Why is my scope canted?

[rothperson87]

I’m confused right now. Mounting a couple scopes using the Badger dead level, everything is level as it should be. Then mount it to a rifle and double check it with the flashlight/ plumb bob method and the reticle slightly canted. Checked a couple other scopes that were mounted the same way and they’re the exact same as the others, slightly canted to the right. Any ideas?

Leupold Mk5’s and Nightforce NXS if that matters.

 

[TheOE800]

Top level on the turret cap or the ring cap? Either or both could be out of level relative to the scope tube and/or pic rail. Accuracy and resolution of the spirit levels? So many factors you’ll drive yourself nuts.

 

[Ronin22]

1. The crosshairs don't have to be level to the gun, just the Earth. The gun will naturally cant when shouldered. When I mount a scope, I do so with the gun shouldered how I naturally hold it. Then I move the crosshairs to the horizon. Sometimes use a scope mounted bubble level that only matches the levelness of the horizontal cross hairs.

ETA: I see that is a rail mounted level? If that is the case, I only use those when the rifle buttstock has an adjustable butt plate I can angle to the body. Then the natural can't is taken out.

 

[DM1975]

I’m not an expert but this is why I use a level on my scope and not the rifle. I don’t care if the rifle is level so much, but I do care that my reticle is level.

 

[smoothy8500]

Maybe you can't trust top surfaces of knobs/caps to match the reticle.....trust the reticle.

Then again, we're looking at two cheap plastic spirit levels that could come as prizes in a Crackerjacks box.

 

[DM1975]

Maybe you can't trust top surfaces of knobs/caps to match the reticle.....trust the reticle.

Then again, we're looking at two cheap plastic spirit levels that could come as prizes in a Crackerjacks box.

If I’m following him right the cap and reticle are level with each other, but not level to the rifle.

 

[stanley_white]

Top level on the turret cap or the ring cap? Either or both could be out of level relative to the scope tube and/or pic rail. Accuracy and resolution of the spirit levels? So many factors you’ll drive yourself nuts.

I only use Alpha Levels so I never have this problem.



-Stan

 

[6.5SH]

I’m confused right now. Mounting a couple scopes using the Badger dead level, everything is level as it should be. Then mount it to a rifle and double check it with the flashlight/ plumb bob method and the reticle slightly canted. Checked a couple other scopes that were mounted the same way and they’re the exact same as the others, slightly canted to the right. Any ideas?

Leupold Mk5’s and Nightforce NXS if that matters.View attachment 8542713

So they are all off and the same way. The common factor to all is the Dead Level.
It is a dinky little circular bubble, try putting a 4' carpenter level on the base and compare.

 

[DM1975]

Level accuracy is something to think about too. I know that for instance the levels I use for scope mounting are within about a half degree of the level in my phone, but my cheap bullet levels I have for construction work are both about 3 degrees off. This is also taking into account the actual cant of the reticle as well. I assume this is due to the level vials being slightly off inside of the beam.

That’s another reason I use a level mounted to the scope tube as it’s not locked into something that is reliant on a straight edge that might be slightly off. You can rotate the scope mounted level around the scope tube until it is actually referencing the reticle vs having a fixed vial on a rail that is at the mercy of the manufacturers tolerance. If that makes sense.

ETA: percent, not degrees.

 

[Baron23]

I’m confused right now. Mounting a couple scopes using the Badger dead level, everything is level as it should be. Then mount it to a rifle and double check it with the flashlight/ plumb bob method and the reticle slightly canted. Checked a couple other scopes that were mounted the same way and they’re the exact same as the others, slightly canted to the right. Any ideas?

Leupold Mk5’s and Nightforce NXS if that matters.View attachment 8542713

What you’re showing is two small spirit levels that don’t match which is not a surprise.

Suggestion: pull the scope off, put the level you have on the turret on the scope rail and see if it matches. You may just have two levels that don’t match as most spirit levels are crap.

Also, when doing the plumb bob test, I assume you are leveling the rifle using the rail mounted level which may well not match whatever level you used on the Badger fixture.

Finally, scope turret caps may not be (often are not) perfectly level.

You can have error from one or all of these factors.

My BBC advice is pic a level and stick with it as your standard. Level the rifle then level the scope with the plumb bob and call it good.

 

[Rob01]

I’m confused right now. Mounting a couple scopes using the Badger dead level, everything is level as it should be. Then mount it to a rifle and double check it with the flashlight/ plumb bob method and the reticle slightly canted. Checked a couple other scopes that were mounted the same way and they’re the exact same as the others, slightly canted to the right. Any ideas?

Leupold Mk5’s and Nightforce NXS if that matters.View attachment 8542713

Never understood why people spend money on something to mount a scope off a rifle. Here's my idea, mount it on the rifle and sell that Badger Dead Level to the next sucker.

 

[Rocketmandb]

Then again, we're looking at two cheap plastic spirit levels that could come as prizes in a Crackerjacks box.

Crackerjack products are well known to be dead-on balls accurate.

 

[rothperson87]

Thanks all for the advice. Ended up re-mounting the scope on the rifle using the plumb bob/ flashlight method. Out of curiosity I checked all the levels against the level reticle on the wall and they all seem to be good.

 

[ggmanning]

I use this and parallel the flat on the scope bottom to the rail. Has always worked well for me. Quick, easy and repeatable. Then again I shot long distance for years leveleing the gun and eyeballing the reticle. The one thing I do like about this way is that it is a hard reference that holds the scope in place very well torquing my rings.

Optic Leveler Small

The Optic Leveler is an inexpensive, easy-to-use tool for leveling scopes mounted in rings or one-piece mounts.

arisakadefense.com

 

[JoeZ]

Sharpie a plumb line on target and shoot a group at the bottom. Now hold 10MILs over, aiming at the same point and shoot a second group. If the groups are plumb, not much else matters.