Monday, February 28, 2005
Scope Mounting And Alignment
Over the years I have mounted a bunch of scopes on various rifles, both air powered and powder burners. The biggest trouble I have had is ensuring that the scope is vertically centered over the barrel and then making sure that the scope crosshairs are perfectly vertical. Getting everything lined up vertically is very important and keeping them aligned vertically while shooting is even more important. Hitting what you aim at becomes more difficult with a misaligned crosshair.
Aligning the crosshairs vertically is a bit easier since a plum line can be hung 10-15 yards downrange and then the vertical post of the crosshair can be set parallel to the plum line. I use a heavy lead fishing weight on a nylon string and that works great for a simple plum line. The string and weights can be bought at Walmart or other sporting good stores locally.
The bigger problem I have had is setting the rifle vertically while mounting the scope. I used to use a bubble level that I set on the stock right behind the action but that didn't alway ensure that the scope was verically in line with the barrel. This would even work on some rifles since there weren't any flat places on action or stock to set a level. I have found two ways to address this problem, one is a bubble level that I can mount on the scope rails that will show when the action is level. The only problem with this method is that if the scope rails are not cut exactly on top of the rifle then the scope mount can be offset from the barrel causing some canting problems. Another potential problem is if the scope rings introduce some cant or offset from the rails. I have seen both of these problems in a variety of airguns, both cheap and expensive.
To avoid these problems I have started using a scope alignment tool that I bought from Warren Williamson last year. The tool has one notch in the bottom that sets on the barrel or action and another that rests on the top of the scope. A bubble level on top of the unit then shows when the scope and barrel are level with each other (see pic). A slot in the body allows viewing a plum line through the scope so that once the action and scope are aligned, the scope can be turned in the rings to align the crosshairs. This tool wasn't cheap, about $40, but it was well worth the money spent for me since I like to move scopes around on different guns and it certainly makes getting everything lined up much faster and easier.
Aligning the crosshairs vertically is a bit easier since a plum line can be hung 10-15 yards downrange and then the vertical post of the crosshair can be set parallel to the plum line. I use a heavy lead fishing weight on a nylon string and that works great for a simple plum line. The string and weights can be bought at Walmart or other sporting good stores locally.
The bigger problem I have had is setting the rifle vertically while mounting the scope. I used to use a bubble level that I set on the stock right behind the action but that didn't alway ensure that the scope was verically in line with the barrel. This would even work on some rifles since there weren't any flat places on action or stock to set a level. I have found two ways to address this problem, one is a bubble level that I can mount on the scope rails that will show when the action is level. The only problem with this method is that if the scope rails are not cut exactly on top of the rifle then the scope mount can be offset from the barrel causing some canting problems. Another potential problem is if the scope rings introduce some cant or offset from the rails. I have seen both of these problems in a variety of airguns, both cheap and expensive.
To avoid these problems I have started using a scope alignment tool that I bought from Warren Williamson last year. The tool has one notch in the bottom that sets on the barrel or action and another that rests on the top of the scope. A bubble level on top of the unit then shows when the scope and barrel are level with each other (see pic). A slot in the body allows viewing a plum line through the scope so that once the action and scope are aligned, the scope can be turned in the rings to align the crosshairs. This tool wasn't cheap, about $40, but it was well worth the money spent for me since I like to move scopes around on different guns and it certainly makes getting everything lined up much faster and easier.
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