shot and you'll find out pretty quickly.
Levelling a rifle scope
- Thread starter The Singing Stalker
- Start date
Turn your rifle 90 degrees, fire a shot and you'll find out pretty quickly.
Foxyboy43
Well-Known Member
Yep. Old pal of mine (sadly gone) shot for his country at the Commonwealths and always said that everyone cants their rifle differently - pick up someone else’s rifle and quite often it will be lying off to one side.
Sooo cheap and cheerful way - loosen the scope mount screws just enough to let the scope be turned. Mount the rifle in your normal position and get a friend to gently twist the scope whilst you “spot” a nearby door or house corner. When the vertical aligns perfectly with the door/house corner tighten the screws gently - and alternately/diagonally. Mount the rifle several times to confirm setting. Voila!
PS
A good check is to mount the rifle with it pointing at the same door/house then lower the rifle, close both eyes, remount and see how level or not you/rifle actually are.
PPS
make certain that the owner of said door/house cannot see you, unless you want to meet lots of new friends…
GrizZLy9
Well-Known Member
Sure, you obviously need to have the reticle as close to plumb as possible, as I said earlier…
Still don’t see what the precise angle of the action itself has to do with anything.
Len the dog
Well-Known Member
Of all those people using a miniature spirit level and worrying about sub-degree cant, how many of you have taken the time to check that the spirit level is accurate?
I was in B&Q buying a builder’s level some time ago and took a pencil with me to do just that, after checking about 8 levels I finally found one that was actually ’level’. I did get some funny looks from other customers but I was the one that had a spirit level worth anything.
With regard to levelling the reticle on a scope, if it looks true to the eye then mathematically it will make practically zero difference at any range, and seeing as every shot will be from the same setup, any minute misalignment will be consistent.
By the way, I’m an engineering surveyor before somebody wants to explain angles to me.
I was in B&Q buying a builder’s level some time ago and took a pencil with me to do just that, after checking about 8 levels I finally found one that was actually ’level’. I did get some funny looks from other customers but I was the one that had a spirit level worth anything.
With regard to levelling the reticle on a scope, if it looks true to the eye then mathematically it will make practically zero difference at any range, and seeing as every shot will be from the same setup, any minute misalignment will be consistent.
By the way, I’m an engineering surveyor before somebody wants to explain angles to me.
This is the flashlight method I use.
1. Position a vice with padded jaws on a sturdy table near a wall.
2. Clamp the rifle barrel in the vice so that it holds the rifle true level both ways (use a reliable spirit level to do this balanced on the Picatinny scope rail or some other flat part of the action) and with the breech pointing at the wall (bolt removed).
3. Shine a small flashlight down the muzzle towards the wall and place a vertical strip of wide masking tape about two feet long approximately where the dot of light lands.
4. Using the spirit level and black marker draw a true vertical line on the masking tape that passes through the dot of light. This is the true vertical line with which you will align the vertical cross hair of your scope.
5. Centre the cross hair in the scope by using the mirror method (press the objective lens to a mirror in a brightly lit room and adjust cross hair so it overlays its shadow).
6. Place the scope in the rings (not fully tightened) and shine a powerful flashlight through the front of the scope and adjust the focus ring until the cross hair is in focus projected on the masking tape.
7. Rotate the scope gently until the vertical cross hair is parallel with the vertical black marker line that you drew on the masking tape on the wall. It most likely will be slightly to one side but as long as it is parallel you can now fully tighten the scope rings.
8. Recheck that the scope cross hair is still showing true vertical on black line drawn on the the masking tape once you have tightened the scope ring screws, as sometimes the act of the tightening the screws can rotate the scope tube.
9. If the vertical cross hair is parallel but more than a few clicks to one side or other of the vertical black marker line on the masking tape then the scope rail is not aligned with the barrel and you may want to fix that to avoid running out of windage on one side.
10. Peel off the masking tape from the wall if it is in a room you need to look neat. If not leave it on the wall for the next time you are fitting a scope.
1. Position a vice with padded jaws on a sturdy table near a wall.
2. Clamp the rifle barrel in the vice so that it holds the rifle true level both ways (use a reliable spirit level to do this balanced on the Picatinny scope rail or some other flat part of the action) and with the breech pointing at the wall (bolt removed).
3. Shine a small flashlight down the muzzle towards the wall and place a vertical strip of wide masking tape about two feet long approximately where the dot of light lands.
4. Using the spirit level and black marker draw a true vertical line on the masking tape that passes through the dot of light. This is the true vertical line with which you will align the vertical cross hair of your scope.
5. Centre the cross hair in the scope by using the mirror method (press the objective lens to a mirror in a brightly lit room and adjust cross hair so it overlays its shadow).
6. Place the scope in the rings (not fully tightened) and shine a powerful flashlight through the front of the scope and adjust the focus ring until the cross hair is in focus projected on the masking tape.
7. Rotate the scope gently until the vertical cross hair is parallel with the vertical black marker line that you drew on the masking tape on the wall. It most likely will be slightly to one side but as long as it is parallel you can now fully tighten the scope rings.
8. Recheck that the scope cross hair is still showing true vertical on black line drawn on the the masking tape once you have tightened the scope ring screws, as sometimes the act of the tightening the screws can rotate the scope tube.
9. If the vertical cross hair is parallel but more than a few clicks to one side or other of the vertical black marker line on the masking tape then the scope rail is not aligned with the barrel and you may want to fix that to avoid running out of windage on one side.
10. Peel off the masking tape from the wall if it is in a room you need to look neat. If not leave it on the wall for the next time you are fitting a scope.
Some good stuff here and in all honesty the following never occurred to me until now albeit not sure how many scopes - if any - I have with a flat based reticle housing or indeed corresponding action top:
“Another method is using feeler gauges and getting a stack that just slides underneath the base of the scope turret housing (which is hopefully flat and level to the reticle).”
K
“Another method is using feeler gauges and getting a stack that just slides underneath the base of the scope turret housing (which is hopefully flat and level to the reticle).”
K
trickie
Well-Known Member
That seems a decent way to start, just have a plumb line to double check it on
Only on things that are not to your taste (think picatinny rails and 'tactical' scopes...)
That seems a decent way to start, just have a plumb line to double check it on
Need a room with no draught for that method
John Gryphon
Well-Known Member
Solved....hang a car battery from the line lol.Need a room with no draught for that method
I’ll just leave this here:
K
K
where u get the bits,you have a link please
whatever you use , you will still need a plum bob or a level to mark a long vertical line and shoot you whole elivation movement to check its not canted . Leveling up on the top turret and the action with a bubble is worthwhile in getting near enough .
@GrizZLy9 is completely correct.
It doesn't matter if the rifle is canted. The only thing that matters is that the reticule is completely vertical (if you want to hold off), OR the erector tube adjustment mechanism is completely vertical if you want to dial. Due to manufacturing tolerances, it's not often that both can be the case.
So if you want to put a bubble level on your rifle for extreme precision at long range, then it has to be levelled to the reticule or the erector tube mechanism.
A vertical reticule / mechanism on a canted rifle will make nigh on no difference in accuracy. The difference will be far smaller than the accuracy of the shooter or ammunition.
A canted reticule / mechanism on a vertical rifle will make a massive difference in accuracy.
Cheers
Clive
It doesn't matter if the rifle is canted. The only thing that matters is that the reticule is completely vertical (if you want to hold off), OR the erector tube adjustment mechanism is completely vertical if you want to dial. Due to manufacturing tolerances, it's not often that both can be the case.
So if you want to put a bubble level on your rifle for extreme precision at long range, then it has to be levelled to the reticule or the erector tube mechanism.
A vertical reticule / mechanism on a canted rifle will make nigh on no difference in accuracy. The difference will be far smaller than the accuracy of the shooter or ammunition.
A canted reticule / mechanism on a vertical rifle will make a massive difference in accuracy.
Cheers
Clive
Don't have a link but I think it was alliexpress
This is correct but if you are using a rail with cant built in you will need the reticle level with the rail
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