Air Rifle Scope Run Out Of Adjustment
The ProblemYou mount a scope on your brand new rifle and can’t get it zeroed because it’s run out of adjustment.The BackgroundAbout once a month I’ll run into a question posted by a user on one of the Internet’s hunting and shooting forums with just such a problem. Problems with rifles can very often be traced back to malfunctioning scopes or faulty mounts but, in this case, the usual suspects are innocent.The Expert DeferralI’ve struggled to get some test guns shooting on paper, but my exposure has been minimal. I also lack the test equipment to determine the culprit when a situation like this strikes.
Air Rifle Scope Run Out Of Adjustment Chart
Apr 26, 2010 How scopes really work and what not to do when adjusting them By Jock. He told me that well over 90% of their customer service issues have to do with scope owners improperly adjusting their scopes, and I found out that I have been doing some things wrong from time to time. Your air rifle also has iron sights — usually a post front. #Unfortunately, I seem have used most of the elevation adjustment to zero it #at 20 yards. Not an uncommon problem with air rifles. MAC-1 Airguns, Gardena, CA, makes 'drooper' mounts which are the ideal solution. They machine in extra elevation to standard mounts.
Air Rifle Scope Run Out Of Adjustment Calculator
My friend, one of the nation’s preeminent rifle builders, has seen this situation countless times. He weighed-in on this topic when I was in his shop last fall and again recently on a popular outdoor message board.“It is not to uncommon to find the receiver threads machined out of line with the centerline of the bore and pointing off into deep space. On the few left handed Model 70 actions I have assembled this situation should be considered a given. If the amount of run-out is minimal and you install a scope with maximum amount of windage and elevation correction available or install iron sights only on the barrel you will likely never perceive this as a problem.”“If the run-out is significant you will run out of windage correction unless you use the older style or windage screw bases.
The sniper scope builders also borrowed something else from airgun scopes, but as yet they have not developed it fully. That feature is a side adjustment knob for parallax. The location makes adjusting parallax easier because the shooter doesn't have to reach all the out to the end of what is usually a very large scope.
Scope Mounting BasicsYour brand-new airgun just arrived, and you are eager to try it out. You alsopurchased a air rifle scope (make sure it's airgun rated if you plan to installon a springer) and the recommended mounts and rings that fit, and all you needto do now to enjoy your new acquisition is to install the scope on the gun.So go ahead.install the scope and get shooting!What do you mean you’ve never put a scope on a gun before? Oh.okay.Well, it isn’t hard, so let’s just walk through it together.Airguns come in many shapes and sizes, and different manufacturers use differentmounting systems. As a general rule, you will most likely find 3/8' (11mm) dovetail grooves machined into the top of the receiver on the majority ofairguns. However, some manufacturers use a different system that installs arail on top of the receiver. Be sure to check the width of the rail so you canorder the proper-sized mounts. If you come from the firearm world, and are usedto,there are adaptors that convert from dovetail to Weaver, allowing you to usemounts you already possess.Now consider the air rifle you have purchased.
Is it a heavy-recoiling springer?If so, you will want to take advantage of the scope stop that hopefully camewith the gun. Often, you will find scope stop holes already provided by themanufacturer on top of the receiver between the dovetails. If the scope mountsyou purchased have a scope stop pin, the pin goes in the hole to prevent theentire mount and scope from creeping back on you when shooting. If there areno holes provided, then you can install a scope stop near the rear of the dovetailthat will provide that function for you. A isoften a good investment if you have a heavy-recoiling airgun, in that it providesa longer gripping surface than a.
Theyaren’t quite as flexible as a two-piece mount, but they are very stable, andlessen the need for a scope stop. If your airgun is a lower-recoiling type,either a low-powered springer or a PCP/CO2-powered gun, a scope stop is rarelycalled for as the recoil isn’t enough to cause your scope to creep.Taking the top of the rings off the scope mount, place the mount or mountson the gun and fasten them to the gun. Don’t bear down on the fastening screwsyet, as you may need to make some adjustments.Place your scope in the rings, making adjustments for a good fit, and placethe top half of the rings on the mount.Fasten the top of the rings just enough to hold the air riflescope in place, yet allowing you to still be able to turn and slide the scopeforward and back. Now position the scope so that the eye-relief is to your liking,perhaps 2” to 4”. (Eye-relief is the distance from your eye to the rear of thescope, the part that you are looking through). Once the correct distance isobtained, rotate the scope in the rings so that the scope is level in the rings.The vertical reticle in the scope needs to divide the gun in half when you lookthrough it. Now that you have the correct eye-relief adjusted, and your scopeis mounted evenly in the rings, fasten the rings down on the scope by alternatelytightening the screws.
On a four-screw ring mount, I normally do two on thefront (diagonally positioned from each other), then two in the back. I thenfasten down the others, alternating from front to back.
It’s sort of like changinga flat-tire.you tighten the lug nuts alternately, not the ones next to eachother.Be careful that you don’t bear down too hard on the ring screws.youcan damage the tube of your scope, which certainly isn’t your intention. Afterthe rings are tightened down, go back and tighten the entire mount to the gun.There is an issue that affects your scope-mounting procedures.It is called barrel droop, seen mostly in break-barrel designs. Since the opensights on an air rifle are on the barrel, shooting with open iron sights willnot affect your point of aim.
However, when you place a scope on the gun, thescope is mounted on the receiver, not the barrel. To compensate for the barreldroop found in some airguns, you must sometimes shim the scope in therear mount to more closely align the scope with the barrel. There aredifferent materials you can use, from tape to strips of aluminum cut from adrink can. However, to avoid having to shim the scope, an adjustable mount can bepurchased that will allow you to make adjustments to the mount itself in orderto compensate for barrel droop. The RWS C-Mount is a terrific mount. It is fully adjustable for windage andelevation and makes sighting in a scoped air rifle a breeze. You might thinkthat you can just sight your scope in with the adjustments on the scope itselfbut sometimes the barrel droop is too severe for this and the scope will nothave enough adjustments to get you on target.
RWS air rifles are know for thisand, therefore, the RWS C Mount is recommended for them.Another option is to buy pre-compensated mounts that have a builtin droop allowance already machined into the mount itself. It isn’t an adjustablemount, but the mount was purposefully machined with a slightly higher rear scopering to allow the scopes normal adjustment knobs to be able to adjust enoughwithin their normal working range to get you on target.Once you’ve mounted your scope, grab a piece of paper or cardboard,some pellets, and let’s go sight in your scope-mounted air rifle. Place thetarget about 10 yards away. Since we are so close to our target,would be a good thing to have in the event of a ricochet. Take a few shots atthe center of the paper, seeking to just get on the page. Using the scope'shorizontal adjustment knob, get the point of impact horizontally centered onthe target. Once you’ve accomplished this, work on the vertical adjustment tobring the point of impact to about 1” or so below the point of aim.Now move the target out to 30 yards away and shoot a group of4 or 5 shots.
Don’t worry about flyers that differ from the group at this point,concentrate on the group itself. At 30 yards, you should be close to dead onfor most airguns. This will vary from gun to gun depending on the power of eachgun. Don’t forget that if you shoot a different pellet than the one you usedto sight in with, you will have a different point of impact due to the weightof the pellet and the fit of the pellet in the barrel.
So sight in your gunwith the pellet you intend to use. Mounting a scope isn’t hard, and the methoddescribed above will suit the vast majority of airgunners.
Will minecraft realms ever support mods. There are more advancedmethods for FT shooters and accuracy devotees that involve using a level, workingup a chart to plot the impact point of each type of pellet, and adjustmentsto the scope for each shot that occurs at a different range. I’ve never usedthat method myself, finding the above method of scope mounting more than adequatefor hunting and plinking.So now you’re ready to go shooting. Enjoy!By Randy Mitchell Written Exclusively for Airgun Depot.