Scoped Rifle Shooting Low

[Polishrifleman]

I just put a Leupold VX II on a model 7400 semi 30-06.

The elevation adjustment is bottomed out and the rifle is still shooting low (probably 7-8 inches) at 100 yds. How do I go about raising the front or lowering the back to get it so the adjustment knobs work properly within there ranges.

Thanks

 

[Jim Watson]

Terminology?
If the elevation is "bottomed out" it should be shooting low. Turn the adjustment in the direction of the "Up" arrow.

If you mean the scope adjustment is run all the way to the top, it may be time to talk to the scope base maker. Or to insert shims which you can buy or make out of a drink can. You do not need to raise the front or lower the back, that will make matters worse. Put the shim under the rear base to raise the point of impact. You are not really moving the point of impact up, you are moving the point of aim down to where the barrel is sending the bullet.

 

[Chawbaccer]

Why not swap the scope out with another to verify that it is the bases/rings?

 

[Polishrifleman]

Thanks Jim, and just to clarify the up adjustment is maxed out and it is still shooting low. What you say about the shims is a good solution, what I am still having a tough time grasping conceptually is that raising the back ring with a shim will lower the front end of the scope which will in essence raise the barrel ahhhh, don't mid me I just need flash cards and pictures to get it into my head.

 

[Clark]

A quick fix is remove the rear mount and put a shim of some paper or sheet metal between the reciever and the mount.

Just to get 7" of elevation, you would need about a .010" shim or two layers of masking tape. I would try to get in the middle of the adjustment range of the scope and do twice that.

4 layers of masking tape is not going to change much in thickness with the wimpy ~500 psi between the mount and the reciever, but do layers of tin cans if you want.

I have rifles that were shimmed around the edges with masking tape and then filled in with epoxy.

 

[Geno]

No, no, no. Stop already!

Stop already. Follow these 6 steps to verify your current set-up.

1. Slowly run your scope's knobs all the way left, and all the way down.

2. Now, slowly run the knobs to the extreme opposite, carefully counting the clicks. Write them down so you don't forget.

3. Now, divide by two for each, and that is your "center zero".

4. Count the clicks back to center horizontal/vertical. You should have done this even before mounting it. Since it is an autoload, you can "visually bore sight" the thing. You could get a laser bore sight.

5. Bring your target in to 25 yards. Use a large target. Aim at center of mass on the target, use a dot to aim at, and fire 1 min. to 3 rounds max. Measure distance from point of aim, to point of impact.

6. Make adjustments at 25 yards, never at 100 to start. Once you are within 1 inch at 25 yards, move to 50, then 100 yards. Remember, if you're off by 1 inch at 25 yards, you're off by 4 inches at 100 yards.

If this doesn't work, and you can't adjust it out, take the scope back, or take it to a gunsmith.

Doc2005

 

[DnPRK]

Jim Watson is correct. You need to put a shim under the rear mount. A buddy had to do the same thing for his 7400. An alternative is to get Burris Signature rings with the offset inserts. The offset inserts allow you to orient the scope objective down and ocular up to regain the click adjustments.

 

[carnaby]

You could always use lighter bullets

 

[lamazza]

Some observations from a range officer
Believe it or not I have seen many people mount their scope upside down and not know it.
Try and slide it back a bit on your mount.
Are the scope rings loose at all?
A see throught mount works wonders for finding the paper.
Start at the 25Meter range

 

[RecoilRob]

You didn't mention the brand of base and rings but, just to throw it out.....some rings are different heights for front and back.

Please make sure you don't have them reversed if they ARE different.