Zeiss LRP S3 636 has 50m zero at an elevation of about 20 MRAD- why?

[Ausvette]

Put a new Zeiss LRP S3 636 on a new Volquartsen Summit 22LR. Rings are MDT 102712.

The volquartsen summit has an integral 20 MOA picatinny rail.

First strange thing was the scope new out of the box hit the stop at an elevation of 2 MRAD instead of going down to zero. Second surprise is that to zero at 50M with SK long range rifle match ammo it needed an elevation of nearly 20 Mrad. With a total elevation of 32 MRAD that doesn't give enough left to shoot out to 300 metres.

I was expecting the scope would zero at 50 metres with an elevation close to zero which would then give huge elevation left to stretch out long distances. I have nightforce 7-35 scopes on other volquartsen summits and they only needed a very small elevation to zero at 50 metres.

The combination shoots accurately. But I don't understand why it needs such a huge elevation of 20 MRAD dialled in just to get to 50 metres.

Any ideas?

 

[FuhQ]

Did you adjust and reset the zero stop?

 

[Rob01]

Put a new Zeiss LRP S3 636 on a new Volquartsen Summit 22LR. Rings are MDT 102712.

The volquartsen summit has an integral 20 MOA picatinny rail.

First strange thing was the scope new out of the box hit the stop at an elevation of 2 MRAD instead of going down to zero. Second surprise is that to zero at 50M with SK long range rifle match ammo it needed an elevation of nearly 20 Mrad. With a total elevation of 32 MRAD that doesn't give enough left to shoot out to 300 metres.

I was expecting the scope would zero at 50 metres with an elevation close to zero which would then give huge elevation left to stretch out long distances. I have nightforce 7-35 scopes on other volquartsen summits and they only needed a very small elevation to zero at 50 metres.

The combination shoots accurately. But I don't understand why it needs such a huge elevation of 20 MRAD dialled in just to get to 50 metres.

Any ideas?

Did you read the directions? There is a zero stop. Did you take it out and zero and then reinstall it? The scope has more than enough elevation to reach 300 meters from a 50 meter zero.

 

[Ausvette]

Yes I did the zero stop but then it only goes up to about 12 MRAD.

After doing the zero stop should it have the full 32 MRAD elevation or does it only give you from where it was zeroed up?

In this case was zeroed at 20. Did the stop and then it went up 12 from there giving 32 in total.

 

[Rob01]

Yes I did the zero stop but then it only goes up to about 12 MRAD.

After doing the zero stop should it have the full 32 MRAD elevation or does it only give you from where it was zeroed up?

In this case was zeroed at 20. Did the stop and then it went up 12 from there giving 32 in total.

Yeah there is something wrong. Is your 20 MOA mount on correctly and not backwards? With the 32 mils it's at about 16 up and 16 down so with a 20 moa mount you would have about 22 mils up. If you have 20 mils down then something might be on wrong.

 

[Ausvette]

Yeah there is something wrong. Is your 20 MOA mount on correctly and not backwards? With the 32 mils it's at about 16 up and 16 down so with a 20 moa mount you would have about 22 mils up. If you have 20 mils down then something might be on wrong.

The 20 moa rail is integral to the receiver so can’t be put on backwards.

 

[Rob01]

The 20 moa rail is integral to the receiver so can’t be put on backwards.

Contact Zeiss then as that is not right on a 20 MOA base.

Are you sure the rings are solid to the base and not any gaps?

 

[Ausvette]

Yes all looks good. Sitting nicely.

 

[Rob01]

Yes all looks good. Sitting nicely.

Call Zeiss.

 

[FuhQ]

Are you using a 1 piece mount, or 2 piece rings?

I have a 20MOA base on my Christnensen Arms Ranger 22, and a Burris XTR-II 5-25x50, and with a 100 yard zero (with CCI SV ammo), I only have 13.9 MILs of upward travel left in it. So, I don't think you're that far off of normal.

Keep in mind, like @Rob01 said, you're 20MILs off the very bottom of the scope... That means you're only up 4 MILs over dead-center to get your 50 meter zero. So, the amount of travel you have leftover is not that egregious.

 

[Rob01]

Are you using a 1 piece mount, or 2 piece rings?

I have a 20MOA base on my Christnensen Arms Ranger 22, and a Burris XTR-II 5-25x50, and with a 100 yard zero (with CCI SV ammo), I only have 13.9 MILs of upward travel left in it. So, I don't think you're that far off of normal.

Keep in mind, like @Rob01 said, you're 20MILs off the very bottom of the scope... That means you're only up 4 MILs over dead-center to get your 50 meter zero. So, the amount of travel you have leftover is not that egregious.

That Burris only has 26 mils total also. What he has is not the norm for his set up. I have the same scope on a 20 moa base zeroed at 50 yards and have about 22 mils of up from zero. Something in his set up is off. I would put another scope on that rifle and see how it zeroes. Just to make sure it’s nothing rifle related.

 

[FuhQ]

That Burris only has 26 mils total also. What he has is not the norm for his set up. I have the same scope on a 20 moa base zeroed at 50 yards and have about 22 mils of up from zero. Something in his set up is off. I would put another scope on that rifle and see how it zeroes. Just to make sure it’s nothing rifle related.

Agreed, sounds like something in his setup might be off, but trying to diagnose without seeing the gun is like shooting in the pitch black without NODs... I would also test another scope on that exact same setup, as well. And if they're both acting screwy, it ain't the scope, and it's something hardware related...

If he's running a 1-piece 20MOA mount, he could have it on backwards...

 

[Rob01]

Yeah tough to try and figure it out without getting hands on and can only give him ideas.

One thing, OP do you actually have 20 mils below zero or is that just figuring from amount in the scope and what you have left? Also how much windage did you need to use to zero?

 

[Kiba]

The summit still has a v block attached barrel and not a threaded barrel, correct?

If so it could be typical 10/22 v block barrel droop eating up your available elevation travel. If you want more elevation travel, you'll need a canted 1 piece base or something like Burris xtr rings with the offset inserts.

My billet receiver 10/22 has a threaded barrel so it's not as susceptible to barrel droop as a v block attached barrel, and I still machined off the integral 0moa rail on the receiver and made my own 50moa base for it. Even with that it's only providing about 9.5 mils of elevation from optical center of the scope.

 

[Ausvette]

Yeah tough to try and figure it out without getting hands on and can only give him ideas.

One thing, OP do you actually have 20 mils below zero or is that just figuring from amount in the scope and what you have left? Also how much windage did you need to use to zero?

Yes I had 20 mils below zero. Windage is very close to zero.

 

[Rob01]

Yes I had 20 mils below zero. Windage is very close to zero.

Then put another scope on the rifle to try and rule out what Kiba mentioned. If the other scope does that then it’s not the scope but the rifle.

 

[Rob01]

@Ausvette could you put up a pic of your rifle with the scope on it?