Last winter I bought a brand new Savage model 12 BVSS in .223 which I topped with a new Nikon Monarch 6-24x50 scope using Durasight two piece bases and Burris Signature Zee "high" rings. I mounted the scope back in February but got busy with work and never had a chance to shoot it until today. This morning I spent an hour playing around with inserts trying to boresight it with my laser spud but couldn't get it very close, so I decided to try getting a few shots on paper. I started at 50 yards and completely missed the target, so I moved in to 25 yards and still missed despite numerous attempts with swapping and turning the ring inserts. Finally I moved 20 feet away from the target and missed again. After trying several more adjustments I finally was able to get a few shots on paper, but they just barely grazed the left edge of a 14"x18" target from only 20 feet away. I already have the .020 inserts in both rings set opposite each other to force the scope as far left as possible. The adjustment screws on the scope are still centered and there's no way I can get that much adjustment out of it to correct it.

Any ideas what my problem is? I've mounted several different scopes over the years and have never seen one this far off. I have an identical rifle in .243 using the same rings and bases with a Nikon Monarch 6.5-20x44 scope and never had any problems with that. Has anyone else ever had a scope this far off and how did you correct it?

Mount that scope in different rings/bases on another rifle... you'll probably discover it's the bases/rings that are the problem.

While the scope you mention is probably a good candidate for a boat anchor, I doubt that the scope itself is your problem. Nor is it likely that bases/rings would be off by that much.

The most common source of problems like this is a rifle receiver which is drilled out-of-line. A second possible source is the barrel, the axis of which is for one reason or another misaligned with the receiver.

You sound certain that you have adjusted the offset ring inserts the proper direction. Just to make sure (and I apologize for sounding excessivly elementary), the rear ring should move the scope body to the right and the front ring should move the scope body to the left in order to move the bullet impact further to the right.

Yes, I'm positive the ring inserts were positioned correctly. I started out with the "0" inserts and couldn't even get a shot on paper at 10 yards. Finally through trial and error I ended up with .020 inserts in both rings. The rear ring had the positive side on the left, the front ring had it on the right side which should angle the scope left. That's how I ended up barely grazing the left edge of the target, but since I have the inserts already adjusted for the maximum amount of angle in that direction there is simply no more adjustment left.

I had wondered if it was possible the receiver was drilled slightly off center, but I thought Savage had better quality control than that? If its either that or the barrel, what can I do to correct it? I already have about $1,400 invested in this setup and don't want to spend much more till I have some idea what my options are.

Any reason you don't like the scope I have? I own two other Nikon Monarchs and I've been very happy with them. I bought this rifle/scope combo strictly for target shooting so I wanted the high magnification with adjustable parallax.

Remove the scope, rings, and bases. Take a common wooden yardstick (or something similar) and align it with the mounting holes in the receiver. See where it points. Sounds like it will be pointing well to the right of your muzzle.

If this is the case, I would first contact Savage (assuming you bought the gun new) to see what they will or won't do about it. If the answer is that they will do nothing (or pretend you don't know what you're talking about), then your best option is to get a blank base of the proper height and length and drill it or have it drilled enough off-center to compensate for the misalignment of the holes.

Please disregard my comments on the scope as it is 99% certain that the scope is not the source of your problem. My comments only reflect my deep prejudice toward camera companies that think they know how to build optical gun sights, and toward scopes that are approximately the size and weight of an aluminum baseball bat.

A properly bedded one peice base will more than likely solve the problem, I have encountered similar issues with Browning and Remington recievers (recently with Browining) bedding a one peice base will normaly solve the problen unless holes are severly off center in which case you will discover with the one peice base being torqued. Try the Murphy Precission sight for instructions. The yard stick trick works as well for a basic check. When mounted get or barrow a boresighter, will save a lot of time and ammunition.

Nikon is a fine mid range scope, not a Night Force or S&B. Saying a camera maker does not know how to produce quality optics is like saying Leica makes crumby binoculars and spotting scopes, rediculas agrument at best.