Rifle Scopes I lost 20 MOA zeroing my scope. Is there a way I can get this back or at least half?

Venomgland

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Minuteman
Mar 7, 2019
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I zeroed my Vortex Viper PST 5-25X50 on my Ruger RPR 6.5 creed and lost 20 MOA of elevation. Is there a way I can get some of this back? Will taller scope rings do anything?
 
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To be more clear, did you lose 20 MOA from the center of the adjustment range?
How many minutes do you have available now, after sighting in, for long range adjustment?
There are rails that will increase the standard RPR 20 moa rail to 40 moa mounts:
https://warnescopemounts.com/product/lrskel30tg-20moa-extended-skeletonized-30mm-msr-mount/
Burris also has some rings with different inserts that can provide additional gain.
When I zeroed my scope I backed it all they way down to the factory zero stop. Took the top cap off and when I started shooting. I had to bring the bullet up about 2' right around 20 MOA. RIght now after everything is tightened back up. I have about 48 MOA. I'm zeroed at 100yds. I'd really like to get most of that 20 back for shooting long distance.
 
When I zeroed my scope I backed it all they way down to the factory zero stop. Took the top cap off and when I started shooting. I had to bring the bullet up about 2' right around 20 MOA. RIght now after everything is tightened back up. I have about 48 MOA. I'm zeroed at 100yds. I'd really like to get most of that 20 back for shooting long distance.
48 MOA is more than enough with a 6.5 to shoot to 1500. Don’t sweat it man.
 
That scope only has about 70 moa total adjustment so with your 48 your doing fairly well.

My old HST scope had the same issue and eventually I wanted more usable elevation so I replaced it.

That said 48 MOA will let you dial well past 1000 yards
 
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If you guys say I'm good then I believe you. My eyes kept getting bigger and bigger everytime I had to adjust it just to zero at 100. I figured I'd have to drive out to the 800yd line to shoot at 1000yds targets..
 
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If you guys say I'm good then I believe you. My eyes kept getting bigger and bigger everytime I had to adjust it just to zero at 100. I figured I'd have to drive out to the 800yd line to shoot at 1000yds targets..

It sounds like you completely bottomed out the erector adjustment then came up to zero. That's generally not recommended.

For info, when I was shooting my 175g Matchking 308 at my desert shooting spot, my elevation adjustment to 1050 yards was 37.5 MOA.
 
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70 minutes of total adjustment range so the middle is 35 up and 35 down. You have 48 minutes of elevation after sighting in so you are 13 minutes above the center of the range (48-35). If you dial in 30 minutes, then you move to 17 minutes below center. You are in a good spot as you are using the center of the adjustment range and not getting to the extreme limits and thus are also looking thru the center most portion of the glass throughout that range of adjustment.
 
70 minutes of total adjustment range so the middle is 35 up and 35 down. You have 48 minutes of elevation after sighting in so you are 13 minutes above the center of the range (48-35). If you dial in 30 minutes, then you move to 17 minutes below center. You are in a good spot as you are using the center of the adjustment range and not getting to the extreme limits and thus are also looking thru the center most portion of the glass throughout that range of adjustment.
I guess I'm confused why I wouldn't want my zero stop at 100yds to be at the very bottom and get all 70 MOA to up adjust for further distances.
 
I guess I'm confused why I wouldn't want my zero stop at 100yds to be at the very bottom and get all 70 MOA to up adjust for further distances.
Because of distortion in the lens, erector May or may not track accurately at the top or bottom end. The goal is to be as close to the center as pssible.
 
I guess I'm confused why I wouldn't want my zero stop at 100yds to be at the very bottom and get all 70 MOA to up adjust for further distances.

Because it’s a rifle and not a mortar. ;)

Seriously though, I cannot see why that much elevation would be needed on that caliber and if intend to get into distances past 1400, you’d probably want a different rifle/caliber and suitable scope.
 
I would much rather have better resolution for 99% of my shooting by being closer to the center of my travel range than to not have to hold over just a bit on the off chance I get to go shoot out to 1500+ yards.
 
You guys think these scope rings would solve the issue? Actually they have a picatinny version too. I used it on my rifle. If you tighten up the joints it wont move when shot.
 
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You guys think these scope rings would solve the issue?

Burris Signature rings will allow you to set up another 10 MOA. But, there is nothing wrong with your current setup. Are you sure you have 20 MOA rail? The rear will be noticeable higher than the front. Upload a picture.
 
If you bottom out the erector so you get all the available adjustment, your image will suffer. I run my ATACR bottomed out only because it’s built to really start shooting at 1500 and go out from there. I can tell the image isn’t as good as it is when I’m closer to the center of the adjustment.

The Burris Xtr signature rings are able to be adjusted to let you be able to use up to 40 more moa if needed, but I think your setup is just about perfect. Set the zero stop where you are and the 48 moa of up adjustment will be plenty.
 
Burris Signature rings will allow you to set up another 10 MOA. But, there is nothing wrong with your current setup. Are you sure you have 20 MOA rail? The rear will be noticeable higher than the front. Upload a picture.
Zeroed 10-20 moa below mechanical center is the best spot, you are way better served there than getting to the bottom.
This!
Your gonna want a much more expensive scope if you plan on using full travel.

Your in a good place for that scope.
Cheaper scopes can really suffer when getting near the ends of travel.
 
I have my sightron S3 which has 79moa of travel zero'd with 10.5moa from bottom and 68.5 moa up. This was with a 40moa nightforce base which really only gave 29moa after zeroing. It works out well for me as 29moa gets me out to 900m where I will be at optical centre of scope. Most of my shooting will be out near this range.

I personally tested looking through my scope at bottom of travel to see if there was an reduction in image and I personally cannot tell any difference between looking through the centre and bottom of this scope.
 
frank had also mentioned that at the far ends there is tension on the internal components, how close to the edges is this tension not smart to store at?

So if you zero with a heavy base and push it to the bottom, should you dial up to store to not hurt the internals?
 
frank had also mentioned that at the far ends there is tension on the internal components, how close to the edges is this tension not smart to store at?

So if you zero with a heavy base and push it to the bottom, should you dial up to store to not hurt the internals?

If you run an aggressive rail angle then you'll be at the very end of the mechanical travel, which compresses the erector return spring. Wouldn't be a bad idea to run it back "up" a rev to take some pressure off of it. It's more of a best practice thing, probably not super-critical short-term.
 
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If you run an aggressive rail angle then you'll be at the very end of the mechanical travel, which compresses the erector return spring. Wouldn't be a bad idea to run it back "up" a rev to take some pressure off of it. It's more of a best practice thing, probably not super-critical short-term.
Yeah I was thinking when stored, thanks.