Scope leveling

Thebear_78

Handloader
Sep 30, 2004
3,047
669
I’m sure all of us have struggled with getting the crosshairs lined up when installing a scope from time to time. The longer ranges you shoot the more important having the scope aligned with the rifle bore is. It’s also exaggerated by bigger and higher mounted scopes.

In the past I have tried to find a flat surface on the rifle action or scope base and then level it with a bubble and use a plumb bob to line up the crosshairs. This works fairly well but depends on the scope mount holes to be mounted squarely on the action and thats not always the case.

Recently I picked up a very cool little tool that has helped get my scopes aligned much easier and more accurately then the methods previously mentioned.

It’s called EXD engineering vertical reticle instrument. You can use it to precisely align the rifle barrel and the scope objective. Once this is done you can either along the crosshairs to a plumb line or in a dark room you can shine a light into the objective of the scope and the reticle will cast a shadow against a wall and be leveled to a hanging string.

I just figured some of you might be interested in it also.

https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tool ... =289100000

I found this review with some pictures.

http://www.firearmsinsider.tv/gun-gear- ... instrument


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The only problem with the wheeler system is it requires you to have a spot on the rifle to call square, and that spot is the used to assign what is level to the bore. If that arbitrary flat spot isn’t perfectly aligned with the bore nothing will ever truly line up.

It doesn’t center the scope over the bore like the exd engineering tool does. The scope needs to be aligned with the bore of the rifle.


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This can still be done without any of that and a plumb line, but you'll still need to go do a tall target test and dial up making sure the bullet impact is square to at least a 4 foot plumb line. That will tell you if your reticle is in line with the center axis of the bore!
 
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