Scope out of adjustment

[FredHunter]

Looking for a little help. I just purchased a TC Encore Pro Hunter Muzzleloader and put on a set of Leupold QR T/C Encore & Omega 1-pc base and Med rings. Scope is a VX-I 3x9 - 40mm

I went to the range and was at the 25 yard mark and was able to get the up and down adjustment correct but when it came to the left and right I ran out of adjustment to bring the bullet over to the right. I ended up about 2 inches left of bullseye and have no more adjustment to correct it.

How can I fix this left to right issue?

 

[sage5907]

First off, I really like those Leupold QR rings and bases. It makes me wonder if you have the scope sitting level on the top of the rifle. The quickest way to check is to place the tip of the barrel on the floor and with your eye about a foot or so behind the scope look to see if the vertical crosshair is pointing toward the center of the barrel. This will give you some indication as to whether you can rotate the scope in the rings to get the horizontal crosshair more level which could help with the windage adjustment.

 

[irish plumber]

maybe check that your scope is mounted so that elevation settings are on top and windage ( r & l ) is on the right. it's happend before!

 

[BowerR64]

Im no expert so take this how you feel.

IMO you should always set it up as close as you can mecanicly first. What i mean is get your POI as close as you can BEFORE you turn the turrets.

You dont have alot of room to adjust scopes. Those cross hairs are SO fine and tiny you can actually turn the turrets far enough to brreak the cross hairs they are just as thin as hairs.

Some rings have a little grub screw inside under the scope to raise the rear.(make sure you put that ring in the back) If you mount it snug on the rifle you can twist the scope giving you some side to side adjustments before you crank it down tight.

Some rings are tall some are short depending on how high up the scope sits from the top of the rifle is how far you will need to lift the rear. If your rings dont have a grub screw to adjust the rear you can shim it. Ive used strips of a pop can before. Usually 2-3 strips is enough.

Ive setup about 10 scopes in the last year and i swear by a laser bore sight. I always set mine up at home at 15 yards and when i get to the range im on the paper and usually just a few clicks im there.

The laser bore sight has been the best tool ive bought for scope setup. Walmart has one and cabelas from .17-50cal

If you decide to start over here is what ide do. Go outside in good sunlight, get a little mirror and put the front of the scope on the mirror flat against the mirror. Now look threw the back of the scope into the mirror and adjust the turrets so you see one single crosshair threw the scope/reflection this should be back to factory (zero). Once its back to factory now remount it and adjust it mechanicly as close as you can before you start adjusting the turrets.

 

[FredHunter]

Thanks for all your input.
I was thinking about the other day and my issue of running out of windage adjustment.

I have a laser boresighter and the adapters I have don't go up to a 50 cal muzzleloader so I had to go old school and look down the barrel and line it up with the target, make my adjustments and then shoot a test round.

Here is what I did wrong that messed me up. (brain fart as some call it). While shooting on day 1 I was getting close to bullseye at 25 yards but my problem was that I kept moving the windage adjustment while looking through the scope at the cross hairs. Later that evening I realized what I had done. I was actually moving the cross hairs in the wrong direction. In addition my solid mount for each shot was not as sturdy as day 2.

Day 2. I made the scope adjustments in neutral position 50/50 before I left the house. Brought my handy dandy mtm predator shooting rest with me. 25 yards and drove the windage over to bullseye in 4 shots. Moved to the 50 yard range and dialed it in closer. I moved to the 100 yard range and within a few shot I had her dialed in.

(side note the interesting this was my gunsmith showed up friday to shoot as well. if things didn't go well at least I could have had him have a look.)

 

[BowerR64]

The one thing i will never remember is the way the turrets are marked.

When it said up is that moving the cross hairs up or the shot?

When it says right -----> is it moving the shot right? or the cross hairs?

I think some cheap scopes have it backwards then better scopes. Stuff you get at walmart is always backwards.