Mounting a scope isn’t a super-complex or highly technical job, but there are ways you can mess it up. Steve and Caleb are here to tell us about common pitfalls to avoid when you’re mounting a rifle scope.
1. Make sure the rings don’t touch any part of the turret housing, objective bell, or eyepiece. Any one or combination of those will throw off your shot groups big time. Make sure those rings are clamping ONLY the scope’s main tube.
2. Steve’s pet peeve is scope rings that are not tightly clamped to the scope base. If you can grasp the scope with one hand and the rifle with the other and there’s play between them, your groups are going to be all over the place! Scope rings come with torque specs for a reason, adds Caleb.
3. Make sure there’s clearance between the objective bell and the rifle. No part of the scope should touch the rifle itself. The only nexus between the scope and the rifle should be the scope rings – and they’re not actually part of the rifle. This also applies to a removable lens cover. When it’s on the scope, it should not touch any part of the gun.
4. Don’t mount the scope too low on an AR-15. On most rifles, you do want the centerline of the optic as close to the bore as you can get it. But the AR-15’s stock is on almost the same plane as the top of the receiver, so you need some height on the scope. Otherwise, it’ll be too low for you to look through it.
5. Overtightening the scope rings = VERY BAD. You can actually crush the scope tube and damage the optic beyond repair. Stick to those torque specs! If the rings come with a little wrench, that wrench is all you need to tighten ’em.
6. What about steel scope rings? Are they better than aluminum? According to Steve, aluminum rings are just fine for the average scope. If you have a huge scope and a rifle chambered in a heavy-kicker cartridge, then go with steel scope rings. On a 5.56-chambered AR-15, aluminum rings or a one-piece aluminum scope mount provides all the strength you need. Bonus: a dedicated AR-15 scope mount will position the scope at the correct height.
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Nope, we did not cover lapping scope rings in this one, the reason is because it is typically not an issue for you average user, by average we are referring to the vast majority of rifle shooter. Lapping rings is important for precision rifle shooting and it deserves it's own video.
I’ll add a few that our shop sees VERY often:
1- the ring to receiver screws and ring screws themselves need to all be brought down together gently in steps to gain perfect alignment and seating.
2-average AR scope needs to be 1-1/4” to 1-1/2”.
3- Do not use separate rings and bridge a receiver to a handguard
4- a solid one piece mount setup is always better, IF your bolt action allows. AR’s no problem.
5- Interface problems between Weaver and Picatinny.
6-scope mounted too high causing a gap in cheek to stock contact.
7- clueless as to how to achieve proper cheek to stock weld, and clueless as to how to adjusting their body to properly shoulder the rifle.
8- believe it or not, placing the optic where it looks coolest.
Like for Brownell shop plug joke
U say don't mount it with the rings touching anything cuz it throws off accuracy, but u don't explain how.
What rifle stand is that????
A note about mounting a scope with the windage and elevation backwards. I've got a Rem 788 in 22-250 that loves to eject the empty into the turret cover and bounce back into the chamber. Extractors being hens teeth for the thing I decided not to mess with it too much and turned the scope 90 degrees to the left so there was no longer a turret cover over the ejection port. Its wonky but works.
Wheeler FAT wrench… get one!
Correct information
My .270 Remington Model Four loves the see threw mounts. Very accurate rifle. Haven't lost a single deer in 32 years. Most shots between 2 to 3 hundred yards. A few around 500. Practice, proper maintenance, etc.👍
Some things I learned when mounting my first scope and that was not mentioned in the video well… Make sure the RETICLE and action of the gun is level before and after tightening down a scope. This will make zeroing a rifle much more precise and attainable. I emphasise RETICLE because the scope housing could be slightly off from the reticle. Some people just toss a level on the top flat part of the scope and go with that… nope. Put a level on the rifle scope rail mounts and then shine a light through the scope and it'll project the reticle onto the wall. Then use a hanging line to line up the vertible reticle with the line on the wall. This is called using a plumb bob. The rings should also be pushed all the way FORWARD in the rail slots before tightening. If the rings are reward in the slots the recoil could make the rings work forward and throw off your zero.
That look in Caleb's eyes at the mention of Loctite…
What is your veiw on scopes that are mounted 90 degrees off…being the elevation is used for windage but on the left side and the windage is the elevation on top…I've seen some military shooters set their scopes that way. It is said that way you can make adjustments with the left hand and not release your firing hand…
I got a nice Vortex scope for Christmas… I went out and bought a torque screwdriver specifically to mount it…glad I did the right thing rather than just eyeballing it.
Was really hoping for tips on leveling
Thank you! I have an old Savage 99 in .308 win. Never could get it to hold a group. 4 dead on, then a few flyers. My rings were right up to the ends of tube. I had to, to get the right eye relief.
Now I know – I need a longer scope, and get those rings off the objective and eye relief adjustment.
I kept thinking I had a foukded barrel, maybe needed to re-crown. The rifle shows no evidence of that, but I was out of ideas.
Heavy scopes mounted on precision bolt action rifles with cantilever mounts. I see this needless combination a lot, and when taking into account recoil and inertia, this must put some real stress on the mount. I would like to see some examples of shooting with a high speed camera. Like a fat guy on a diving board. Thoughts?
Never gets old listening to true professionals. Thanks for the great video fellas
Always a great job fellas. Brownells is a blessing to Gunsmiths and Armorer's.
It’s important to push the rings or mounts forward (towards the muzzle) inside the pic rail notches before tightening them down so that they remain snug under recoil.
Thank I will be mounting my vortex this weekend. So awesome to see this video show up this evening. And thank you
Another common problem is adhesives like Loctite getting between the rings and the scope’s body tube, preventing the rings from properly gripping the body tube.
Thinking about pulling the trigger on an LPVO and offset RDS instead of a RDS and Magnifier for my 13.9" still conflicted…. I CANT DECIDE!!!!???
So ONLY use red loctite or Rockset on my scope rings.!.???
What's wrong with see-through rings?
i got a rifle in to boresight and check scope installation. pretty standard job but i noticed some goop around the mounts, turns out someone tapped the receiver for 8-32 screws(one for each mount), ground out the mounts to fit the screw heads, and got it tight by using some form of glue or epoxy. please dont do this.
Thank you so very much for this. I checked my scope and rings while Caleb was talking
and sure enough they were making contact with the turrets both front and back. I had
no clue that them touching could make such a difference. I can't wait to get out to the
range after work tomorrow to see the improvements. Thank you much gentlemen.
Lol, I have see threws on my 742, and they're great.
Very helpful–thanks, guys!
Using locktite on the screws??? Good or bad?