# New rifle set up



## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

Robert

Good to hear your new baby arrived. My Remington weight is about the same, but it makes it feel like you are shooting a 243. Set that rifle on a bipod and you will not wiggle off a three inch target at 500 yards.

The 20 moa bases are nice. You might as well epoxy base them right away. I use Minwax woodworkers past finishing wax as a release agent. Use a cloth and put that on you rifle liberally. Some people epoxy directly to their rifle and never remove it. I simply like to use the epoxy as a bedding so I get a perfect mount to rifle contact. Heavily wax your screws also or they will be locked into the rifle. I put a small ball of modeling clay on each screw hole on the bottom of the mount. Press the mount to the rifle, and the clay keeps the epoxy away from the screw and screw hole. The wax is just insurance.

Mount the scope then boresight. If you do not have a boresighter pull the bolt so you can see through the bore. With medium mounts your scope should be centered about 1.5 inches above the bore. Put two bright colored dots on a piece of paper. Now set the paper across the room and look through your bore. Center the lower dot on the paper in the center of your bore (rifle should be in a vice or somehow locked in place). Now turn your scope turrets until the crosshair settles in the center of the top colored dot. This should get you on the paper at 100 yards.

If your scope is out of level by 5 degrees you will be off something like a couple feet at 1000 yards. I have a couple of small cylinder levels that I got by tearing apart a cheap plastic level that I purchased at Wally World for $3. Lay one of these on the mount before setting the scope in the rings. Once you have leveled your rifle lay the scope in the rings, set the level on the top turret and rotate the scope until level. Tighten you rings. I sometimes use blue lock tight on the bases, but never the rings. Just tighten them well. I also use one of those small levels and a set of cheap rings to make a level that mounts to my scope. Hunt1 made one for his rifle this way also. Your scope will get the best support with the rings set towards the ends as much as possible.

I don't bother much with barrel break in. I don't waste much ammo anyway. I use a cleaning jag with a tight patch and put Semichrome metal polish on the cleaning patch. I buff the bore about 50 or 60 strokes. This will require about ten patches. Then I moly the bore and take her shooting.


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## Robert A. Langager (Feb 22, 2002)

Plainsman,
I initially ordered the 0 MOA base from Sharpshooter supply. So you think I should return it in exchange for the 20 MOA instead?

Will I have issues with short range shooting(under 100 yards) with the 20 MOA base? Would I have to hold under?

Ok, here is a dumb question.......When you turn the windage and evevation knobs you are actually moving the reticle, not just changing the point of aim optically (with lenses somehow), right?

Let me try to clarify. Let's say you are zeroed at 300 yards, and want to shoot something at 1000 yards. So you do some math and crank up your elevation knob, say, to near its highest elevation adjustment. Does the horizontal (elevation) crosshair now appear to be in the lower half (bottom) of the sight picture in the scope? Meaning, if you were looking out of the scope whilst cranking, would you actully see the crosshairs move, or does the whole picture move?

Ok, 
Let's get on this bedding thing. A release agent is something greasy (non-sticky) you put on you rifle so the bedding agent doesn't stick, right? That way your bases isn't there forever.

So the bedding agent serves to fill any gaps between the base and the rifle in order to maximize the amount of surface area contact and, hence, create a more stable platform on which to mount the base right?

What do you recommend for a bedding agent? JB Weld? Something else?



> With medium mounts your scope should be centered about 1.5 inches above the bore. Put two bright colored dots on a piece of paper. Now set the paper across the room and look through your bore. Center the lower dot on the paper in the center of your bore (rifle should be in a vice or somehow locked in place). Now turn your scope turrets until the crosshair settles in the center of the top colored dot. This should get you on the paper at 100 yards.


Should the dots on the paper be roughly the same distance apart as the scope is offset ftom the bore?

IF the scope, while centered, is way off, should I consider the offset inserts for the Burris Signature Zee rings that I have? They claim that a scope performs best while centered.



> I don't bother much with barrel break in. I don't waste much ammo anyway. I use a cleaning jag with a tight patch and put Semichrome metal polish on the cleaning patch. I buff the bore about 50 or 60 strokes. This will require about ten patches. Then I moly the bore and take her shooting.


Is that what they call lapping the bore? What is the purpose of moly? I hear of molying the bore and of moly bullets. Is it some sort of lube?

I am rifle ignorant, but am trying!

Thanks for all the help?


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

Good Morning Robert

Yes, I would get the 20 moa bases. Unless your rifle receiver and barrel are terribly misaligned they will let you easily sight in for 100 yards (which I recommend). I have two inches of down adjustment left, but 56 inches of up adjustment. Although most bench rest shooters try to have their scope adjustments centered today's scopes are expected to perform well through all ranges of adjustment. Especially the tactical scopes. Most long range shooters sight in for 100 yards, then make adjustments for all other ranges. If I am walking with my 308 I set it 2 inches high and am on at 220 yards.

Back in the 1960 when you adjusted your turrets you could see the reticle move. I remember an old 22 hornet that I had with the crosshairs way down in the lower left corner. I couldn't lead a jackrabbit running left to right. Today's scopes shifts the image optically and your reticle stays centered. Some reticles are on the first focal plane, some are on the second, but that is only important with scopes that use mildots for ranging.

Your right about the bedding, but I have found that wax works better than grease, and will not mix in with my epoxy. Your also right about JB weld it is about the best you can use for bedding mounts. Your also right about the purpose. Most mounts are made so that their arc of diameter is smaller than the receiver. They do this so that by contact on the outside edges only they do not risk a mount that rocks on a high point that occurs in the center of the mount. By bedding a mount you make full and stronger contact.

I should have said with medium rings, not medium mount when I described distance from scope center to distance of bore center. Your right about what that represents. Measure from the center of your scope to the center of your barrel, and put your dots that distance apart on a piece of paper. Then while looking down your bore (with bolt removed) center the lower dot in your bore. Then simply adjust your scope until the crosshairs center on the top dot.

With the 20 moa bases your will not need the offset inserts from Burris.

No, you will not be lapping the bore with even 100 strokes with Semichrome polish. You will only be removing the burs left by milling, or left behind as the rifling button was dragged through the bore during manufacture. That is about all that one is doing when firing a round and cleaning, then firing another round and cleaning. This will put much more wear on your bore through throat erosion than you could ever do with Semichrome polish.

I use moly so that I can get 100 rounds or more through my rifle without cleaning for copper fouling. I had a 22-250 that required cleaning every 30 rounds or accuracy suffered. It gave me under ¼ inch at 100 yards clean, and with 40 rounds the group had opened to ¾ inch. You will get copper build up with moly, but it will occur more slowly.


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## farmerj (Jun 19, 2004)

Plainsman,

You and I could have an interesting talk at work if the guys would stop and listen.

two places.
www.kenfarrell.com
www.badgerordnance.com

IF you are using a 1" tubed scope. Isn't the 20 MOA base getting you too far to one side though?

typical 1" scope has about 80 clicks in the tube. 40 up, 40 down. That would be a total of about 20 MOA with 1/4" clicks. Typical 30mm tube has around 110 clicks 55 up, 55 down.

I am thinking with a 1" tube a 10 or 15 MOA base would make better sense and a 30mm tube would definitely want a 20 MOA base.

As for loc-tite. I use it everywhere on the scope mount. I use grease to coat my screws and have had good luck, but I also use the brownell's release first. Leaves a thin plastic like coating on the steel.

Thoughts aren't complete....Just gotta run.


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

I have never had a problem with not enough down adjustment with one inch tubes and 20 moa bases or Burris inserts. I have 30 moa on one rifle. My 300 Win Mag has only two inches of ajustment down, but still has 56 inches of up adjustment. Isn't it 80 inches of adjustment and not 80 clicks? I know my Sightron has 58 inches of adjustment.


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## farmerj (Jun 19, 2004)

I gotta find that webpage....

I had found a page at one time that gave the adjustment ranges for scope, how big the click was, the power etc... 

And now I can't find the link... 

I honestly don't remember which way it went. 80 inches or 80 clicks. he part I do remember is the 80 and 110.

as to breaking in a barrel....

I run a tight patch through my barrels, and just shoot them in. NOthing specil or fancy. I have heard so many of the arguments both ways it is ridiculous. Shilen says break it in, Krieger says you get close to it with any of those chemicals you will void the warranty. I figure, if the major players are going to haggle about it, there is no right or wrong way to do it.


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## Robert A. Langager (Feb 22, 2002)

farmerj said:


> I gotta find that webpage....
> 
> I had found a page at one time that gave the adjustment ranges for scope, how big the click was, the power etc...
> 
> ...


Here is a webpage:

http://snipercountry.com/Articles/MechanicalZero.asp

or

http://snipercountry.com/Articles/ScopeMountSelection.asp

According to that your range of adjustment is in MOA or inches, not clicks.

OK, I think I am getting this scope mount thing down. But where should the eyepiece (ocular) be mounted relative to the gun?

I imagine I need to find what I feel is the most reasonable and comfortable place to put my cheek and determine the scope's position from there?

RC


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## farmerj (Jun 19, 2004)

excellent reference, but not it...

The page I am looking for is actually a table of current and past manufacture scopes. It lists the number of clicks and adjustment tanges on the scope and what the click value is, lists the magnification ranges etc...


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## smileyball32 (Dec 27, 2004)

i like deer hunting
:sniper:


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