Mounting scope/base

[soulracer]

can a scope and mounts be installed without having a benchrest to hold the rifle.? or, is that just asking for trouble.
I just bought a new rifle and am about to get base/rings and scope soon..I do not have a gun vise or anything to hold the rifle secure while I mount..should I just get a gunsmith to do it for me and bore sight before I go to the range for zero-ing?
If there is a do-it-yourself method that is good I'd like to know.

sr

[Ron AKA]

Originally Posted by soulracer

can a scope and mounts be installed without having a benchrest to hold the rifle.? or, is that just asking for trouble.
I just bought a new rifle and am about to get base/rings and scope soon..I do not have a gun vise or anything to hold the rifle secure while I mount..should I just get a gunsmith to do it for me and bore sight before I go to the range for zero-ing?
If there is a do-it-yourself method that is good I'd like to know.

sr

I use a black and decker workmate. You can bore sight yourself quite easily either at home or at the range. If you have rests at the range just remove the bolt, and look down the barrel at the target and move the gun around until the target is centered in the bore. Then look through the scope and just adjust the up down and left right until the crosshairs are also on the center. Normal practice is to then shoot it to get it bang on at 25 yards, then move out to 100 and do the fine adjustments.

Ron

[soulracer]

I was thinking that I Could do that with bore sighting..only thing I am worried about with mounting scope was whether I could get the horizon dead on without a vise/bench.
What is the advantage to doing the bore sight at 25 rather than 100 yards.?

[Eddie L.]

I have a bore sighter but prefer to bore sight through the barrel on a bolt gun. At about 2 miles from my shop is a electrical transmission pole. I find the further the target is from the rifle the more accurate the bore sight. Center an insulator at the long range and shoot within 4 inches at 100 yards.
The bullet when it leaves the barrel has the trajectory of a parabola. It goes up past line of sight and drops back through line of sight. The 25 yard shot is catching the bullet on its way up and at 100 yards it catching it on target as it passes through the line of sight on the way down. Not exact but close for a big bore rifle.
Hope I helped,
eddie

[Ron AKA]

Originally Posted by soulracer

I was thinking that I Could do that with bore sighting..only thing I am worried about with mounting scope was whether I could get the horizon dead on without a vise/bench.
What is the advantage to doing the bore sight at 25 rather than 100 yards.?

I have not come up with a real good way to get the crosshairs level. The hard part is finding a vertical piece on the gun to put a level on. The last gun I used the butt end and held a level on it, then checked the scope caps for being level and plumb. I would be interested from others how they do it.

You may see too much down the bore at 100 yards. At 25 yards you will see less and probably find it a bit easier to adjust the crosshairs. The reason for sighting it in by actually shooting it at 25 yards is that most cartridges will cross zero right about 25 yards. So if you get it dead on at 25, the odds are real good that you will at least hit the paper at 100.

Ron

[Eddie L.]

Of Course, you could be right. My grand sons tell me I never hold a good horizontal and tend to lean to the left. I shoot that way.
The same electrical lines between the poles are a close to horizontal as I need to be with my shooting ability.
Thanks and God Bless
eddie

[turner]

Originally Posted by Ron AKA

I have not come up with a real good way to get the crosshairs level. The hard part is finding a vertical piece on the gun to put a level on. The last gun I used the butt end and held a level on it, then checked the scope caps for being level and plumb. I would be interested from others how they do it.

You may see too much down the bore at 100 yards. At 25 yards you will see less and probably find it a bit easier to adjust the crosshairs. The reason for sighting it in by actually shooting it at 25 yards is that most cartridges will cross zero right about 25 yards. So if you get it dead on at 25, the odds are real good that you will at least hit the paper at 100.

Ron

+1... Ron, This is indeed a difficult thing to do (actually a pain in the a$$ thing!). I've yet to see any device sold by any manufacturer that would be foolproof either. I like to set my rifle securely in the rifle cradle, then check and ensure it appears as level as possible; then without touching the rifle I attempt to eyeball the crosshairs from a close to typical position. I snug the scope, but do not tighten. Then, I pick up the rifle to check eye relief and at the same time eyeball the horizontal crosshair while checking the flat side of the base, or similar to check vertical tilt, then check the horizontal crosshair again. I finish by sighting something I know to be "square" such as a window and back off and check rifle squareness again. Usually that gets me very close. One thing I do like about a mechanical boresighting system is that by comparing the 2 sets of crosshairs, it can help with level installation.

Originally Posted by soulracer

can a scope and mounts be installed without having a benchrest to hold the rifle.? or, is that just asking for trouble.
I just bought a new rifle and am about to get base/rings and scope soon..I do not have a gun vise or anything to hold the rifle secure while I mount..should I just get a gunsmith to do it for me and bore sight before I go to the range for zero-ing?
If there is a do-it-yourself method that is good I'd like to know.

sr

I'd recommend a sturdy cardboard box with slots cut at each end to fit both the stock and forend in. Pad them with a towel or such and it should be sturdy enough to enable you to attatch both bases and rings and also to help you mount and boresight the scope as well. Remember to check for proper eye relief along with horizontal and vertical squareness before fully securing the scope to rings. Good luck

[Asphalt Cowboy]

I use one of these. MidwayUSA - Segway Reticle Leveler
It's so simple, it's near foolproof.
Segway Reticle Leveler

[lefty o]

the first step everyone left out, is to make sure the threaded holes in the reciever for the scope mount(bases) screws are cleaned. out of the box, they are left with grease,gunk, and machining residue. without cleaning them, the base screws may not stay tight.

[turner]

Originally Posted by lefty o

the first step everyone left out, is to make sure the threaded holes in the reciever for the scope mount(bases) screws are cleaned. out of the box, they are left with grease,gunk, and machining residue. without cleaning them, the base screws may not stay tight.

+1... Excellent point! My wife is always curious as to where all those cu-tips disappear to !!