So I took my Mossberg Patriot in 270 out to the range today and couldn't hit paper if my life depended on it even at 25yds. One of the range officers said the when he looked through the bore it didn't match what was seen through the scope even at max windage adjustment. I have the vortex scope package and will take it to a gunsmith this week to have them check the mounting and boresight it again. Should I upgrade the rings and bases or should I keep what I have on the rifle?
Scope base and mounts
- Thread starter stan5677
- Start date
Sort of looks peculiar, like inverted.
Remove the bolt, set the rifle in some sort of rest. Place a target on a wall even if only 20 feet or take the rifle outside and do this in daylight. Any target should work. Remove the bolt and look from the rear down the barrel. Do you see what you see in the scope? That alone should get you on paper. Nothing can really be garnered from the picture.
A Google of "Mounting a rifle scope" will bring up a dozen hits of How To and how to tighten the screws (mount and rings).
Ron
Remove the bolt, set the rifle in some sort of rest. Place a target on a wall even if only 20 feet or take the rifle outside and do this in daylight. Any target should work. Remove the bolt and look from the rear down the barrel. Do you see what you see in the scope? That alone should get you on paper. Nothing can really be garnered from the picture.
A Google of "Mounting a rifle scope" will bring up a dozen hits of How To and how to tighten the screws (mount and rings).
Ron
I doubt pictures will help much. I am guessing you are talking about the rings being uneven? There is a greater gap in one than the other? When you tighten the rings you do it in an X pattern. You work from screw to screw tightening each a little and move to the next, similar to lug nuts on a tire. The gaps between the top and bottom of each ring should be uniform and equal. Some ring manufacturers actually provide torque specifications for their rings and bases.
I would try as I suggested and remove the bolt and look down the bore at a fixed target the scope is scoped in on. That should tell you a lot.
Ron
I would try as I suggested and remove the bolt and look down the bore at a fixed target the scope is scoped in on. That should tell you a lot.
Ron
You most likely simply don't have the rifle zeroed correctly. Set the rifle on some bags, bipod or other similar support. Remove the bolt. Align the crosshairs with the bulls eye. Without moving the rifle look through the barrel. The barrel will almost never have the bulls eye centered in the bore. If your barrel is pointing low and left, move the scope adjustments up and right until the center of the bulls eye is centered in the middle of the barrel at the same time the crosshairs are on the bull. You can do this in your home or yard since no shots will be fired This will ensure you hit the target. Then you can fine tune the scope when you see where you're actually hitting.
OR; use a HUGE target that you can't miss. You can buy a sheet of poster board at Walmart for under $1. Place your target on the poster board. Even if you miss the target, you won't miss a sheet of poster board at only 25 yards. Once you get a bullet hole that you can see, then you now which direction you need to move the scope adjustments.
In extremely rare cases the scope mounting holes on the rifle are not drilled in line with the barrel. You can buy windage adjustable mounts that will correct this. Back in the 1940's and 50's many rifles did not come pre drilled and this was a common problem when gunsmiths had to drill the holes. The mounts were designed to correct inaccurate gun smithing. It would be quite rare today and I'd consider it a factory defect and return the the rifle if this proves to be the case.
OR; use a HUGE target that you can't miss. You can buy a sheet of poster board at Walmart for under $1. Place your target on the poster board. Even if you miss the target, you won't miss a sheet of poster board at only 25 yards. Once you get a bullet hole that you can see, then you now which direction you need to move the scope adjustments.
In extremely rare cases the scope mounting holes on the rifle are not drilled in line with the barrel. You can buy windage adjustable mounts that will correct this. Back in the 1940's and 50's many rifles did not come pre drilled and this was a common problem when gunsmiths had to drill the holes. The mounts were designed to correct inaccurate gun smithing. It would be quite rare today and I'd consider it a factory defect and return the the rifle if this proves to be the case.
I bought a barska bore sight kit for less than $50 a few years ago and it was a great investment.
I do not like the laser ones, mine is the type with the magnetic thingy that you can insert into your barrel and look down the scope to line it up.
It always gets me on paper and then I have to make some final adjustments.
I do not like the laser ones, mine is the type with the magnetic thingy that you can insert into your barrel and look down the scope to line it up.
It always gets me on paper and then I have to make some final adjustments.
Blindstitch
New member
Personally if I wasn't hitting anything with it I would ask a range officer to take a shot. Last deer season I watched a guy shoot 25 slugs through his gun and not even hit a 2 foot x 2 foot board. He then handed it off to the range officer who put two holes through the center.
If it still didn't do anything correctly I would unmount everything and start fresh making sure everything was tightened correctly. Then bore site the scope through the barrel and take it to the range.
You could have a hardware problem or the scope could be junk if it isn't you. I always have my wife shoot my guns go get a second opinion because I know she can shoot.
If it still didn't do anything correctly I would unmount everything and start fresh making sure everything was tightened correctly. Then bore site the scope through the barrel and take it to the range.
You could have a hardware problem or the scope could be junk if it isn't you. I always have my wife shoot my guns go get a second opinion because I know she can shoot.
I don't get the business about how you are going about bore sighting.
The bore that counts is the one he rifle, not the scope.
You put the rifle bore on the target, then check the scope. The rifle bore is what the bullet goes down and supposedly if its pointed at the target, that is where the bullet goes.
The scope adjusts to the bore not the other way around.
Keep rifle bore on target and then adjust the scope (opposite adjustment, if the cross hairs are to the left, you use left adjustment not right)
If it wont align, you have a problem.
I can get most of them to hit the paper at 100 yds first shot.
The bore that counts is the one he rifle, not the scope.
You put the rifle bore on the target, then check the scope. The rifle bore is what the bullet goes down and supposedly if its pointed at the target, that is where the bullet goes.
The scope adjusts to the bore not the other way around.
Keep rifle bore on target and then adjust the scope (opposite adjustment, if the cross hairs are to the left, you use left adjustment not right)
If it wont align, you have a problem.
I can get most of them to hit the paper at 100 yds first shot.
math teacher
New member
Thank you RC20. You saved me the trouble of pointing that out. You always adjust the scope to where the bore is pointing, preferably at an object over 50 yards away. I have never failed to hit paper at 100 yards after bore sighting. I suspect the OP has a problem with either his mounts or scope, so perhaps a trip to the gunsmith's is justified, but not to bore sight the rifle. That the OP needs to learn for himself or he will always be a noob. It isn't rocket science and is very satisfying having done it for yourself.
Spot on, RC20. I remember a long, long time ago doing my first scope mounted bore sighting. Nobody told me to go opposite on the dials when doing the job. There was a little head scratchin' going on back then...
To the OP, read RC's post once (or twice) more, and you'll never have to pay a gunsmith to bore-sight a bolt gun again, or any gun you can look through the tube from the breech end for that matter.
Be sure nothing's loose on your mounting system for starters.
To the OP, read RC's post once (or twice) more, and you'll never have to pay a gunsmith to bore-sight a bolt gun again, or any gun you can look through the tube from the breech end for that matter.
Be sure nothing's loose on your mounting system for starters.
themalicious0ne
New member
It drives me crazy that we all know you dial the scope to match the bore bit that when adjusting the dials, you "walk in" the bullet holes. If I am shooting high left, you would think that you would dial the reticle in that direction. Nope 2" high and 2" left, you dial 2" down and right.
I am a very logical and literal person and it confuses me. And I do know why. It just seems to contradict the fact that you move the reticle to the bullets but in the opposite direction... if that makes sense
I am a very logical and literal person and it confuses me. And I do know why. It just seems to contradict the fact that you move the reticle to the bullets but in the opposite direction... if that makes sense
Blindstitch
New member
You should try archery. To make the arrow go up you move the pin down. To make arrow go to the right the pin moves to the right.
We all know how this works but it seems partially wrong.
We all know how this works but it seems partially wrong.
math teacher
New member
Blindstich, in archery just think "I need to move the pin to where the arrow is hitting." Don't overthink it.
Duh, I move, i.e., adjust , the pin(s) to the left (as seen by me while holding the bow) in order to move the bow to the right so it will then shoot to the arrow to the right. Maybe that is because I shoot my bows left-handed.
Note: I have assumed you were referring to adjusting the sight pins on a bow sight, not just aiming to the right to make the arrow go to the right. I say this because I have bow hunted for many years.
Also, to adjust the sight pin(s) for the arrow to hit higher, the sight pin(s) must be lowered in the sight.
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Blindstitch
New member
I'm just saying different things have different problems.
Scopes vs. Archery vs iron sights vs only moving the front sight.
Scopes vs. Archery vs iron sights vs only moving the front sight.
math teacher
New member
Yes Lefteye, if an arrow is hitting low you adjust the sight pin down in the direction the arrow is hitting which effectively raises the bow so it will hit higher. Likewise if it is hitting to the left you move the pin to the left which moves the bow to the right so it will hit further to the right. In other word you adjust the pin, which is a front sight, in the direction the arrows are hitting. Is that any clearer?