Rifle Scopes problem with 20 moa base?

[Wrighty]

Alright, here's what's going on...

I recently bought an EGW 20 moa base and mounted it on my rifle. i went to zero my new scope that has 21 mils of total elevation. after zeroing at 100 yards, i reset the turret caps and counted my up elevation... 11.3 mils.

what's up with that? is that normal? it seems like i should have more up elevation after using a 20 moa base. does anyone have any idea what could be wrong here? the base? the scope? my methods? here's a pic of the set up. thanks for your help.

 

[longshotbml]

Re: problem with 20 moa base?

The picture looks like the front of the base is not flush with the receiver. The base should sit passively on the receiver before being secured with the screws. If you had to torque the base to place it would change the MOA value by changing the base to receiver angle. I had a EGW base that had that problem. They took it back and gave me a refund. I went with a NF 20 MOA base and got the full 20 MOA adjustment.

 

[m1k3]

Re: problem with 20 moa base?

Hard to tell from the picture, but make sure the front of the rest is sitting on the action and not the recoil lug/barrel nut. I have seen the factory Savage lug stick up above the action, causing the base to sit on it, hence raising the front of the base.

Thought 2:
Also, are you sure that's a 20 MOA base? Looks pretty level in the picture. I think there have been others on this forum that have received the wrong base from EGW. They of course fixed the problem quickly but still, you should double check.

Mike

 

[Powerstrokediesel]

Re: problem with 20 moa base?

By my eye, from this photo, it does look pretty level. I would definitely check to make sure it is indeed a 20 moa base.

 

[Wrighty]

Re: problem with 20 moa base?

thanks for the replies.

the base is not sitting on the recoil lug/ barrel nut and i didnt have too much trouble screwing the base in. it went it pretty nicely and i torqued it to the specified 15 in/lbs.

as to whether or not it is truly a 20 moa base, its hard to tell. the package says 20 moa, but looking at it, it does look pretty level. but again hard to tell. if it was level though, theoretically i wouldn't get any extra elevation from it and it seems that i got some. i have 11.3 up and about 10.1 down.

any other thoughts? or is it time to get a better base and put the guessing to rest?

 

[oud272]

Re: problem with 20 moa base?

Measure the front and back height of the base to check if it really is a 20moa. I had a EGW on my 10FCP-HS and had problems with it fitting, I switched to a Ken Farrell steel (sekur base) and never looked back.

Also check that the front screw(s) is(are) short enough, if not they might not be fully pulling the base down. The front screw will hit the barrel threads if it's not. Mine EGW did not lay flat so I bedded it. I also bedded the Farrell base just be sure.

 

[alf]

Re: problem with 20 moa base?

Did you have a zero base on it before? If so, where was your scope at then?

Also, everyone assumes their scope will be in the center of the adjustment range when mounting up a zero base, but it seems most of mine end up on the wrong side of up on the adjustment range. Maybe yours is an extreme example.

 

[FequalsMA]

Re: problem with 20 moa base?

Is this a new gun? I have seen a case where the barrel was actually pointing down several thousandths in relation to the action. As you can imagine it took a while to diagnose but once the problem was fixed all was well.

 

[BigDKC]

Re: problem with 20 moa base?

That looks pretty level to me also! I happen to have both bases from EGW sitting here so I could take a look.

First, just to make sure my 20 MOA base is clearly marked as such on the bottom:

Next I took some measurements, hopefully you have a set of calipers and can double check yours.

The 0 MOA base:

The 20 MOA Base:

As you can see quite a difference in both measurements! And just looking at mine flat on the table you can see the slope pretty easily of the 20 MOA base!

In case you don't have calipers available I lined up the very back edge of each base right as close to center of each valley as possible (middle of the valley of the barrel channel and middle of the vally of the pic rail bottom) and get right at 9/32" on the 0 MOA, and right at 5/8" on the 20 MOA.

Hope this helps!!

 

[m1k3]

Re: problem with 20 moa base?

Nice pics BigDKC! Very helpful. That should answer the question if its the right base or not.

Thanks
mike

 

[Wrighty]

Re: problem with 20 moa base?

Yes, very helpful DKC, thanks! i'm taking my father shooting tomorrow so i will take it apart after that and get to measuring everything.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: alf</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Did you have a zero base on it before? If so, where was your scope at then?</div></div>

i did have a zero on it before, but it was with a different scope so i dont know where it was at.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Matthew Lundy</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Is this a new gun? I have seen a case where the barrel was actually pointing down several thousandths in relation to the action. As you can imagine it took a while to diagnose but once the problem was fixed all was well.</div></div>

it is not a new gun, my last set-up of a zero base and a mark 4 worked great. hoping this one will also.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: oud272</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Measure the front and back height of the base to check if it really is a 20moa. I had a EGW on my 10FCP-HS and had problems with it fitting, I switched to a Ken Farrell steel (sekur base) and never looked back.
</div></div>

i'm thinking about getting a Ken Farrell from sharp shooting supply and ending my uneasiness... we'll see.

thanks for all the replies. looking forward to getting this figured out.