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Scope mounting suggestions

846 views 14 replies 5 participants last post by  grcsat 
#1 ·
I have a new Nikon Monarch 3, 5 - 20 X 44 scope and high mount rings to go on my Remington 700 .223. When I mounted the scope the horizontal view is dead in the middle of the adjustment range, but the vertical adjustment is down as low as it will go and I'm still shooting about 2" high at 100 yards.

It seems I need a shim some where on the mounts, but I'm not sure if it should go on the front or the back mount. I think it should go under the front mount, but I'm not sure. Also can I use a small strip of paper and place it between the bottom of the mount and the mounting rail or does it need to go inside the mount under the barrel of the scope? Thanks for your help.
 
#2 ·
It sounds like it could be the bases that your rings mounted to. Not sure if you are using ones that you already had or if you put new ones on. This happened to me one time a while back and I could not for the life of me figure it out even though it was a really easy thing to tell. It is possible that you have the front and rear base swapped.
 
#3 ·
I would guess that from what you said you are using the 2 base set and not the 1 piece.
The holes for the front and back are different the back are closer together then the front so you can not switch them.
Are these for the 700? or are you using some that you had left over?
The front base should be rounded on the bottom but the back should be flat.
Was the gun pre drilled from the factory?
Mike
 
#4 · (Edited)
These are new rings. The base is a one piece weaver style mounted to factory drilled holes on the 700. Both rings look the same to me although I didn't set them side by side to check for height differences. The previous scope was a cheap Tasco with the bright blue finish to match the barrel. The rings were also a bright blue and they contrasted with the matte finish on the new scope so I replaced them. Guess I could put the old rings on and see how they work.

edit: I didn't change the base just the rings.
 
#6 ·
I just shimmed the front of the scope up .015". That seems to have put the elevation in the adjustment range, but I can only see about 25 yards. I'll take it to the range tomorrow and see how it does.

It is a brand new scope that I received about a week ago and yesterday was the first time I tried to use it. I guess it could be a defective scope, but now sure how I would know it's the scope and not the mount.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Have seen this sort of problem many times over.
Most of the time it is the scope adjustment that is the culprit.
All scopes have a certain amount of both horizontal and vertical movement. However different scopes have more movement than others.

If this is the problem, then the easy fix is to install a .003 or so, scope shim under the front scope mount between the base and the receiver .
Never ,never use a piece of paper between the scope and scope rings to gain elevation . Reson being that if you use paper between the scope and rings and the paper gets wet and then freezes, then two things can happen.

1) the frozen paper will expand and can damage the scope with exesive pressure from the rings.
2) when the wet paper dries ,its thicknes will change and you will be off target.
 
#9 · (Edited)
He has a 1 piece base so this would not be possible.
I have one here in the shop and the factory holes are drilled at different distance apart so I am not sure how you could do that with the 2 piece base and the front base is on a rounded part of the frame and the back one is on a flat part of the receiver so the basses should have different bottoms too.
Mike
 
#11 ·
stev32k

If you have a bore sighter then please try the following steps.
1) put the old scope system back on your rifle EXACTLY as you had it before with the magnification set midrange.
2)take a bore sight reading and mark it down.
3)with the same setup , turn you horizontal and vertical setting to v-0 and h-0.
4) take a new bore sight reading and mark down readings from bore sight graph.

5) now that you have recorded all your graph info,
Put new scope on rifle using exactly the same setup. Use same mounts ,same rings ,same everything.
6) check to make sure no part of the scope has unwarranted contact.
7) set scope to midrange , set the horizontal and vertical to v-0 and h-0.
8) take readings from bore sighter graph and mark down.

Tell us what you have so we can go to step two
 
#12 ·
Another common problem is the adjustments need to be exercised to "re-find" their normal centered positions. This is done by turning the adjustment all the way one direction, then all the way the opposite direction then back to center and starting the alignment procedure all over again.
-
Once you have done the repositioning above, place the scope on a mirror and adjust for one set of cross hairs. Then do the bore sight adjustment procedure.
 
#13 ·
I "think" I finally solved the mystery. The base that the rings attach to is not made for a Remington. The receiver has two holes in front and two holes in the back. The base has two holes in front but only one hole in the back. The screw in the back is not even the right screw. It was bottomed out before it would tighten down.

Guess I'm not very observant because I have removed the rings several times but never notice how the base was sticking up. So now I will have to order the right base and hope it comes with the right screws.
 
#14 ·
If I hadn't learned here that the receiver had four holes for the base mount I doubt I would have found the problem. It never occurred to me that it could be the wrong base.

I looked at the old rings and can see a shim under one of them (I assume that was the front). The shim is plastic and appears to be glued or maybe just got stuck after being in place so long.
 
#15 ·
Don't kick your self about it.
Every person who works with rifles and scopes has done something similar at least once.
I myself installed an all steel weaver one piece base on my custom M98 , only to find out that they haven't made rings for it in over thirty years.
 
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