I'd tend to agree with rsterne unless proven otherwise.I've seen the same thing from time to time and know it's not a cant issue and all that.
Those cheap levels are fine.... 😊 I would just avoid those that have a hinge so that you can retract them — that could easily introduce an error unless it's made to very small tolerances with high quality material.... (and we all know that's not China's forte). Important is that the level is mounted on the scope tube — not on the scope rail or the gun or the scope mounts (there are some nifty contraptions out there, but all these assume that the rail is perfectly perpendicular with the barrel.... — good luck with that one...). The steps are: 🔶 (1) With the scope loose in the rings, align the vertical cross hairs so that they intersect with the center of the barrel. To do that, aim the gun at a mirror, aim at your eyes, and try to shoot out your eyes in the mirror. Then our ancestors could wag their finger from their graves saying, "I told you so! You'll shoot your eye out!!" ➔ Oops, sorry, I got carried away there for a bit. So, now really, do aim the gun at a mirror about 10y away, at minimum parallax. Now rotate the scope in the mounts until the vertical crosshairs intersect with the center of the barrel. Carefully tighten the scope mounts, and keep checking that nothing shifted while tightening the bolts. Now you can't have scope cant anymore, you eliminated that. Let's move on to battle against gun cant. 🔶 (2) Now mount the scope level to the scope tube, and leave it somewhat loose.Aim the gun at a string suspended with a weight (like explained abouve) and cant the gun with the scope until the vertical crosshairs are parallel to the string. Holding it in that position tighten the bolts of the scope level. At the end check if it shifted or not. Done. Now all the cant you can have is gun cant, and that cant you can eliminate by looking a the scope level before squeezing your shot off. Matthias 😊
Assuming that the scope turrets track well with the reticle (not a defective scope):Insert a laser bore sight (about $30). Sight in a paper target where you can see the laser. Crank the elevation turret up and down. If the laser stays on the vertical reticle without drifting sideways, then scope cant is not the problem.If it is scope cant, rotate the scope in the rings and re-zero on the laser and retest. Repeat until the laser stays aligned with the reticle during turret tracking.
Quote from: Scotchmo on June 16, 2021, 11:43:22 PMAssuming that the scope turrets track well with the reticle (not a defective scope):Insert a laser bore sight (about $30). Sight in a paper target where you can see the laser. Crank the elevation turret up and down. If the laser stays on the vertical reticle without drifting sideways, then scope cant is not the problem.If it is scope cant, rotate the scope in the rings and re-zero on the laser and retest. Repeat until the laser stays aligned with the reticle during turret tracking.Another great idea. Would you say 30 yards is a good distance.
QuoteAssuming that the scope turrets track well with the reticle (not a defective scope):Insert a laser bore sight (about $30). Sight in a paper target where you can see the laser. Crank the elevation turret up and down. If the laser stays on the vertical reticle without drifting sideways, then scope cant is not the problem.If it is scope cant, rotate the scope in the rings and re-zero on the laser and retest. Repeat until the laser stays aligned with the reticle during turret tracking.Scott, that is probably the very BEST way I have ever heard to align the scope to the bore.... I will be getting a laser bore-sighter ASAP.... Thanks for the tip.... How do you insure that the elevation turret tracks with the reticle?.... Bob