Hi guys
I encountered an issue mounting a scope and I have a few questions on what could have been the problem. I installed several scopes on several rifles and never had an issue, all are tack drivers but all my stuff is "Tactical", such as Badger 35 MOA rails, Badger rings, S&B or NF scopes, TRG rifles, etc...you get the picture. This is the first time I play with a hunting rifle, hunting rifle scope and accessories.
I recently purchased a Winchester Model 70 Alaskan (solid Walnut stock) in .375 H&H Magnum. For optic, I chose a Leupold VX-3, 3.5-10x40mm, Boone & Crockett reticle. For rings and bases, I went with the Leupold Dual Dovetail system (.330 rear base).
I installed the front and rear bases, installed the DD rings, used the Wheeler adjustment kit to make sure everything was straight and slightly lapped the rings, to ensure a decent contact scope/rings, as the .375 H&H has a decent amount of recoil.
When I was done installing everything, I removed the bolt, to roughly bore sight the rifle (the old way, looking through bore), in order to match the reticle with the center of the bore, lined up on a target about 20 yards away.
The elevation was almost right on but the center of my cross hairs was about 20" off to the left. Long story short, I ran out of lateral adjustment before my cross hairs could meet with the center of the bore, on target. I turned the rings, even switched them in every possible way, hoping it would solve the issue but no such luck, I also checked the front and rear bases but not much to do there; I was careful tightening the rings screws in the proper order, to ensure adequate pressure on each side.
When I ran out of ideas, I contacted Leupold and a Tech referred me to their FAQ Customer Support Page.
This is what it says:
"4. My scope is running out of internal adjustment travel before I get properly sighted in. How can I obtain more travel?
When encountering an issue involving exhausted adjustment travel it is likely related to the alignment between the scope and barrel. When producing a firearm, there are many different components, each having a tolerance specification. As these tolerances “stack,” the alignment between the receiver and the barrel changes; this is why 10 seemingly identical rifles will all require different amounts of scope adjustment to sight-in. This is also why some scopes will reach the end of the adjustment travel without properly aligning to the bore; running out of adjustment before you can place the bullet in the center of the target.
This issue can be rather frustrating to the average rifleman
If an issue exists on the windage axis, the correction needs to be made with windage adjustable bases or rings. Leupold offers windage adjustable bases (STD) which have two windage screws holding the rear ring. By loosening one side and tightening the other, they shift the rear of the scope right or left. It should be noted that shifting the rear of the scope to the left will cause the point of impact to shift to the left and vise versa. It should also be noted that if one axis is near the limit of its adjustment, there will be a reduction in the amount of adjustment on the other axis. If the elevation adjustment is near the top of the adjustment range, the windage adjustment will be reduced; if windage adjustment has been induced, there will be a reduction in elevation adjustment. This can be illustrated by drawing a circle on a piece of paper to represent the maintube of a scope. If you start in the center of the circle with your pencil, you can move an equal distance in any of the four directions: up, down, left, or right. If you start in the center of the circle and move upwards toward the top of the circle, you will see that the distance remaining to the left and right has been diminished. The same is true in any direction; if you start in the center of the circle and move to the left, you will have diminished travel to adjust up or down."
So the explanation there is that all rifles are different and you may need adjustable bases, or rings? OK maybe but (I would assume) only up to a certain point, I never encountered this issue before; would this be a common thing on hunting rifles?
I since purchased the adjustable bases and the according rings, I will install these today and hope for the best. I will not lap the rings, just in case...
Nevertheless, I am still not sure why the issue; I normally do not lap rings on any of my tactical set ups, so even though I was careful and did not remove much metal form the rings, I may have created the problem; could this be the reason why I ended up with this issue?
Another possibility would be the holes in the receiver not being lined up properly, or the some kind of alignment issue with the bases but Leupold and FN (now making the Win Model 70) are good companies with solid reputation and products, so I am not entertaining this idea too much.
It may not be easy to answer this question without taking a look at the rifle and bases/rings but if anyone has an idea on why I encountered this issue, let me know your thoughts. Even though I already purchased other bases and rings that will, hopefully, fix the problem, I would not mind learning something, especially if I made a mistake.
Thanks for your input and good shooting to all
Ombre noire
I encountered an issue mounting a scope and I have a few questions on what could have been the problem. I installed several scopes on several rifles and never had an issue, all are tack drivers but all my stuff is "Tactical", such as Badger 35 MOA rails, Badger rings, S&B or NF scopes, TRG rifles, etc...you get the picture. This is the first time I play with a hunting rifle, hunting rifle scope and accessories.
I recently purchased a Winchester Model 70 Alaskan (solid Walnut stock) in .375 H&H Magnum. For optic, I chose a Leupold VX-3, 3.5-10x40mm, Boone & Crockett reticle. For rings and bases, I went with the Leupold Dual Dovetail system (.330 rear base).
I installed the front and rear bases, installed the DD rings, used the Wheeler adjustment kit to make sure everything was straight and slightly lapped the rings, to ensure a decent contact scope/rings, as the .375 H&H has a decent amount of recoil.
When I was done installing everything, I removed the bolt, to roughly bore sight the rifle (the old way, looking through bore), in order to match the reticle with the center of the bore, lined up on a target about 20 yards away.
The elevation was almost right on but the center of my cross hairs was about 20" off to the left. Long story short, I ran out of lateral adjustment before my cross hairs could meet with the center of the bore, on target. I turned the rings, even switched them in every possible way, hoping it would solve the issue but no such luck, I also checked the front and rear bases but not much to do there; I was careful tightening the rings screws in the proper order, to ensure adequate pressure on each side.
When I ran out of ideas, I contacted Leupold and a Tech referred me to their FAQ Customer Support Page.
This is what it says:
"4. My scope is running out of internal adjustment travel before I get properly sighted in. How can I obtain more travel?
When encountering an issue involving exhausted adjustment travel it is likely related to the alignment between the scope and barrel. When producing a firearm, there are many different components, each having a tolerance specification. As these tolerances “stack,” the alignment between the receiver and the barrel changes; this is why 10 seemingly identical rifles will all require different amounts of scope adjustment to sight-in. This is also why some scopes will reach the end of the adjustment travel without properly aligning to the bore; running out of adjustment before you can place the bullet in the center of the target.
This issue can be rather frustrating to the average rifleman
If an issue exists on the windage axis, the correction needs to be made with windage adjustable bases or rings. Leupold offers windage adjustable bases (STD) which have two windage screws holding the rear ring. By loosening one side and tightening the other, they shift the rear of the scope right or left. It should be noted that shifting the rear of the scope to the left will cause the point of impact to shift to the left and vise versa. It should also be noted that if one axis is near the limit of its adjustment, there will be a reduction in the amount of adjustment on the other axis. If the elevation adjustment is near the top of the adjustment range, the windage adjustment will be reduced; if windage adjustment has been induced, there will be a reduction in elevation adjustment. This can be illustrated by drawing a circle on a piece of paper to represent the maintube of a scope. If you start in the center of the circle with your pencil, you can move an equal distance in any of the four directions: up, down, left, or right. If you start in the center of the circle and move upwards toward the top of the circle, you will see that the distance remaining to the left and right has been diminished. The same is true in any direction; if you start in the center of the circle and move to the left, you will have diminished travel to adjust up or down."
So the explanation there is that all rifles are different and you may need adjustable bases, or rings? OK maybe but (I would assume) only up to a certain point, I never encountered this issue before; would this be a common thing on hunting rifles?
I since purchased the adjustable bases and the according rings, I will install these today and hope for the best. I will not lap the rings, just in case...
Nevertheless, I am still not sure why the issue; I normally do not lap rings on any of my tactical set ups, so even though I was careful and did not remove much metal form the rings, I may have created the problem; could this be the reason why I ended up with this issue?
Another possibility would be the holes in the receiver not being lined up properly, or the some kind of alignment issue with the bases but Leupold and FN (now making the Win Model 70) are good companies with solid reputation and products, so I am not entertaining this idea too much.
It may not be easy to answer this question without taking a look at the rifle and bases/rings but if anyone has an idea on why I encountered this issue, let me know your thoughts. Even though I already purchased other bases and rings that will, hopefully, fix the problem, I would not mind learning something, especially if I made a mistake.
Thanks for your input and good shooting to all
Ombre noire
Last edited:
