.45Coltguy
Member
Yes. It's pretty easy really with some simple, but, correct/good tools. Wasn't this already addressed here somewhere?
Do you guys mount your own scopes?
- Thread starter American_Fusilier
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jmorris
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Opposite for me. Not sure what my record for # of shots needed to zero is but its a lot more than how I do it these days.
I keep it pretty simple.
One shot zero
www.youtube.com
CoalTrain49
Member
If you changed scopes as much as I do you wouldn't want to pay a gun smith for that. It isn't that hard but a guy I know at my range has a service that mounts, bore sights and zeroes for people he sells rifles to. He works at Sportsman's warehouse. Evidently not everyone feels comfortable doing that.
Do my own, have all the stuff.......even use it sometimes
CapnMac
Member
Do my own. Mind, not that many with fancy multi-part rings & bases.
(Color me a fan of pic rail in this regard,)
(Color me a fan of pic rail in this regard,)
Arkansas Paul
Member
Never done it any other way than doing it myself.
Don't have any special tools either.
I get the eye relief right for me, and get it as straight as possible by eyeballing it.
It's worked for a few decades now.
Don't have any special tools either.
I get the eye relief right for me, and get it as straight as possible by eyeballing it.
It's worked for a few decades now.
Got it out of a trash pile at McKinnon Toyota about 45 years ago. Asked them if I could have it, they said sure, we're throwing it out.
Built that stand when I worked at a body shop for about three years almost as long ago. Never did pour concrete in the "base".
Need to do that soon, when I pour a step to the shop, since the wood crate I threw down there has rotted.
Just slapped a vx3i 3.5-10x in CZ aluminum rings.
Popped the 3-9x in Burris Signature rings off. Got the CZ squared up eyeballing it, first try.
Yeah I still got it
Well, evidently I had it......the Anschutz 64 has an arched top receiver and the Burris rings wont work.
Theyre for flat top, same as the CZ aluminums.
So ended up popping the other scope from the Burris rings. It was lined up good too
So the 64 aint going to the range this weekend.
If i had a mill i could mod the Burris rings.
But I dont LOL
Popped the 3-9x in Burris Signature rings off. Got the CZ squared up eyeballing it, first try.
Yeah I still got it
Well, evidently I had it......the Anschutz 64 has an arched top receiver and the Burris rings wont work.
Theyre for flat top, same as the CZ aluminums.
So ended up popping the other scope from the Burris rings. It was lined up good too
So the 64 aint going to the range this weekend.
If i had a mill i could mod the Burris rings.
But I dont LOL
Miami_JBT
Member
I do it myself. My scopes are for hunting and I hunt in FL & OK. I'm not taking shots from one mountain to another. My scopes are Japanese made Tascos and Leupold VXIs and VXIIs.
.38 Special
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I've been mulling this topic over for a bit. @Walkalong shows most of the "correct" way to do it, and were I to get serious about riflery again, I would copy him.
But I also think about my father's old Remington 721, which his father bought for him as a 12th birthday gift. My interest in firearms started at the same age, and being as it was the modern era, I asked my father if I could put a scope on the 721. It was fine with him, and for whatever reason, that very first scope I bought was a Leupold fixed 6x. I mounted it on ugly and cheap Weaver bases and rings, with red (!) Loctite, and the only tools I used were a screwdriver from the local hardware store and a cardboard box cut out as a cradle. I eyeballed it for level, slid it back and forth while thinking about that picture of a scope-cut eyebrow I'd seen in some book, and screwed the works together. There was a certain amount of beginner's luck involved, but the gun killed a pile of game for me and is now sitting in my safe unchanged from that day in my daddy's workshop.
Which is a long way of saying that it doesn't necessarily have to be rocket surgery.
But I also think about my father's old Remington 721, which his father bought for him as a 12th birthday gift. My interest in firearms started at the same age, and being as it was the modern era, I asked my father if I could put a scope on the 721. It was fine with him, and for whatever reason, that very first scope I bought was a Leupold fixed 6x. I mounted it on ugly and cheap Weaver bases and rings, with red (!) Loctite, and the only tools I used were a screwdriver from the local hardware store and a cardboard box cut out as a cradle. I eyeballed it for level, slid it back and forth while thinking about that picture of a scope-cut eyebrow I'd seen in some book, and screwed the works together. There was a certain amount of beginner's luck involved, but the gun killed a pile of game for me and is now sitting in my safe unchanged from that day in my daddy's workshop.
Which is a long way of saying that it doesn't necessarily have to be rocket surgery.
Nature Boy
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jmorris
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I can't carry a tune in a bucket, much less sing, while some folks can sing like angels, but can't put a round peg in a round hole, different skills.
And some folks are simply leery of installing scopes, seem to think it's more complicated than it really is. I'm like a pig in slop with mechanical
things, but am nervous about trying to do some things on my phone.......sigh........but my younger PRS shooting buddy has drug me screaming
into phone tech. I've actually signed up for matches on my phone lately, instead of waiting to get home and do it on the laptop. Different folks are
comfortable/uncomfortable with different things.
And some folks are simply leery of installing scopes, seem to think it's more complicated than it really is. I'm like a pig in slop with mechanical
things, but am nervous about trying to do some things on my phone.......sigh........but my younger PRS shooting buddy has drug me screaming
into phone tech. I've actually signed up for matches on my phone lately, instead of waiting to get home and do it on the laptop. Different folks are
comfortable/uncomfortable with different things.
rdnktrkr
Member
I purchased the Wheeler kit years ago and when I purchased it had never heard of a 34mm scope, so I purchased the pieces for 34mm when I purchased the Vortex Venom and Strike Eagle. I started "bedding" the mounts when it was mentioned here (don't know if it helps but I'll try anything for a LITTLE more accuracy), I've surprised a few of my buddies when we lapped their rings, but I really like the solid bar used to line everything up when setting the rings. I've started using the torque driver so much for other things that I've since purchased a couple more for my other toolboxes, like anytime I'm tightening screws in aluminum, and after some buddies saw them, they have purchased some also. When leveling the scope don't trust the turret caps, they are not always level to the crosshairs, do as Walkalong shows and use a plumb bob (I use orange line instead of white to make it easier) or a known "level" door jamb. also do not continuously look into the scope to set eye relief and focus, your eyes will try to compensate.
Maybe there needs to be a HOW-TO on everything that needs to be done AND the correct way to do it. There are a lot of knowledgeable people here that could help divert disaster on something that is this simple
Maybe there needs to be a HOW-TO on everything that needs to be done AND the correct way to do it. There are a lot of knowledgeable people here that could help divert disaster on something that is this simple
I have mounted a couple of scopes with no problem, but I have to admit that putting a scope on a flat top AR (what I did) is MUCH simpler than drilling and tapping holes in a nice (and expensive) rifle receiver.
Tim
Double Naught Spy
Sus Venator
I mount and zero my own gear. Sometimes I eyeball it. Sometimes I use levels. I torque to spec. and if no spec. is given, then to common amounts.
I didn't realize some people don't mount their own scopes until I bought some land and discovered my neighbor was a retired gunsmith. I learned from him that there are gun owners and then there are gun havers and he did lots of work for gun havers and much of the work was gun cleaning, mounting this or that, scope mounting of course, bore sighting, actual sighting in at a range, scratch repair, etc. He called the work "gunsmithing light" and said it paid quite well.
I didn't realize some people don't mount their own scopes until I bought some land and discovered my neighbor was a retired gunsmith. I learned from him that there are gun owners and then there are gun havers and he did lots of work for gun havers and much of the work was gun cleaning, mounting this or that, scope mounting of course, bore sighting, actual sighting in at a range, scratch repair, etc. He called the work "gunsmithing light" and said it paid quite well.
HowardC
Member
Some comments on scope mounting:
My gun club opens to the public each Sept and October for hunter sight-in. Members serve as range officers after some training. I enjoy it as I enjoy teaching people about their guns. I'd estimate I see 5-10 people a day (of the five days I try to work,) who bring a rifle newly 'bore-sighted' by a local gun shop. (admittedly mostly big box) Of those, say five, four will require another bore-sighting to be on paper (18-inch target) at 100 yds, and often at 50 yards. I used to do the bore-sighting myself, but in recent years, I've changed to instructing the person to do it themselves. From scratch, gun disassembly, bore line up, describing theory, physical setup, bag placement, gun angle surfaces, etc. It doesn't take much longer, and, judging from customer feedback, provides significant learning about their gun. Other members are doing similar teaching. We also do not physically work on peoples' guns. We provide tools and instructions.
We've seen lots of oddities. Most common is poor eye relief and loose screws. Occasionally a scope is found 90 degrees off. There was one once, mounted backwards, like the recent navy photoshop pic. IIRC, that person had 'mounted' it himself.
In my, and my son's experiences, we've always done it ourselves. I've never lapped rings, maybe once, but did use the paper inserts once. And, Burris Signature Inserts are good! I've never used levels, just eyeballing vertical in an imaginary line through the stock/gun against a white paper on floor. Worst experience was putting a Redfield 5 Star on a long Savage action. (short scope tube on loonngg action) Took a couple combinations, bad words, and finally a long tube Burris to get it set up correctly. FWIW... (disclaimer: I do NOT work for Burris.....)
-West out
My gun club opens to the public each Sept and October for hunter sight-in. Members serve as range officers after some training. I enjoy it as I enjoy teaching people about their guns. I'd estimate I see 5-10 people a day (of the five days I try to work,) who bring a rifle newly 'bore-sighted' by a local gun shop. (admittedly mostly big box) Of those, say five, four will require another bore-sighting to be on paper (18-inch target) at 100 yds, and often at 50 yards. I used to do the bore-sighting myself, but in recent years, I've changed to instructing the person to do it themselves. From scratch, gun disassembly, bore line up, describing theory, physical setup, bag placement, gun angle surfaces, etc. It doesn't take much longer, and, judging from customer feedback, provides significant learning about their gun. Other members are doing similar teaching. We also do not physically work on peoples' guns. We provide tools and instructions.
We've seen lots of oddities. Most common is poor eye relief and loose screws. Occasionally a scope is found 90 degrees off. There was one once, mounted backwards, like the recent navy photoshop pic. IIRC, that person had 'mounted' it himself.
In my, and my son's experiences, we've always done it ourselves. I've never lapped rings, maybe once, but did use the paper inserts once. And, Burris Signature Inserts are good! I've never used levels, just eyeballing vertical in an imaginary line through the stock/gun against a white paper on floor. Worst experience was putting a Redfield 5 Star on a long Savage action. (short scope tube on loonngg action) Took a couple combinations, bad words, and finally a long tube Burris to get it set up correctly. FWIW... (disclaimer: I do NOT work for Burris.....
)-West out
My LGS will mount and bore sight a scope for 5 bucks. Buy the scope from him or a regular customer he does not charge. Most of the time it depends on your attitude if you pay or not if a newbie.
.308 Norma
Member
I hunt in Idaho, and I occationally do take shots "from one mountain to another." Of course, there's a lot of mountains in Idaho, so "from one mountain to another" here might not be as far as it sounds.
Nevertheless, I usually mount my own scopes as well (and my wife's too). I've been mounting scopes for better than 40 years now, and I don't have any special tools for it either. I have good screwdrivers, a set of Allen wrenches, a few Torx wrenches and a torque wrench - which I seldom use.
I don't have a rifle vise, and I've never once used a level when mounting a scope - I eyeball it to make sure the scope is in line with the barrel. Then I make sure the horizontal crosshairs are in line with the bottoms of the doors on the kitchen cabinets after I (or my wife) pulls the rifle up to our shoulder and open our eyes - that's when we check the "eye relief" (the subject of another thread) too.
We mostly have Leopolds, a few Weavers, and a couple of Cabella's "Alaskan Guide" 6X scopes that I have on my .22 rimfires - including a "tricked out" Ruger 10-22 that will keep all 10 shots on a nickel at 40 yards if I'm using a good rest.
BTW, I first put one of those Cabella's 6X "Alaskan Guide" scopes on a brand-new Winchester 300 Win Mag, and that was a lousy combination. It worked okay for shooting mule deer on "another mountain" as you say. But up close (25 yards or less) about all I could see of a mule deer through that 6X scope was deer hair. On the other hand, my straight 6X scopes work great on my .22 rimfires for 25–75-yard ground squirrels.
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always, done it so many times I no longer need an extra pair of eyes and it does not take many trigger pulls to get a group right on bullseye
my method also progressed over time into something ridiculously simple:
throw a pop bottle on the berm, one or three adjustments for windage/elev and I hit the bottle
then splatterburst at 50 yards to zero on bullseye (unmagnified rifles are done here)
then a final tweak at 200 yds for magnified optics (or a slight re-zero at 100 yds if the reticle wants a 100yd zero) and it's nuts on
no one is coming to save you you just have to get out and figure this stuff out on your own
my method also progressed over time into something ridiculously simple:
throw a pop bottle on the berm, one or three adjustments for windage/elev and I hit the bottle
then splatterburst at 50 yards to zero on bullseye (unmagnified rifles are done here)
then a final tweak at 200 yds for magnified optics (or a slight re-zero at 100 yds if the reticle wants a 100yd zero) and it's nuts on
no one is coming to save you
you just have to get out and figure this stuff out on your ownSimilar threads
