Adjusting a new scope

[Alan Clark 7]

I've got a new scope for my rifle, mounted it yesterday and went to zero it this afternoon.

 

I expected it to be pointing in completely the wrong direction, and it didn't disappoint, about 1' low and left. I easily got rid of the elevation issue with old photographic film (with all the chemical cleaned off) acting as shims underneath the front of the scope to raise it. The problem I had was with the lateral movement as there isn't the space to put shims round the side of the scope.

 

Can I use the film shims on the actual mounting points on the rifle, i.e. in the groove to force the rear clamp out to the left and forward clamp out to the right?

 

At the moment I've got it adjusted on the turrets but have very limited travel remaining on the windage, whereas I've got it mid-range on the elevation.

[Sweeney-Todd 208]

I've got a new scope for my rifle, mounted it yesterday and went to zero it this afternoon.

 

I expected it to be pointing in completely the wrong direction, and it didn't disappoint, about 1' low and left. I easily got rid of the elevation issue with old photographic film (with all the chemical cleaned off) acting as shims underneath the front of the scope to raise it. The problem I had was with the lateral movement as there isn't the space to put shims round the side of the scope.

 

Can I use the film shims on the actual mounting points on the rifle, i.e. in the groove to force the rear clamp out to the left and forward clamp out to the right?

 

At the moment I've got it adjusted on the turrets but have very limited travel remaining on the windage, whereas I've got it mid-range on the elevation.

 

 

Hi Alan.

 

First of all try taking the mounts off and swoping them around ( Front to back, and back to front )

What rifle is it you are using Al ?

 

Bill.

[hullhunter 219]

I've got a new scope for my rifle, mounted it yesterday and went to zero it this afternoon.

 

I expected it to be pointing in completely the wrong direction, and it didn't disappoint, about 1' low and left. I easily got rid of the elevation issue with old photographic film (with all the chemical cleaned off) acting as shims underneath the front of the scope to raise it. The problem I had was with the lateral movement as there isn't the space to put shims round the side of the scope.

 

Can I use the film shims on the actual mounting points on the rifle, i.e. in the groove to force the rear clamp out to the left and forward clamp out to the right?

 

At the moment I've got it adjusted on the turrets but have very limited travel remaining on the windage, whereas I've got it mid-range on the elevation.

 

if you cant get it on the adjusters then i would say you have a bent barrel or the scope is a dud. jmo

[Alan Clark 7]

Its a Logun Eagle with a Hawke Nite Eye 3-9x50, I forgot to say I was in the barn with the target at 20 yards. It was far too windy to attempt zeroing outside.

 

I'll try swoping the mounts round and see if it makes a difference.

 

I can get it in zero on the adjusters and had it consistantly hitting the same point, it's that I am after the zero to be more towards the centre point of the adjuster travel, rather to 50 or so clicks from one extreme.

[Sweeney-Todd 208]

Its a Logun Eagle with a Hawke Nite Eye 3-9x50, I forgot to say I was in the barn with the target at 20 yards. It was far too windy to attempt zeroing outside.

 

I'll try swoping the mounts round and see if it makes a difference.

 

I can get it in zero on the adjusters and had it consistantly hitting the same point, it's that I am after the zero to be more towards the centre point of the adjuster travel, rather to 50 or so clicks from one extreme.

 

 

Hi Al.

 

I use some fully adjustable mounts, a bit on the expensive side but worth their salt.

This will enable you to centre your scope, i.e. wind the turrets ( Gently ) all the way around,( Dont force them at the end ) then count every click all the way back.

If you have say 300 clicks, turn the turret back 150 clicks to centre.

Do this with Elevation and deflection, your scope should now be fairly well centered.

 

Bring the rifle into zero with the adjustable mount, and fine tune using the turrets.

If you can, it pays to buy decent mounts.

 

Job done mate.

 

Bill.

[Alan Clark 7]

Fully adjustables sound just the ticket, and I see what you mean about them being at the pricier end of the scale, I can only go for 2 piece mounts as the rotary mag sits right in the middle. I might take a trip to the gun shop tomorrow, I need to buy some pellets any way, might get expensive as there are a few other bits I'm after.

 

The book says there should be ~400 clicks stop to stop so I'd taken them both to fully in and counted back 200 before mounting the scope. I didn't feel like counting to 1200 last night.

[pianoman 3,587]

Its a Logun Eagle with a Hawke Nite Eye 3-9x50, I forgot to say I was in the barn with the target at 20 yards. It was far too windy to attempt zeroing outside.

 

I'll try swoping the mounts round and see if it makes a difference.

 

I can get it in zero on the adjusters and had it consistantly hitting the same point, it's that I am after the zero to be more towards the centre point of the adjuster travel, rather to 50 or so clicks from one extreme.

 

 

Hi Al.

 

I use some fully adjustable mounts, a bit on the expensive side but worth their salt.

This will enable you to centre your scope, i.e. wind the turrets ( Gently ) all the way around,( Dont force them at the end ) then count every click all the way back.

If you have say 300 clicks, turn the turret back 150 clicks to centre.

Do this with Elevation and deflection, your scope should now be fairly well centered.

 

Bring the rifle into zero with the adjustable mount, and fine tune using the turrets.

If you can, it pays to buy decent mounts.

 

Job done mate.

 

Bill.

Perfect advice Bill with regards to counting turret clicks from zero.

 

Could be Alan, there's nothing wrong at all with your scope. It's perhaps just widly off-set when it left the factory. Shimming the mounts is a pretty much last-resort measure with scopes these days.

 

Simon

[matt_hooks 188]

The night eye is designed as a full bore scope, so it may well need a little shimming to allow you to zero the elevation to suit the rainbow .22 trajectory.

 

As for windage, if it's shooting straight and hitting the mark, it doesn't particularly matter if it's close to the end of the travel.

 

Have you got the mounts the same way round, so that the movable bit of the clamp is on the same side front and back?

 

If the scope is like the Hawkes I've got, with 1 click being equal to 1/4" at 100 yards, then at 20 yards you need 5 clicks for 1/4", 20 clicks per inch. If the POI was only 1" left, then 20 clicks should have brought it back in line.

 

Check that the turret screws are tight, that attach the top plate to the internals.

 

Shimming for windage is never a good option, you tend to end up damaging the scope.

 

Are the rings 1" size or 30mm? I can't remember. If they're 30mm then you may well have some lateral movement in the rings.

 

If you still can't sort it, hop on the train and we'll sort it here.