What happens if I keep turning windage/elevation knobs on a scope?

I don't have a dis- like function so ill just say that a scope has a tube inside a tube that will stop moving when you exhaust adjustment either windage or elevation.

Stop turning the knob as soon as you feel the slightest bit of resistance.
Some will hit a stop & not turn any further. Some break. Some have 1 screw in the center of the knob, It will slip & no more adjustment is being made. You can keep spinning the knob.

When installing a new scope on a rifle, its best if the adjustments are centered. Shim mounts as needed to get close to zero. Then do minor adjustment with knobs to fine tune the zero.

These days, the knobs provide lots of adjustment.

twofewscrews said:

But I have an obsession . . . if I own something, to the best of my ability, I must understand its limits . . . or maybe I'm just being crazy

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I don''t know why some folks have to give a condescending answer, but you're not crazy and it's a valid question. You may have found an answer on Google or it may very well have sent you here anyway.
In any case, as 243winxb already mentioned, some scopes will just slip and stop adjusting and some cheaper or older scopes can break. With that said, if you mount a scope and have to make a major adjustment, something else is wrong. Maybe the scope itself is bent or there's problem with mounting. Some scopes like Vortex will allow 80 Moa of adjustment and some allow less, but if the turrets are centered and I have to adjust more than 20moa I'm looking for other problems or shimming mounts as mentioned.

A Scope Tracking Drill can be done to see if a scope is working ok. I had to do it when an old 6x18 Redfield fell off the rest, onto the bench. Bullet point of impact jumped up and right.

But it tested ok & is working great, after rezero.

243winxb said:

When installing a new scope on a rifle, its best if the adjustments are centered. Shim mounts as needed to get close to zero. Then do minor adjustment with knobs to fine tune the zero.

These days, the knobs provide lots of adjustment.

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I agree that it should be mechanically centered, but shimming your rings out of the same plane is a bad idea.

JDGray said:

I agree that it should be mechanically centered, but shimming your rings out of the same plane is a bad idea.

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If done wrong its a bad idea as you can warp the scope or bend the tube. I had a muzzle loader that was high on the rear mount so I had to shim the front mount and lap the rear a little. Shimming for windage is trickier and may require a gunsmith to custom fit the rings if you aren't competent at that kind of machinist work.

Shimming and bedding mounts is a better idea than assuming the receiver is remotely true.

To mechanically zero a scope, you move each turret adjustment al the way one way, then count clicks back to the other limit, then divide by two and go that many clicks. when both W & E are done this way, (If you don't break anything. I don't bother doing this on cheap scopes.) the scope is mechanically zeroed. The same can be done for Redfield-type mounts on the rear for windage.

entropy said:

To mechanically zero a scope, you move each turret adjustment al the way one way, then count clicks back to the other limit, then divide by two and go that many clicks. when both W & E are done this way, (If you don't break anything. I don't bother doing this on cheap scopes.) the scope is mechanically zeroed. The same can be done for Redfield-type mounts on the rear for windage.

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Set a mirror on the table, set the objective end of the scope on it, now looking through the scope you will see two sets of cross hairs. Adjust until the two become one.

Varminterror said:

Shimming and bedding mounts is a better idea than assuming the receiver is remotely true.

View attachment 1037725

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This is what I do with one piece bases. Bedding it stress free is always better then shimming rings. Burris makes rings with tapered inserts if your way off.

twofewscrews said:

Might be a stupid question but as the title stated, what happens if I keep turning the windage or elevation knobs on a scope?
I assume eventually you either A, hit a point where it can no longer be turned, or B, you break the scope by doing so. . .
which answer is right?
Is it scope/product dependent?

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One thing is certain---you won't be hitting where you're aiming

Varminterror said:

Shimming and bedding mounts is a better idea than assuming the receiver is remotely true.

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As a sidenote, Leupold 1-piece QD mount for Remington 7X00 causes interference with the ring locking tabs and the receiver when mounted according to instructions. There's a .05" gap in the front and the QD lever doesn't tighten properly.

The easiest way to remedy this was to grind some material off the bottom of the locking tab, but I was really disappointed that a reputable manufacturer like Leupold allows this to happen in the first place. The vertical adjustment of the scope was barely sufficient to zero it before the fix. I was concerned that something will fall off the threads if I turn it any more.

I don't think i have ever moved the turrets to the point it stopped.

The knob will fall off and the tritium gas will get out. It's lighter than air. Hurry up and catch it so it can be put back in, so you're reticle will still glow.

Any decent gun store can use their compressor to get it back in. Just hand them the bag or jar that you used.

Centering the crosshairs windage before mounting is a good idea if using windage adjustable mounts. Otherwise is usually a waste of time. And there hasn't been a need for windage adjustable mounts in about 70 years now. Back in the day many rifles were not drilled and tapped from the factory. And even among those that were, it wasn't uncommon for early rifles to not have the mounting holes perfectly in line with the barrel. Windage adjustable mounts allowed you to correct for this manufacturing error.

That almost never happens anymore, and if it does any manufacturer would replace the rifle. Most scopes are already centered out of the box. The only other time I can think of where centering before firing might help, is when moving a scope from one rifle to another. By the time you get it zeroed it will still be in the same place, but it might make it a bit faster if centered 1st.

If you're moving turrets much at all to get it dialed in for windage something is probably wrong with the rifle or mounts. Vertical adjustment might need more adjustment depending on the exact rifle, the mounts, and the range you're zeroing.

I have a scope with dials that I use on a 22 for shooting out to 250 yards. Using the tried and true "trial and error" method I've figured out where to set the dials for 50, 100, and 200 yards. I run out of adjustment at about 230 yards. If I shoot farther, I have to hold a bit high to make hits.