I recently bought a cheap scope as an experiment for my T/C Encore in 7mmRem. It is a Trekker sold at Cabelas. As far as consistency I am very pleased. At 100 yards, my rifle shoots .75" groups at 4.25 inches high with both 139 and 154 grain bullets. (I have not have not developed specific loads for this rifle yet)

Here's the clincher. I can't lower the reticles any more. It seems I have bottomed them out. I would like to shoot only about 2 inches high. Even completely lapping the rings might not solve the problem. What should I do?

Not being familiar with your rifle and assuming you have a rail for your rings to mount on, shim the rail away from the barrel/receiver.

Offset boring or honing of the rings is tricky and can lead to a bent tube if not done properly. A shimmed rail is almost fool proof so long as you tighten it down properly and use thread locker.

It will only take a thin shim, not sure of exact thickness.. Go to hardware store and get a feeler gauge set. Cut each tab off the binder and start trying them out one at a time under the rail.

Shimming the front will raise the crosshairs thus lowering the point of impact.

Shimming the rear will do the opposite.

I've used aluminum cans, easy to cut to the right size,thin enough, and won't rust.

Handy shims can be made from an old tape measure blade. You can sand/buff the coloring and markings off, cut to length and end up with a nice thin piece of good steel that is already pre-contoured for most round receivers.

Do you think I could also resolve this by getting the next taller size rings? I used Loctite on the base screws. I do not know which kind of loctite because I borrowed it from a hunting buddy of mine.

Taller rings should have the same problem, what type of rings and bases do you have?

Not good to use loctite and totally unnecessary. You can also shim inside the scope rings. I have seen electricians tape and stiff paper used, but once again I would use aluminum can material.

What you have is a forward angle problem where the front base is too low...and that angle will not change by going to higher rings.

You can shim inside the ring, but that is normally not as preferred, or as wise, as shimming the base. You don’t want to place any undue stress/pressure on the scope tube which “can†happen by shimming between the scope tube and the ring, because you are changing the concentric relationship between the front and rear ring as it relates to the scope tube.

The bases are the plain jane T/C encore weaver-style bases and the rings are low Weaver rings. I will take them apart and take out and try to take out the screws.

I think the loctite is more of the gel material similar to using teflon tape to prevent screws from backing out. I didn't condone the practice, but I got one of those "what-if the recoil backs out the screw" from a friend so I tried it. At the time, I was 18 and since I had never owned a gun with a scope I didn't know any better.

Once you get everything apart/off clean the screw holes/threads real well (make sure to get any remaining loctite out of the threads) and dab some alcohol into them with a swab. When you re-install the bases and screws, lightly [!!] oil the threads with a good grade of machine oil and tighten them down.

With the introduction of Burris Signature rings with their inserts the need for shims, etc. is basically gone.
You can buy from Burris inserts for their rings which are offset acheiving the effect of shims and eliminating the
binding of the scope tube by rings that shims take out of alignment. Find a good gunshop or contact Burris for
further information. Burris makes signature rings for Weaver style bases as well as Leupold turn in bases.

A big +1 on Burris Signature Zee rings (weaver compatible) plus Pos-align offset inserts.

No lapping, no shimming, just perfect alignment, with up to 40" of adjustment in any direction at 100 yds (using two of the .020" offset inserts).

The pos-align inserts come in .005", .010", and .020" offsets, for 5", 10", and 20" of offset at 100 yds each.

These were a Godsend on a mauser I inherited from my dad. He didn't quite get the bases on straight.

Note that Burris Zee rings (signature or not) are not tip-off rings. The crossbolt has to be removed completely, and the rings/scope slid off the end. That may be a problem if you have a large objective bell and a one piece weaver base. Not a problem for me, just letting you know.

Try reversing the forward and aft bases to see if the are different...

John