Has anyone ever had trouble with Leupold bases and rings? I have a set on my Weatherby SVM .22-250. The problem I'm having is the scope has run completely out of verticle adjustment. I can get my groups no lower than 6 inches high @ 100 yds. I thought it may have been the scope which is a Leupold 6.5-20X vari X III. After calling Leupold, they sent me a twelve thousandth inch shim. I placed it under the front base according to their instructions with absolutely no change in impact. I then sent the scope back to them thinking there was a problem. Got it back a short time later with another letter saying there was no problem with the scope. I then put a Leupold 6-18X and had zeroed without much trouble. I did check Leupolds tech page and the 6-18X has approximately 19 more inches of adjustment than the 6.5-20X Just this past week, a good friend of mine bought the exact same rifle,rings and scope. He too had the same problem running out of verticle adjustment. While we were scratching our head at the range, a well known local benchrest shooter advised us to scrap the Leupold bases and rings stating that they are no good. He did point out to the both of us how the front base sits lower than the back therefore probably causing the problem. I could swap the front base to the rear but would rather not. Sorry my question is so lengthy and any help or recommendations would be helpful. Should I try the Talley system or a Burris base and ring system.

If I remember correctly Weatherby changed the height of one of the bridges on their action so mounts that work for earlier actions won't work for newer ones. I know that's not much help but hopefully someone can expound on it.

I believe that if you're hitting high the shim need to go under the rear base. But as Boltman mentioned, you probably have the incorrect bases.

Will the rifle group at all?

Like boltman said, check the model of your rifle against Leupold's offerings. Your base set may be incorrect. I go with one-piece bases where possible.

(I think David did what we all do at times; to lower point of impact you need to shim under the front of the scope.)

BTW, if you ran out of adjustment at +6 MOA, you are not just trying to correct 6 MOA but rather that plus what it takes to optically center the reticle. (IOW, 6MOA + 1/2 range of adjustment).

If it's not a base problem it may be a bedding pressure problem. If the rifle groups I'm betting wrong bases. But be sure to measure each ring height in case they got mixed somehow.

Also make sure your rest is not too hard as it will cause groups to print high, though I've never known it to be this dramatic.

steve y

You're correct, for this particular problem shimming the rear would only make it worse. This is the opposite of what I see most often for long range shooting... (If one of us had a base the only went to 6 MOA high at it's lowest point we'd be mighty pleased.)

Hey Bubster, Just went through a similar fiasco when trying to mount a 6.5-20x 50mm VariX-III on a Watherby Ultra Light.

Part of the problem with my set-up was self induced though. I have a couple of extra sets of Leupold Dual Dovetail Rings around here, so I had the Gun Shop just order some Leupold Dual Dovetail Bases for me.

To shorten this up a good bit, I got the new Leupold Bases, but Leupold does not make Dual Dovetail Bases for the Wby U-Lt receiver. The ones I got were for the "full size" Weatherby receiver. I'd suspect you are seeing the same or something similar with your SVM.

Anyway, with a 50mm Objective(if you have the smaller Objective, you can use the Medium Height Ring set) here is how I resolved the issue:

Burris Matte Black
TU-WLW 410421 Bases(you may need a different set for your SVM, but simply check with the Burris web site)
High Signature Rings 420511(work perfect with the 50mm Objective)
Pos-Align Insert Set 626019(Eccentric Inserts)

Once I got the big Leupold mounted, it was a snug fit "lengthwise" between the Signature Rings, but it will fit.

I shot it and also noticed my groups were pretty high. Someone (who will remain nameless DUUUUHHH!) left the Eccentric Inserts at home, so it took another Range trip to get everything all set up. I had to put the 0.020" Eccentric Insert in the Rear Ring, turned the Insert to lower the rear of the scope and that was enough to only need about a 3"-4" vertical scope adjustment.

The Eccentric set also comes with 0.005" and 0.010" Offset Inserts, so you could also "add" height to the front ring if need be.

No "Lapping" is needed, you get an outstanding "grip" on the scope tube with no chance of maring it and they are not expensive. Basically the Next Generation Ring Design available for us to use today.

I've tried them all and currently recommend the Burris Signature Rings above ALL OTHER brands.

[ 06-20-2002, 20:31: Message edited by: Hot Core ]

I was told when I bought the rifle that the Weatherby Mark X action would accept Remington 700 accessories(bases and such). So I bought the bases which this idiot salesman recomended. I was told today that this is not the case anymore. At one time Weatherby actions were made to accept Remington 700 bases but now have their own set of bases for the Mark X action. I confirmed this through Weatherby and by glancing through a Midway catalog also. The rifle does group very well and is more accurate that my Sako or Cooper therefor leading me to beleive that the bases were the problem. I appreciate the replies from everyone, you've really helped out.