Scope Mounting S&W(Howa)1500

reynolds357 said:
If you do not care to hear unsolicited advice, internet discussion forums are the wrong place for you to be.:)
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If you provide unsolicited advice in internet forums, you should expect and respect the honest, sometimes rude answer you may receive.
I had a man tell me yesterday over the phone that the 34 acre plot I live on isn't appropriate for rifle hunting. I had contacted him about hay bales for my dog pens and for my blind. I kindly and respectfully told him thank you, but I've been doing it for two years now, and have yet to have a single problem. He continued to try to argue, so he got the answer that I originally held back, which was to mind his business, and if he had a problem, to do something about it.
Moral of the story kids: stick to the topic at hand and you won't get your feelings hurt or start an argument.
 
I definitely do not get my feelings hurt by someone I could not care less about. ;) For someone to hurt my feelings, I would have to assign some degree of value to that person. Basic psychology.:cool:
It takes a pretty insecure person to be so easily annoyed by such small degrees of criticism.
 
Yep, sort of tough to keep these question /answer things on the subject as each of us is coming from a different background, different hunting situations, and often with a different firearm than the guy posting the thread---how many times have I had to grit my teeth and keep quiet while someone tore into the Remingtons again and commented very poorly on my choice of scope, [inexpensive]---I've been totally happy with the results I get with Bushnells, Nikons and a Leopold or two---
Just got to roll with the input from the forum, everyone has an opinion so just use the info you asked for in the first place, usually when these things go on for two to three pages, you will have the answer to the original question----
 
I picked up the sightron s1 today for $50, going to get the s2 next weekend. For now its in weaver rings on basic weaver bases. I have a pair of leupold rifleman rings, but I believe they only fit rifleman scopes as they were way too small for the s1. Its nice and clear, I like it so far, but I can't wait to shoot the gun with it on.
 
Your chosen Weaver rings/base set-up should work fine. I have the multi-slotted bases on a M700Ti I own and they allow for a wide range of ring placements which should allow you to set your eye relief perfectly. I'd suggest setting the eye relief at the lowest or near lowest power. Most rifles are carried with the scope set at low power to enable a wider field of view should a deer "pop" up as you are still-hunting or even simply moving to/from your stand location.

I normally also leave my scope set at low power when sitting on stand and only increase magnification, which normally also changes eye relief, when needed. When game appears at longer ranges and you "zoom" up, you should have time to adjust your cheek weld on the stock for the slightly different eye relief there; same thing at the range. However, if eye relief is not set at low power and you have a quick chance at a short range opportunity, trying to find the target with the wrong eye relief set can cost you a shot.

Good luck with that new rifle & scope! :D
 
Pilothunter is right--it's amazing how much easier it is to set up your scope with the correct eye relief when you use the Weaver bases--if I remember correctly the more common bases have two slots in one pad and and maybe two in the other, these work for some but do limit the scope movement somewhat, whereas the pad set with one pad that has three slots and two in the other makes a big difference----sounds like you are getting pretty well set up and as far as I'm concerned the Sightrons are fine scopes, I know two people who have them and are totally satisfied--- I think you'll end up with a great rifle-----enjoy-----
 
pilothunter said:
Your chosen Weaver rings/base set-up should work fine. I have the multi-slotted bases on a M700Ti I own and they allow for a wide range of ring placements which should allow you to set your eye relief perfectly. I'd suggest setting the eye relief at the lowest or near lowest power. Most rifles are carried with the scope set at low power to enable a wider field of view should a deer "pop" up as you are still-hunting or even simply moving to/from your stand location.

I normally also leave my scope set at low power when sitting on stand and only increase magnification, which normally also changes eye relief, when needed. When game appears at longer ranges and you "zoom" up, you should have time to adjust your cheek weld on the stock for the slightly different eye relief there; same thing at the range. However, if eye relief is not set at low power and you have a quick chance at a short range opportunity, trying to find the target with the wrong eye relief set can cost you a shot.

Good luck with that new rifle & scope! :D
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I cannot find the multi slot bases to save my life. I've looked online, asked a couple shops about them, nothing. Maybe if I give weaver a call. One of the bases was missing a screw, so I called and someone returned my call within 45 minutes and had two new screws in my mailbox in 2 days.
I also set my scopes up at the lowest magnification. Just seems to make sense. I wound up putting the s1 and leupold rings on my 10/22. I'm picking up the s2 Friday, so I figured I'd use the better of the two on my hunting rifle. I measured my longest hunting lane, it came to about 215 yards. I doubt I'll have to take a shot that far, but it'll be comforting to know that I can if the situation comes up. My other stands are max 75 yards, so I'm all good. I'm a little worried about the parallax on both scopes being set at 100 yds but I should be able to work around it.
 
I do not know what power s2 your bought, but if it is under 12 power, parallex will not be significant enough to even be a mild annoyance.
 
reynolds357 said:
I do not know what power s2 your bought, but if it is under 12 power, parallex will not be significant enough to even be a mild annoyance.
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Its 3-9x42. What's the best way to fully test for optic quality and find any quirks? When deer season is over, I'll be trying my luck with target shooting and maybe some longer(3-400yard) ranges. My ccp instructor teaches precision rifle and does some swat and law enforcement snipe training, so I was hoping to save up enough to buy some range time with him.
 
The way to test for optical quality is look through it in extreme bright conditions and extreme low light conditions. Can you see in low light through the optic? Do you get a lot of glare in bright light? Do objects look bent close to the edge of the field of view? Do the testing throughout the power range.

To test for mechanical quality, run a box test. At the least, move POI 4" right and 4" up and see if the bullet actually goes where the scope adjustments were supposed to send it. Then, move it back and see if the POI goes back to zero.
The S2 is a good scope. I doubt you will have problems with it. The S1 may or many not meet your expectations.
 
Alright, I picked up my S2 today. Finally got home, loose mounted it and rough bore sighted it. Then I get up from the table and step back to admire its beauty. Only to to realize that the objective is awful close to the barrel. By close, I mean there's not room to slide a credit card between the bottom of the objective and top of the barrel. Should I get taller rings, or is that close proximity ok? I know the closer to the barrel yada yada, but there's got to be a "too close".
 
When dealing with all but the heaviest of scopes, if I can get a doubled up dollar bill between the barrel and the bell, I am happy. I have a .270 WSM that I can only get a single thickness bill under and it is a tack driver. I had to un-mount the scope to send the rifle for warranty work, and I saw no evidence of contact between the two.
 
I finally got around to shooting this thing. And boy, I forgot how much fun shooting bolt guns is. I started at 25 yards, boresighted with the bolt out method. That got me on paper. Using the "Shooter" application to judge trajectory, sighted it about .25" low at 25 yards for a 100 yard zero. Then, off to my buddies for the 100 yard test. Same ammo, it was 2" high at 100 yards.
Finally, I put two bullets through the exact same hole, and another overlapping just for good measure.
Funny thing is, after my last shot, my scope went fuzzy when cranked to 9x. Everywhere else in the magnification range was fine. I haven't checked it today to see if it was just something temporary, and I'm not too worried as I won't need that high magnification for a deer at 100 yards.
Here's the final setup:
Smith and Wesson 1500 30-06
Weaver one piece 0 moa base
Leupold rifleman "low" rings
Sightron sII 3-9x42
Remington Express Core-Lokt 165grain
 
reynolds357 said:
Scope might have been picking up mirage at high power.
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Its back to crystal clear now. It had to of had something to do with the recoil. I was letting the barrel cool between shots, everything is torqued down to spec. I was shooting from a Caldwell(I think) lead sled, which didn't have any weights on it. Oh well, the scopes so dead on, unless the deer I shoot doesn't drop, I won't need to make a follow up shot. I'm going to try shooting it again to see if it happens again.
 
Looks like it's permanently gone fuzzy at 9x. No biggie for now, after deer season, its going to sightron for repair. Luckily it has a lifetime warranty.
 
One of the most accurate rifles I ever owned was a Mossberg 1500 (Howa), in .270, topped with a fixed 4X Simmons. I shot more woodchucks with that gun. :D I picked it up around 91 or 92, and FOOLISHLY traded it a few years later. It looked like a "cheap" set up, but it sure would shoot!
Until I picked up a mint 80's vintage Remington 700 BDL .270 last year and put a Nikon 3-9X40 BuckMaster on it, I hadn't found a set up as accurate as that old Howa / Mossberg 1500.
 
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