Tall target test, reticle leveling to turret

[connerh04]

5” of lateral movement for about 12” of vertical adjustment correlates to a ~22*, which is massive. You don’t need a tracking test or the mfg to find that level or error. You could hold the scope in your hand, dial with the other, and see that level or error.

Yeah and I tried this while holding it on a plumb line at about 40 yards last night but didn’t really know how much I trusted what I was seeing, I will see if I can do a quick test in the backyard this evening. My thoughts were along yours though, it’s a massive cant and the reticle is true, so if it’s tracking wrong it should become very obvious.

 

[connerh04]

I hung a plumb line at 20 yards and secured my rifle and ran the turret way up and it stayed true to the plumb line...not what I expected but now I’ve got a new question. Say my parallax adjustment was bad/neglected but my cheek weld was consistent, could this be the cause of a decent group off the point of aim? I had initially kind of ruled it out because for me the group was pretty good and I thought if it was parallax I would see more randomness...Could parallax create that much of a shift at 300 yards?

 

[connerh04]

Might be parallax. Your head might be fairly consistent for the 3 shots, but inconsistent from 'group' to 'group'. When dialing out parallax, don't go off the numbers on the knob. You might also double check that your diopter is set-up correctly. What scope/mounts/rifle are you using?

You'd probably benefit from larger round counts for your groups since you are chasing an unknown issue, and also trying to get dope on your gun.

set up is a Vortex HS-T 6-24x50 in vortex rings on a Leupold backcountry cross slot 20 MOA base. Pretty confident in the assembly, seems rock solid. My zero is at 100, and gun is a CA ridgeline, shoots great groups at 100.
I think you nailed it on the head with what I’ve been thinking all morning. I need to shoot more rounds/more groups/more yardages and figure out trends. Too many variables at play with too little data to go off of. Also need to learn my set up better and make some more consistent habits/routines

 

[MeatBuck]

Thanks for the reply. I am no expert, but I was under the assumption that as long as my reticle is level, it wasn’t crucial to have the scope exactly level to the rifle.

This describes mounting your scope crooked.

Need a reference point on rifle to match the scope to. The action is that reference point.

If your gun is always crooked but your scope is always level, well your gun is always crooked is what I’m saying.

 

[Cahunter805]

So I ran into a similar issue recently. Vortex scope, zeroed at 100, sent a 3 shot group at 300 with no elevation adjustment just to get a real feel for the adjustment to make, 12” drop or so straight down from my point of aim. ~4” group due to a flier. I dialed up 1.2 mils and sent another 3 shot group, this one snugged up at just under 3”, elevation looked good but the group landed about 5” right. I packed up and went home to ponder everything. Ran a plumb line and checked that my anticant level was true, ‘twas. I know the level was true to the action as well when I mounted it. Base is bedded, rings are aligned and lapped. I know I should have kept testing, a tall target test would definitely help me confirm that this is a scope tracking issue. 5” is a lot of movement if this were a cant/mirage/me error, especially with left/right looking good after the first group at 300. The groupings being MOA or tell me it’s a repeatable issue whatever it is.
Current thoughts are to get the scope sent to vortex tomorrow in hopes of having it back in time for a 9/17 rifle hunt, thoughts? Experience?

Could be a parallax issue. How was mirage? Were your shooting from a bench? Prone? Was body position/cheek weld consistent from group to group?
I think your on the right track. I would go shoot a few more test groups of 5 rounds and see what happens.

 

[connerh04]

Could be a parallax issue. How was mirage? Were your shooting from a bench? Prone? Was body position/cheek weld consistent from group to group?
I think your on the right track. I would go shoot a few more test groups of 5 rounds and see what happens.

All shots were prone, cheek weld felt great, shots felt great. I’m just relatively new to the factors that start to come into play as distances get a little longer. Mirage was not good and it was getting worse, about 90* on a harvested wheat field, that played a large part in why I packed up so quick. But yes, getting to read up on potential causes has kept my scope from being sent back just yet and helped me make a list of things to be conscious of when I go out next. I Will be cutting it close on having the rifle ready to hunt with if I have to send the scope in after this weekend, so hopefully I am the issue and can get it sorted out.

 

[wind gypsy]

This describes mounting your scope crooked.

Need a reference point on rifle to match the scope to. The action is that reference point.

If your gun is always crooked but your scope is always level, well your gun is always crooked is what I’m saying.

My understanding is that Connor is saying that rifle might shoulder best with a slight cant and that as long as the scope is mounted such that it tracks straight up and down while holding rifle at said slight cant, there should be very minimal error caused by the rifle/scope not being setup perfectly plumb and aligned with one another. Barring any crazy offset between the two, I believe the OP is correct that it wont cause notable issue at reasonable hunting distances.

 

[connerh04]

My understanding is that Connor is saying that rifle might shoulder best with a slight cant and that as long as the scope is mounted such that it tracks straight up and down while holding rifle at said slight cant, there should be very minimal error caused by the rifle/scope not being setup perfectly plumb and aligned with one another. Barring any crazy offset between the two, I believe the OP is correct that it wont cause notable issue at reasonable hunting distances.

I believe meatbuck is quoting Bones on this one, but I’ll chime in since I’ve dove into this as well and this is pulled from another thread by Dan Mayland
Level reticle/rifle cant
super informative, worth a watch for sure. I was skeptical at first, but he puts the proof in the video.

 

[brettdunn7]

My understanding is that Connor is saying that rifle might shoulder best with a slight cant and that as long as the scope is mounted such that it tracks straight up and down while holding rifle at said slight cant, there should be very minimal error caused by the rifle/scope not being setup perfectly plumb and aligned with one another. Barring any crazy offset between the two, I believe the OP is correct that it wont cause notable issue at reasonable hunting distances.

I see what your saying so he could put a level on the scope or rail and that should correct that right if the scope is plumb to the rifle being level and he is canting then he just needs to make sure he isn’t canting or do as you suggest.


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