Scope wanders to it's favorite orientation!

[rc]

I have a Ruger 77 with Leupold scope that I can't straighten out. I will loosen the screws, move the scope and retorque but after less than 10 shots it seems to take a little cant to the side and settle back where it wants to be. It's probably a little out of round. Any suggestions to get the scope to behave?

[zeke]

might consider also checking the rings? If they are very slightly out of round you can lap them. Burris also sells (at least used to) some rings with inserts. Or try another set of rings.

[taylorce1]

Burris sells Signature Rings, that have the insert. A little bit of double sided Scotch Tape on the bottom ring will help as well. The tape will hold the scope from rotating while torquing down the top half of the rings, and it isn't too thick as to introduce stress on your optic. Lapping never hurts if you have the tools to do so.

Do you use a level when shooting to make sure you aren't inducing the cant into the rifle? I've also had two stocks that weren't perfectly inlet and and would introduce cant into the optics on a couple of my rifle builds, one was a Greyboe Trekker the other a factory Savage Accustock.

[tangolima]

I dust rosin powder on inside of rings to enhance holding. The white impression on the scope tube shows the contact area between tube and rings. If that's over 80%, there shouldn't be problem.

Lapping only works on rings, but it could be the tube that is not matching up.

Check ring alignment too, especially the mount is not one-piece. The 2 gaps between the upper and lower halves of the ring, better to keep them the same.

-TL

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[georgehwbush]

it should not be, but that doesn't mean it isn't, the reticle rotating inside the scope itself. not saying leopold is cheap but i had a cheap scope do that. and some scopes just can't stand an ar's forward impulse when the bolt cycles.

just another thing to consider.

[tangolima]

Originally Posted by georgehwbush

it should not be, but that doesn't mean it isn't, the reticle rotating inside the scope itself. not saying leopold is cheap but i had a cheap scope do that. and some scopes just can't stand an ar's forward impulse when the bolt cycles.

just another thing to consider.

Good point. I thought op had detected physical movement of the tube relatively to the rings. He might mean the reticle seemed rotated. Those are completely different things.

-TL

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[georgehwbush]

tangolima: yeah, i know the op said bolt gun too. but i didn't see where they specified that it was without doubt the tube inside the rings slipping. only that they corrected that way. so i thought i would mention it.

[rc]

I did mean the tube seems to move. The scope is a VXII without the click adjustments. Rings are Ruger Hawkeye rings because the set that came with the gun were way too low and I couldn't get a scope cap on the objective. I actually prefer scopes with click adjustments a lot better but it came with the gun and is a quality scope. It has AO and is 4-14 I think so a decent 223 scope but would be a great 17 hm2 scope too. My Ruger Hawkeye 5.56 wears a 6.5-24 Weaver Grand slam with the fine dot reticle which is hard to see in many situations but shoots well. I'm tempted to put a 3-9 weaver on this gun and not have to worry about AO but this scope is silver and matches the gun. I just get annoyed I can't keep the thing from shifting under recoil.

[gwpercle]

In the old days it was common to lap the rings and the scope tube with lapping compound to get a perfect fit . Not sure if that's still done but try a search of the term -
" How to Lap Scope Rings " ...or ... "Scope Ring Lapping" and see what you get .
Gary

[tangolima]

Originally Posted by gwpercle

In the old days it was common to lap the rings and the scope tube with lapping compound to get a perfect fit . Not sure if that's still done but try a search of the term -
" How to Lap Scope Rings " ...or ... "Scope Ring Lapping" and see what you get .
Gary

Lapping the rings is quite common practice. But I don't know about lapping the scope tube... With today's one-piece mount and rail, lapping has become much less a necessity. I myself haven't done any.

-TL

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[zeke]

Back when primitives lived on earth (even more primitive than current day) manufacturing methods were much less precise. It wasn't just out of round rings, but also out of line mounting for scope bases due to offset holes. Lapping was too common, as were marks from tightening off set rings. Burris's ring inserts were welcome in providing some relief. To this day some still check to see how the scope sits in the rings before tightening everything up. Top rails also helped in some situations.

[tangolima]

Originally Posted by zeke

Back when primitives lived on earth (even more primitive than current day) manufacturing methods were much less precise. It wasn't just out of round rings, but also out of line mounting for scope bases due to offset holes. Lapping was too common, as were marks from tightening off set rings. Burris's ring inserts were welcome in providing some relief. To this day some still check to see how the scope sits in the rings before tightening everything up. Top rails also helped in some situations.

This is still problem today if the rifle is drilled and tapped manually and simple 2-piece mounts / rings are stalled. It is almost no way those 2 rings are coaxial. Lapping is necessary.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[rc]

I got a spare set of rings off ebay and swapped the Leupold scope on my 223 Ruger 77 to a 2-7 Nikon I had. I like the smaller lighter 2-7 scope a lot better than the 4-14 AO Leupold for field use and this combo doesn't seem prone to shifting. The Nikon has no AO to fiddle with in the field, clearer glass as a newer scope, click adjustments instead of friction adjustments, 2x magnification for fast target acquisition and 7x magnification to reach coyote sized targets out to 200 yards. I have not bench tested the combination at 100 yards but preliminary shooting to get the scope adjusted for hunting was promising.

[gwpercle]

Some rings hold better than others .

I have Never had a scope shift when mounted in old school Weaver Detachable Top Mount Rings (#49071)... Weaver also makes some newer and more modern looking rings for the younger shooters ... and I'm sure they work but their old fashioned Detachable Top Mount rings will hold them every time . I have one rifle that's 50 years old and never a loose scope with them !
Gary

[jmr40]

The scope is a VXII without the click adjustments

That is a 30-40 year old scope. No matter how high the quality, scopes have a perishable shelf life. Unlike rifles you reach a point where they either need to be rebuilt or replaced. Some older scopes are still serviceable for range use or backyard hunting, but I wouldn't trust one on a hunt that was costing me money or if my life depended on it working.

IMO it's time for a new scope.

[The Verminator]

The good news is Leupold will fix or replace.

[stinkeypete]

If Leupold won't replace the rings (and I bet they will),

Lap the rings to the scope.

Then Loctite Blue all the screws and the interface between the rings and the scope. Yes, glue and screw. It works.

But I prefer the Burris rings with the sticky plastic insert. That works really well, too.

[rc]

On a Ruger 77, most of us use the ruger factory integral rings that have to be mismatched except on the rimfire models to level out

[stagpanther]

Must be a pretty common problem--this thread has gained over 16,000 views in a month!!

Both Weigand and EGW make one-piece piccatany rails that I think can be fit to a M77 short action--that's what I'd do for starters.