I have to admit, I'm not the best person to get my scope positioned "perfectly" quickly. I'm referring to rotating the scope so the vertical wire of the reticle is dead nuts from 12 o'clock to 6 o'clock ( and the horizontal wire from 3 to 9 o'clock).

My first rings ("back in the day") were the wrap around Weaver's that would torque and rotate during scope set up. All my rings since then are "split" rings (from 3 to 9 o'clock). even so, I still manage to notice I set the scope up "wrong" (reticle rotated a bit), and need to reposition.

I WISH scope and ring manufacturers would make it idiot proof for me. I wish they would scribe a very thin (laser engraved?) line along the top part of the long axis of the scope, and a make a mini notch or line at the 12 o'clock position (top dead center / TDC) of the the ring. Match the two up when mounting a scope, and bang, you are done.

If this is patentable by Leupold, Burris, Nikon, Zeiss, Swaro, S&B, Nightforce, etc, then they can put my name on the patent, and give me a lifetime supply of so-marked scopes and rings.

I'll even offer a name for the new product: "TDC scope" and ""TDC rings".

The scope and ring manufacturers can contact me via PM for my royalty payment, and where to ship the TDC scopes and rings.

Rail scope/mounts do this similar thing, but in a much more "pronounced" manner. A light laser etched line on the TDC of the scope tube (maybe about 1 inch long), and on one face of the top half of a 180 degree split ring would achieve the goal.

It would be a time saver, and shot saver. Personally, I don't crank my scopes up in elevation from 200 to 1000 yards, (I'm not a high power shooter, or sniper), but think of the benefit to that group of shooters. Elevation Up is elevation up. You wouldn't need to move windage over, to correct for non-perfectly-postioned reticles as you crank up the elevation. Hey US military sniper/sharpshooter scope gurus, use my "TDC scope/ring package."

Am I the only one who just can't seem to "get it right" the first (or fourth time, a day later) when rotating/positioning a scope on a rig?

Guilty as charged, I'm in the same boat as you.

I've hung the string from the ceiling, done the mount the rifle with eyes shut then open them x 20 times trick, readjust and readjust, ok got it perfect now. Until I pick up the rifle a week or two later and say, hmmmm, looks crooked.

I now just blame it on me not holding the darn rifle straight Get me a few sets of those TDC when you get 'em, Waidmannsheil, Dom.

I agree. I've mounted dozens of scopes and had similar experiences. On some rifles you can use a level over the bridges, etc. which one would expect would be properly exactly horizontal to the barreled action, then adjusting the scope to a plumb bob. Sometimes it works, ............ Perhaps the problem is canting, but there isn't anything there to measure with any exactitude. The only consolation is that a degree or two of cant won't have much effect at normal hunting ranges.

It was even more frustrating years ago, when early scopes wouldn't always have crosswires that were perfectly true. You either lined up the vertical or the horizontal (sometimes a little of each).

Rest the butt on the gorung and look from the muzzle, it makes aligning a scope really easy.

"gorung"........whats that ????

Get an EXD device. Well made and the bubble on mine checked out with a larger carpenter's level




you put the V's on the scope tube and the barrel



what it does is align the axis of your scope and barrel when the rifle is held uncanted

so if you set your rifle up in a vise, use the EXD and rotate your reticle to match your horizontal or vertical object, then your reticle will be level when you hold your rifle uncanted.

Perhaps you hold your rifle canted when shooting but I will say that after mounting several dozen scopes for myself and friends this way, I have yet to get that frustrating feeling of benching a gun, looking through it and feeling the scope is rotated. Nor have any of my friends either.

Some more reading here.

gorung
=
ground

when fingers work

I ended up marking a crosshair on my basement wall with a 4' level and a magic marker. Works okay with the rifle in a gun rest, but still do the usual tweaking to no end. Although, I got spoiled with some rail-mount scopes recently.

This idea would make superb sense for Leupold to put out...

Yeah, Some see it a little less critical but when it comes to attempting to true a recticle to the rifle I revert the my "Absolutely Anal" mode.

Either my old eyes are way off or the vast majority of the recticles today aren't as true as the manufacturers would have us believe also.

When mounting rail scopes I take 'em as they come and have found all (so far) to be acceptable as they come from the factory.

It still takes me a time or two and eventually even of a couple weeks of fiddling around to get it exactly the way I desire them to be positioned. When all's aligned I do the "semi-permanent" fix.

Might be hard to believe, but Wheeler Engineering's Level, Level Level actually works quite well. Provided that is, if your rifle has a horizontal flat on or near the action.

Prior to using the Level, Level, Level I did the string/plumb bob on a wall and leveling the action with a small bubble level while in a vise and matching the reticleto the verticle string.

Don

I have a little plastic L shaped gizmo (I named it Gizmo also) that you put the long end of the L in your action, after bolt removal, and hold it with your left hand fingers solid in the race ways.

The short end of the L has a perpendicular line to match the up and down cross hair and it aligns the scope up center to the world with the gun no matter how you hold the gun..It works very well indeed..Don't know where I got it but it only cost a buck and a half, but that was about 35 years....I love Gizmo!

I have fought with this for years, though usually with good success. My method has been to level the rifle in a vise using a torpedo level across a scope base, the level across a turret or turret cover, which ever is most flat and steady. I have had good luck with this method, but most recently I have remounted a Zeiss scope on a 20 MOA base and just cannot seem to get it quite right, which shows up when shooting beyond the 500 yard mark. This EXD device looks like a good one, so I have ordered one. Will give a report when used next week.

quote:

when shooting beyond the 500 yard mark.

If you cant your rifle it will show up at long range no matter how good you get the cross hairs.
This goes back to the days of spirit levels on the front sights of black powder cartridge rifles.

I don't think it matters if the scope is not perfect if you are only going to shoot say 100-200 yards and you are not dialling in elevation on the top turret. However, if you are dialling in elevation, the scope needs to be perfectly vertical for the position you habitually shoulder your rifle in, if the scope is say 3 deg to the right of vertical, as you elevate on the turrets, instead of tracking straight up, the scope will track on a right hand diagonal. I discovered this when my 22/250 shot 2" to the right when adjusted for 300m.

How I get a vertical setting is simple. I have a tyre swing for the kids, which by pure luck happens to be hanging by a blue polypropylene rope from a tree branch about 100 yards from my shooting bench.

I set the rifle up on the bags and snuggle it into my shoulder as I would normally when shooting. I then adjust the scope so the vertical reticule is lined up on the plumb line and continue to check this as I tighten it up.

Of course, it helps to do this on a nice calm evening rather than during a force 8 storm.....

this thing is quite hand for odds and ends gun work including scope mounting. just level it and you can set the reticle's verticle with a plumbob string
http://www.sportsmansguide.com.../cb/cb.aspx?a=827643

Although I dislike the rings with screws at 12 and 6 oclock they just seem to be easier to line up than the rings with screws at 3 and/or 9 oclock.

I have been using a scope mounted level for a number of years now. Most recently I have added an angle cosine indicator as there have been too many near misses at varmints beyond 500 yards in the steep mountains of the continental divide, in central Colorado, where I hunt.