Tackling Scope Cant

[bfishj]

I was wondering how you guys tackle scope cant. When I mount a scope I shoulder it to check eye relief and making sure the reticle is level. I have always noticed though when I mount a bipod the crosshairs look noticeably crooked. This past deer season my brother and I a friend were out hunting, when my friend picked up my gun he looked at me like I was crazy and asked if the crosshairs looked level to me. I of course snapped back and told him yes. My brother grabbed the rifle to settle the debate and agreed they looked level to him. Subsequently, we shouldered his rifle and it looks severely off.

To check in the past I have plumb-bobbed with mason's twine and set the scope on low power lined up the vertical reticle. This has always seemed to be pretty close to me. I realize at longer distances if your reticle isn't square it starts throwing off bullet drop and the ability to use target turrets.

Curious what everyone else does and any tips/tricks.

Thanks

[Neil S.]

I use the "level level level" Product by wheeler engineering. It is just two small levels. One fits into your action and a magnet holds it onto the rails that the recoil lugs ride in and the other is set on top of your scope. After adjusting eye relief, I simply twist the gun until the action is sitting level and then do the same to the scope. No guessing required. Its $20 at Midway.

[Jim White]

I have the "level-level-level" set up and it works ok but it doesn't fit every action, properly. One of my biggest struggles is ensuring the rifle itself is level. I start with the mounting surface of the rifle base/holding device and go up from there.

As a reference, a plum-bobbed is the best (IMO) but there are other things that could work just as well around the house. You just have to check and see if they're level as well.

HTH

[Fred_C_Dobbs]

EXD ENGINEERING VERTICAL RETICLE INSTRUMENT

Works good, lasts a long time.

[Wrangler John]

I hate scope cant! So I mount the rifle in my barrel vise, use a mechanic's level on the mount base and set it level, then lock down the vise. Wooden blocks can be used in a bench vice or C-clamped to a bench.

With two-piece bases I check that the front and rear bases are both reading to the same level. Had a set of Weaver detachable bases that didn't clock the same - the rear base was a degree or two clockwise from the front base. The action holes were fine, so I swapped in different bases and found that the first set I tried had one base that was drilled a tad off. Then check two piece bases with a straight edge to be sure they both are parallel and flat across the top. One piece Ken Farrell Picatinney bases are my go to these days, and can be epoxy bedded (this does not mean glued on to the action) to eliminate any stress and shimming if the front and rear action rings are not matching the base.

Now I mount the rings, usually Burris Signature Zee Rings with bushings. Next, the scope is mounted in the rings, eye relief set and the screws snugged down just so the scope will still turn. Then a level is placed on the top scope turret cap and the scope rotated to level, and the rings tightened. Scope is now level. With the rifle held solid in the vise it can't move or turn as you work, makes it much easier.

Use a torque screwdriver or gauge to tighten the screws to specification. Over tightening can mess everything up.

Segway discontinued their Reticle Leveler, which was the handiest little tool for the purpose, but the method above is superior anyway as it doesn't require looking through the scope. My friend, a retired tool and die maker, tossed the Level-Level-Level tool within two minutes - it doesn't lay flat on the action rails.

[RowdyYates]

I'd hazard a guess the bipod's adding another issue - possibly the mounting location of the swivel stud relative to the vertical plane of the stock. If one levels the rifle in a vice first, using the mounted bottom half of horizontally-split rings, for example as a surface to place a mini-level, then level the scope cap/turrets (assuming most good scopes will have the vertical crosshairs exactly perpendicular to that surface) it will get it awfully close; you'll drive yourself crazy trying to get it perfect. I've also used one of those caps that fit over a laser boresighter, with mixed results.

[futuretrades]

I use the Segway Reticle Leveler. Have been using it for a few years now. I love this handy tool because it doesn't really make a difference if the rifle is truly level, as it uses the scope base on the rifle, so it is the same level as the rifle. It does help to get the rifle at least eyeballed to level.
I also have tried the level level level. I have not found a rifle, at least that I own that this piece of crap will work on. It will not fit all actions on the market! I have a brand new one for sale if interested, but I would not do that to my fellow board members.

[bfishj]

Here is an interesting article I found that has some very good points...

http://www.longrangehunting.com/article ... larity.php

It's always a toss-up between a true level and a canted level for me. Trouble is with a varmint gun it better be level or they start walking...

[Silverfox]

Making sure my scope is level with the world is a very tedious job for me. I use Burris Signature Zee rings for all my scopes and similar to what RowdyYates and Wrangler John do. I don't really trust the scope caps as being totally in line with the horizontal crosshairs (I could be wrong there). I use a metal rod that holds up the white plastic diffusers from an old Chrony chronograph that got shot to death to hold a line level. The rod is held to the flat bottom of the scope where the windage and elevation gizmos are located with a rubber band. To me, that should be pretty much in tune with the horizontal cross hair. I use another line level on a flat piece of fiberglass that I affix to one of the scope bases with a rubber band. Here's a picture of the levels I use.



Here's a photo of someone else's setup where they use the scope cap as a level spot (which I don't trust) and I would use the straight piece of fiberglass held to the bottom of the scope with a rubber band and set a line level on the fiberglass piece. The back level is held in the same place I use.



I use these same levels when I place an anti-cant scope level on my scopes. Here's a photo of my Sightron II 6.5-24x50mm scope mounted on my .17 Tactical. My anti-cant level is mounted right between the rear rings and the windage and elevation turret.

[bfishj]

[quote="Silverfox"]Making sure my scope is level with the world is a very tedious job for me. I use Burris Signature Zee rings for all my scopes and similar to what RowdyYates and Wrangler John do. I don't really trust the scope caps as being totally in line with the horizontal crosshairs (I could be wrong there).

I have done this in the past also, but like you said, I don't trust the scope caps being perfectly parallel with the crosshairs. Gues there are a few variables between the scope caps being level and the base on the rifle being square.

Amazing guns group as well as they do when you think of all the variables involved.

[benopland]

when i level a scope to the action it always looks a little crooked to me when i shoulder it.

[Rick in Oregon]

when i level a scope to the action it always looks a little crooked to me when i shoulder it.

That's because human animals have no square or level surfaces on our bodies. Your scope may be perfectly level and square to your action, but like most of us, when you throw your rifle to the shoulder, natural canting takes place; that's why it's SO important to precisely level the scope properly to the action to prevent shooting off to the right or left....more as the range increases.

With LR varmint rifles, this aspect is even more important than with a deer rifle used for 200 - 250 or so yard shooting. The error is expotentially exaggerated as the range increases.

[Fred_C_Dobbs]

Everything I regularly shoot at > 200 yards gets one of these:



I true this up with the EXD device I posted above. Thereafter, I know that if my bubble is level, my crosshairs are as near vertical as I'll ever get them.

[Rick in Oregon]

Like Fred, every one of my varmint rifles or game rifles intended for anything over 200 yards also gets a scope level of some sort, usually Sinclair offset or inline. This truly is the only way to eliminate the cant either from the bench or from the shoulder/bipod.



Just make sure the rifle is square/level with the world prior to locking down a scope level using one of the methods mentioned above......

[Hedge]

Rick,

I'm looking for a good anti-cant device and like the looks of the one you posted. Looks like it won't hook on anything unlike the ones that hang off the side. Can you see it easily while sighting and what do you do about the scope cover? What brand is it?

thanks.