How often do you adjust scope

Whenever I get new prescription glasses. Anywhere from 2-5 years. If I have to every year I get a new scope.

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EDIT: Nuts I think I posted this in the wrong thread. Sorry!

Berserker said:

My question is not how often you check, but how often you adjust.

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How often I adjust depends on whether the rifle is free-floated in the forend and glass-bedded, or when I change loads that vary POI from what I'd been using. I just took the barreled action of a .223 Remington 700 out of the stock to adjust the trigger weight and need to get it to the range to make sure it's shooting where it's supposed to. I doubt that it's off by much, considering it's free-floated and glass-bedded, but I've gotta be sure. It will be a while before things are warm enough to sit at the bench, so it's on the back-burner. I doubt that it will be more than an inch off the desired POI and may not be that far. Time will tell.

Meanwhile, I have several other rifles that can be used instead of the questionable zeroed rifle. It's just a spare, anyway.

The reason you have knobs on a scope is for sight adjustment. I you expect to shoot any real distance with precision on small targets and do not have repeatable sights, you are backing up. I have tactical scopes and increment tables packing tape covered on my front bell. A laser range finder on my belt. Determine your scope’s true adjustment (1/4 inch does not mean jack) by using 200 yards. Zero, then add 8 clicks, divide center to center by 8= your actual adjustment for 1.
Some ballistics tables will allow you to change the scope increments to use your actual scope click numbers. I use such a table, Silhouette Ballistics.
Of course, the scope, rifle, load and shooter must maintain the accuracy necessary to use the information.

My B&L Balvar 8A has not been adjusted since the early 1970s. It is shared by a Ruger #1 in 300 Win Mag and a 98 Mauser in 30-06.

I check and adjust mine as necessary for temperature ranges. Groups sometimes change vertically from the cold of winter to the heat of summer. Temps here can run from 0 in the winter to 105 in the summer.

David Miller built this rifle over 30 years ago. Since then I've hunted with it from the snowfields of Canada and Alaska to the blazing sands of Sudan and swamps of Congo, and back again, and I've never yet touched the scope's adjustments or had reason to. It's always on zero for good reasons: !st: It's a damn good scope, 2nd: Miller's rigid scope mounting system, 3rd: The action and barrel are tightly bedded in a wood stock with upward barrel pressure..

Offfhand said:

David Miller built this rifle over 30 years ago. Since then I've hunted with it from the snowfields of Canada and Alaska to the blazing sands of Sudan and swamps of Congo, and back again, and I've never yet touched the scope's adjustments or had reason to. It's always on zero for good reasons: !st: It's a damn good scope, 2nd: Miller's rigid scope mounting system, 3rd: The action and barrel are tightly bedded in a wood stock with upward barrel pressure..View attachment 975596 View attachment 975597 View attachment 975598

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Beautiful rifle. What is it chambered for?

Just once. But if the ammo changes significantly then of course. And I do function check my rifles before a trip which would include shooting at 100 (or as appropriate) yards to check zero. But I do not adjust it. I have several rifles outfitted with quick release mounts (Warne) so that I can get access to the irons (mostly several Marlins) but I have seen no need to adjust those either on an annual basis.

I move my settings all the time, but I shoot ' clicks ' their are several conditions that can cause rifles to group differently than the last time they were fired.
Obviously mechanical damage causing a variation, their is also poorly mounted rings, forcing the wind age or elevation to be ' up against ' the mechanical stops and moving from there. Then, their is the shooter.
Cheekweld, extra clothing, positioning if you use a bench is also indicative of different groups, jerking the trigger, ' heeling' the rifle will contribute to groups not where you think they should be.

Regarding switching zero when switching ammo.

My 308win "target" ammo is a 168gr SMK over RL15 in heavily preped brass.

My "hunting" ammo is a 165gr SGK over RL15, in... well, less intensively preped brass (not sorted by weight, not trimmed EVERY firing)

They both shoot to the same POI, in a pillar and glass bed fiberglass stocked rifle. So I don't really mess with my zero often.

In the reloading shortage of 2009 I worked up a number of loads that duplicate each other’s accuracy but not necessarily velocity. Most loads didn’t hold the same poi t of impact so scope changes were needed depending on the load.
I always verify the zero range a few days before deer season and leave the barrel fouled all season.

I had a 700 with a vxlll on it that fell out of a tree stand, bore sighted it, looked good, got back in the stand and shot a nice buck at 300 yards. I gave that rifle to my son. usually checked every year never changed then one day he asked my to check it and I had to adjust it. I imagine it took a fall. I check my rifles usually one a year and they seldom need adjustment. Had a Simmons fail completely and a Bushnell years ago. I do have long range scopes that are adjustable for range but I seldom use them anymore. One is 40 years old.

I do have to adjust between 5.56 NATO and 223 on my AR.

I had a 2 3/4x Bushnell Banner that was on a Hastings cantilever slug barrel for my 870. I took it out and shot 5 rounds through it every fall, usually at pumpkin at 100 yards. Never touched the turrets. I gave it to my son about 5 years ago, bet he hasn't adjusted it either. (we shoot the same from sights or scopes.) That scope has been on that barrel the last 30 years.

Berserker said:

How often do you adjust your scope? I don't do mine every year. But I do adjust. I keep a log and pictures. My camp is 300 miles away, so by second year, it may have travelled 1200 miles or more. Hard case.

I wonder how much of it is me. Leopold vx 2s and 3i. Curious how much travel effects v shooting practices. Thanks

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Sight in my deer rifle annually. Usually the first shot or two tells me that it is still zeroed just fine. Once my scope is on target on I don't mess with it.

Being a handloader, I change loads often for some cartridges/rifles. Every time I decide to keep one batch, I adjust a particular rifle for that load and often make a small ballistics chart that I attach to the rifle (if used for hunting).

Picher said:

Being a handloader, I change loads often for some cartridges/rifles. Every time I decide to keep one batch, I adjust a particular rifle for that load and often make a small ballistics chart that I attach to the rifle (if used for hunting).

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I'm a handloader too, but I greatly prefer one-load-per-rifle. That way I don't have to worry about "is my rifle zeroed?" Just grab it and go.

I fiddle with my handgun loads alot though. What ever bullets cheapest, whatever powder I have the most of etc

Hunting rifles almost never once they're sighted in. I'll confirm zero, but rarely adjust. Target rifles that are dialed for elevation are a different story.

Berserker said:

I am not really worried. But curious. I have 100 yard range and like to hand load. Last 2 years I didn't practice like I normally do. Fine for hunting and more than most. I had notes the one was a to the left. Also comes down to where I left my hold over.

Though I was wondering a little bit of the effect of driving the gun back and forth to camp. I have it in padded hard case or sometimes soft case between the backseat when folded. So it may have some miles on it, between sight in and season.

I have a folder on my phone, and I take pics of target too, with notes on target you can read.

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I use a similar method but utilize an old Leupold Zero Point magnetic boresighter. While the tool works well for boresighting, it excels at recording zero's for verification should something happen to your rifle/scope. After zeroing I put the bosresighter on to record the zero. I then take pictures of the reticle grid using my phone and take the boresighter with me on hunting trips. Should something happen it's easy to re-check my zeros without firing a shot.

Two of my hunting rifle zeros:





About the only time I adjust sights is when changing a load. I do have several rifles with both target and varmint loads, but I leave them zero'd for their varmint loads and adjust for the tgt loads. Strelok works well for keeping me straight.

It happens to me occasionally. I shot a doe in wyoming a couple years ago.i had a buck tag last October and took it out to verify my zero. First three shots were all over the place. I've gotten to the point I can tell if something is loose by how it shoots. Sure enough the front scope base was loose.

I have a 1903 springfield with a scope and the same thing happened. Somehow a scope base screw broke and it was doing the same thing.

I missed a javelina a bunch of times with my kimber 243 last year. It's rare I miss and if I do it's only once. I shot at this animal with like 9 rounds or something. It was injured and scrambled under a tree. Friend handed me a 10mm to put him down. I ended up finding out my lw talley ring top was cracked through on the front ring.

gotboostvr said:

I'm a handloader too, but I greatly prefer one-load-per-rifle. That way I don't have to worry about "is my rifle zeroed?" Just grab it and go.

I fiddle with my handgun loads alot though. What ever bullets cheapest, whatever powder I have the most of etc

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Some rifles never go hunting these days. However, when I had just one or two hunting rifles, I'd adjust the scope for target shooting or hunting varmints, using various bullets/loads, etc. Beware the one-rifle man...he knows how to use it!