Scopes on Mark III's Question

[gatorhugger]

I have had a lot of scoped rifles and now I am down to mainly .22's. I sold most of the big stuff before the ammo shortage. Anyway still have two Mark III's and both are scoped, one with a 2.5x and a 4x. Every time I read about mounting a scope it goes into great detail on taking a level and making sure the crosshair is perfectly vertical and horizontal. Writers recommend levels and various tools. Maybe I am missing something but what difference does it make? I always have put crosshairs a little off, because I tend to hold the gun with a relaxed hand and and tilt the gun naturally to the right when aiming.. But again what difference does it make? As long as the intersection of the two hairs is adjusted so that intersection hits dead on, I have never seen what the big deal is on getting the hairs perfectly level. Am I missing something? Some scopes don't even have crosshairs just a dot, so what's the deal on using levels to get the hairs perfectly vertical and horizontal?

 

[wizzard]

Every time i've used levels to mount a scope, the crosshairs are rotated, usually to the left at the top, when I hold the gun and look through the scope. I've read this is common for right handed shooters and left handed shooters may notice slightly right leaning crosshairs. What I haven't found out is, do I need to adjust it. As for it needing to be perfectly level, if it's not, when you adjust for windage, you could get a little elevation change as well. However, I think this only shows up when shooting long range.

 

[contender]

At closer distances,,, you most likely wouldn't notice any issues. But on rifles,,, and especially long range set-ups,,, crosshairs set "off" when a gun is mounted centered,,, will encounter an accuracy shift. At least this is what I recall from discussing things with serious long range shooters for precision.

And yes,,, many folks may cant their hands left or right when gripping a handgun. I've PERSONALLY found that if I level & align my Contenders with scopes, & then level & align my scopes to match,,, when using them,,, it makes me realize the off cant grip & I can adjust it.

 

[wizzard]

so, should the shooter adjust their grip, or scope? For pistols/ shorter ranges, for long range, I would think grip needs to be adjusted.

 

[rugerjunkie]

If you shoot the same distance all the time it doesnt really matter how off the crosshairs are because its dialed in for that one spot. If all someone does is shoot at 25 yards it wouldn't really matter if his crosshairs made an "x". At farther ranges and if you vary the range , it will be noticeable.

Bullets drop in one direction...straight down. You want your barrel and scope in that same vertical plane if im describing that right. A canted scope makes adjustments at a diagonal and will not make true adjustments either if your barrel and scope aren't running true with eachother.

 

[Mobuck]

If you shoot at long range and use the vertical wire for "kentucky elevation" canted crosshairs will throw those shots awry. Shooting at short range with cross hairs aligned on POI, it won't make any diff.