SGT Del Lavature 1123542 <div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>If you have ever mounted a riflescope you may be aware of what a daunting process it can be. There are so many factors that can attribute to your scope not functioning properly. Poor alignment is often confused with a problem with the scope. There are many occasions where one will mount the scope go straight to the bore sighter only to find out that they are out of windage or elevation. typically this isn&#39;t a scope issue. A scope manufacturer can&#39;t add more range of adjustment inside your scope. Here&#39;s a more in depth explanation as to what is happening on the inside of your scope. Your erector system (where your cross hair is and where the magnification happens) sits in the center of your main tube. Higher end scopes will use bigger lenses in their erector system to get better clarity. This will come at the expense of range of adjustment. In order for your scope to function at its best it&#39;s is necessary to keep your erector system as close to center as possible. If you go to vote sight and you find yourself moving quite a few clicks to get aligned this should trigger a thought in your mind that something is off. If it&#39;s in the wind age you should look at wind age adjustable bases or rings with inserts to achieve a better alignment. If it&#39;s happening in your elevation that you should consider a 20 MOA bases or again rings with inserts to achieve a better alignment. The 20 MOA base will put you lower in your adjustment range giving you more upward travel thus keeping the erector system closer to the center. <br />What happens if I don&#39;t correct a misalignment? What happens here is that your erector system will be up against the interior wall of the scope and there will be no cushion for the recoil. You are putting to much pressure on the springs that are designed to absorb recoil and the scope will shoot erraticlly. Well that&#39;s all well and good but that doesn&#39;t apply to me because it only took a few clicks to get aligned on my bore sighter so I&#39;m not out of adjustment and I still get erratic shot groups do it&#39;s definitely the scope? Also not true! How many people use an actual inch pound torque wrench when mounting? Not many. You maybe unaware but each ring and base manufacturer has their own recommended torque spec that should be followed with a proper inch pound torque wrench. There is no standard in the industry. If you have tightened you rings by hand it is very possible your have over torqued the rings and the main tube is being flexed. So now you are impeding upon that space that the erector system needs to function properly and you are making adjustments inside the scope so the two issues meet in the middle. Now you erector system is once again touching the inside wall. <br />How do I find the torque specs for my rings? Call the manufacturer of the rings and ask. Did I damage my scope if the rings were to tight? Not necessarily, most scopes have aluminum tubes so they flecks easily. If the rings were slightly over tightens the scope will reform. If you have severely over tightened you will see an indentation or crack on the tube at which time yes you have damaged the scope. Finally keep this in mind these are just two common scenarios that are widely over looked there are many more but if you&#39;ve spent a lot of money on your rifle and even more on your scope ask yourself this question if you encounter erratic shot groups? If it&#39;s not the rifle and it&#39;s not the scope what else can it be?there is always a possibility it is the scope but you should check these things first before assuming it is it will save you time, ammo, and money. Feel free to ask me any additional questions below and I&#39;ll be happy to try to assist. 2015-11-21T11:48:12-05:00 SGT Del Lavature 1123542

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>If you have ever mounted a riflescope you may be aware of what a daunting process it can be. There are so many factors that can attribute to your scope not functioning properly. Poor alignment is often confused with a problem with the scope. There are many occasions where one will mount the scope go straight to the bore sighter only to find out that they are out of windage or elevation. typically this isn&#39;t a scope issue. A scope manufacturer can&#39;t add more range of adjustment inside your scope. Here&#39;s a more in depth explanation as to what is happening on the inside of your scope. Your erector system (where your cross hair is and where the magnification happens) sits in the center of your main tube. Higher end scopes will use bigger lenses in their erector system to get better clarity. This will come at the expense of range of adjustment. In order for your scope to function at its best it&#39;s is necessary to keep your erector system as close to center as possible. If you go to vote sight and you find yourself moving quite a few clicks to get aligned this should trigger a thought in your mind that something is off. If it&#39;s in the wind age you should look at wind age adjustable bases or rings with inserts to achieve a better alignment. If it&#39;s happening in your elevation that you should consider a 20 MOA bases or again rings with inserts to achieve a better alignment. The 20 MOA base will put you lower in your adjustment range giving you more upward travel thus keeping the erector system closer to the center. <br />What happens if I don&#39;t correct a misalignment? What happens here is that your erector system will be up against the interior wall of the scope and there will be no cushion for the recoil. You are putting to much pressure on the springs that are designed to absorb recoil and the scope will shoot erraticlly. Well that&#39;s all well and good but that doesn&#39;t apply to me because it only took a few clicks to get aligned on my bore sighter so I&#39;m not out of adjustment and I still get erratic shot groups do it&#39;s definitely the scope? Also not true! How many people use an actual inch pound torque wrench when mounting? Not many. You maybe unaware but each ring and base manufacturer has their own recommended torque spec that should be followed with a proper inch pound torque wrench. There is no standard in the industry. If you have tightened you rings by hand it is very possible your have over torqued the rings and the main tube is being flexed. So now you are impeding upon that space that the erector system needs to function properly and you are making adjustments inside the scope so the two issues meet in the middle. Now you erector system is once again touching the inside wall. <br />How do I find the torque specs for my rings? Call the manufacturer of the rings and ask. Did I damage my scope if the rings were to tight? Not necessarily, most scopes have aluminum tubes so they flecks easily. If the rings were slightly over tightens the scope will reform. If you have severely over tightened you will see an indentation or crack on the tube at which time yes you have damaged the scope. Finally keep this in mind these are just two common scenarios that are widely over looked there are many more but if you&#39;ve spent a lot of money on your rifle and even more on your scope ask yourself this question if you encounter erratic shot groups? If it&#39;s not the rifle and it&#39;s not the scope what else can it be?there is always a possibility it is the scope but you should check these things first before assuming it is it will save you time, ammo, and money. Feel free to ask me any additional questions below and I&#39;ll be happy to try to assist.

2015-11-21T11:48:12-05:00 2015-11-21T11:48:12-05:00 SPC Elijah J. Henry, MBA 1123597

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Thanks for the great information!

2015-11-21T12:25:16-05:00 2015-11-21T12:25:16-05:00 MSG Tim Gray 1123621

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>I bought a scope ring lapping set, not too expensive. these will ensure that your rings also hold your scope straight on the rifle. They usually come with levels to check scope level as well.

2015-11-21T12:39:49-05:00 2015-11-21T12:39:49-05:00 SPC(P) Jay Heenan 1124486

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>I like my Nikon scope. I also like my Insight MRDS. I need to get my new pistol so I can get my MRDS mounted already. Mounts are very important as well, as others said. I bought levels to make sure My optic was mounted level.

2015-11-21T23:15:04-05:00 2015-11-21T23:15:04-05:00 SSG James N. 1126463

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>I would like to add a little scope knowledge here. If you have shot anything avidly you may know the name US Optics. If you have been around long enough, you will know that company was started by John Williams II, and is carried on by JBWIII these days. This company held USMC/USN scope contracts for a few years. These two men taught me scopes, rings, and mounts.<br />Break them in with movement:<br />Take the elevation and windage knobs to their edge limits at least ten times. Bring them to center, then move them back and forth ten times. What you have just done is set your knobs mechanical parts and insured they are aligned and not binding and have free movement. You have also warmed the build lubricant on them and fully lubricated all mechanical movement parts.<br />True Mechanical Zero of a Scope:<br />This is not when both erector and elevation knobs are counted to dead center. Insure your base is tight, and your lower ring halves are on tight. Secure the rifle, or pistol into your work stand so it will not move. Place your scope into the lower halves and lightly turn to 90* left, then 180* to the right as you look through it. See how the exact center of the reticle makes an arc? You are not true zero. As you rotate the scope, rotate both knobs until the center of the reticle rotates dead center and the reticle &#39;spins&#39; exactly centered. Now that it is centered, rotate it back to it&#39;s properly aligned position, with the elevation stadia line perpendicular to the rifle and mount, and the windage stadia level. Tighten your ring tops to 15&quot;#(bottoms are tightened to 15&quot;# if using small screws, 65&quot;# if using tactical bolts).<br />Now you are ready to go shoot, and &#39;box&#39; your scope after you properly zero it. At 100M, you have shot a three round group, and have adjusted, and shot a three round ragged hole dead on. You are zeroed. Aim down and left of your bullseye, to a solid known mark on the target. Shoot. Raise elevation knob 10 clicks UP, aim at original hole, and shoot. The hole should be straight up about 2.5&quot; above the first hole. Now click off 10 clicks RIGHT. Aiming at the first hole, fire. This hole should be to the right of the second hole about 2.5&quot;. Now click ten clicks DOWN, aim at the first hole and fire. You should be on the same line, and to the right of your original hole. Now click 10 clicks LEFT, and fire using the original hole as your aiming point. Your shot should make a ragged hole of the first hole you made if your elevation and windage knobs are good.<br /><br />Tricks of the trade:<br />Bases: If you are shooting to 1,000M, your scope will travel some 36MOA in clicks. To make your scope work less and use &#39;less&#39; movement, you can use a 15MOA or 20MOA slanted base. If you are shooting that far on a regular basis, and have a good scope, a 15MOA base is all you need. If you are shooting 338&#39;s, you should go with a 20MOA base for ranges beyond 1K. If you are shooting 0M - 600M you will not require a slanted base.<br />When you mount your base, chase the threads with a little marvel oil, then clean them with denatured alcohol. Clean the receiver and the bottom of the base with denatured alcohol. Apply a thin coat of Devcon, or JB Weld on the bottom of the base. Using a little blue loctite on the screws, set the base at 45&quot;# and allow the Devcon to cure for 48 hours. You have bedded your base. What this does is slow the transmitted recoil energy effecting the screws for durability when using heavier scopes. <br />For those of you shooting MOA reticles (many ballistic reticles are marked in known MOA amounts) it is 1MIL = 3.4MOA These known measurements numbers allow you to range with any reticle once you can convert it&#39;s reticle.

2015-11-23T09:12:49-05:00 2015-11-23T09:12:49-05:00 MSgt Private RallyPoint Member 1129176

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Great info!

2015-11-24T10:48:10-05:00 2015-11-24T10:48:10-05:00 2015-11-21T11:48:12-05:00