Sighting-In Question

lance0623 · 11-11-2003, 12:40 PM

I just mounted a Bushnell Elite 2.5x10 on my rifle. When it' s on 2.5 power, I can see my barrel, and when I shoulder the rifle, I can see the crosshairs are to the right of the barrel (I have a full field of view, and do not have to adust my head to get a full field of view). I can adjust my head so that the crosshairs are exactly above the end of the rifle barrel. What does this indicate? That the rifle is not fitted correctly for me, scope not mounted exactly in line with the barrel, or am I just screwed up and have bad shooting form? I don' t think it' s the latter, as I' ve shot 1" groups with this rifle with the previous scope mounted, and qualified 4x as an expert in the Marines.

My mounts I took off one of my other rifles, it' s a one-piece Leupold base. Are all one-piece Leupold bases windage adjustable, and should I use that to align the scope with the end of the barrel so that when I shoulder it; it' s exactly aligned, then sight in again?

Last question, if the crosshairs are just right of the end of the barrel, and I have it dead-on for windage at 100 yds, how far off would it be at 200 and 300 yds? I' m thinking basically of an x; the point in the middle being 100yds. Will it be a difference greater than an inch?

I know it' s quite a few questions, but I' ve never had (or at least was aware that I had) these problems before.

Thanks for any help.

Lance

Danny45 · 11-11-2003, 01:49 PM

I' m trying to make sure I understand you. You look thru the scope, and you can see the barrel???? I' ve never seen that before. Was the base made for your particular rifle?

lance0623 · 11-11-2003, 01:52 PM

The field of view is very large at 2.5 power, if I turn it up to 3x or 4x I cannot see the barrel. The base is just a normal one-piece Leupold that I bought about 4 years ago.

Briman · 11-11-2003, 05:18 PM

It sounds normal to see the end of the barrel in the scope, especially a low powered scope. The line of sight from the scope needs to go below the axis of the bore at some point anyhow if you want to be able to zero your rifle at any distance. I can see the front sight of my rem 700 in the scope when I lok through it.

The side to side movement of the crosshairs is parallex- no different than holding your finger in front of your view and moving your head side to side while looking at the find and the background behind it. This is not a good thing with scopes because you would need to have the exact same cheekweld every time if you want to shoot consistantly. I would call the manufacturer of the scope to find out how to correct that.

stubblejumper · 11-11-2003, 08:12 PM

It is perfectly normal to see the barrel at low powers.As for the crosshairs being to the right it sounds as though the gun does not fit you right or you need to adjust your cheek position.

Danny45 · 11-12-2003, 08:44 AM

Learn something new everyday. I' ve never had a scope below 3 power so there' s the problem.

eldeguello · 11-12-2003, 08:44 AM

Quote:

The side to side movement of the crosshairs is parallex- no different than holding your finger in front of your view and moving your head side to side while looking at the find and the background behind it. This is not a good thing with scopes because you would need to have the exact same cheekweld every time if you want to shoot consistantly. I would call the manufacturer of the scope to find out how to correct that.

High-powered rifle scopes are set to be relatively parallax-free at 100 to 150 yards out to infinity. This means that objects viewed at ranges shorter than that for which it is set will show side-to-side and up-and-down movement such as you are experiencing as your eye is moved in relation to the ocular lense! The closer the object to your scope' s objective lense, the greater this movement seems to be.

I suspect there is nothing at all wrong with your scope, or the parallax setting it has! Unless your scope is equipped with an adjustable objective, (in which case, you need to set the objective for the minimum distance you will be shooting at), leave it alone. There' s nothing wrong, per your description of what you are seeing! Although it does not HURT to center your eye in the ocular lense window when shooting, it should not be necessary to do so, if the parallax adjustment is O.K. Shoot it on the range to verify this!

If you zero your rifle to be dead-on for windage at 100 yards, there is really no way to know whether or not it will be off windage-wise, or how much it might be off, at greater ranges without actually confirming this by shooting at the greater ranges! I have proven this to my satisfaction over the years! It' ll PROBABLY be off some, they usually are. It should not be off MUCH, but you SHOULD CONFIRM this with actual shooting!! Do this check on as calm a day as you can, to minimize the effects of wind. Or on a day when the wind is blowing straight up or down range.