How does handguard alignment affect accuracy of Mawl or PVS-30?

[Awesomo4000]

If I have a rifle with a barrel out of alignment right to left with the handguard, how will affect my PVS-30 or Mawl?

Specifically I have a 20” rifle that is out of axis right to left 1/16” with the handguard.

It really bothers me aesthetically but based on the platform, let’s just say I don’t have options.

The rifle is, itself accurate. And the picatinny rail on the handguard and receiver is aligned up and down. The barrel is aligned with the handguard vertically.

Mathematically, this feels like a major dealbreaker, but part of me is hopeful.

(A specific discussion of the handguard brand and the model of rifle is it’s own rabbit-hole, so I’d like to just focus on the physics of it… but I skipped that class and now here we are.

400 yards divided by 20” = 720
720 x 1/16” = 45”

So at 400 yards my barrel and handguard are misaligned by 45” however the Mawl is zeroed at wherever and I don’t have any idea how the collimation of the Pvs30 plays into it…

 

[CoryT]

The PVS-30 should not care at all. If the MAWL has enough adjustment to zero, you are all set. If not, you will need to shim the mount or adjust the rail.

 

[Awesomo4000]

Thanks CoryT. That’s great news.
If the PVS-30 doesn’t care
, can you please speak to how that works? I hear that the collimation of a PVS-30 is said to be 1/4 MOA of the optic. Wouldn’t the 45” offset at 400 yards suggest that like the optic and 30 are like 11.25-ish MOA off? Why doesn’t it matter?

 

[CoryT]

Is the scope zeroed? The way the 30 works is to boresight the image tube to the image out on the end via a Risley prism. Your scope then points at the same place as the object, as the image projected is aligned with the output side. You can have a fair bit of offset in the mount and still be zeroed.

This is why you can’t use a PVS-14 in front of a day scope. You don’t look though it, you look AT it. That image may be quite a bit off of where the actual object is, the eyepiece is just a simple magnifier.

 

[Awesomo4000]

Perfect explanation, thanks again. I appreciate the clarification