Rifle Scopes Confirming rifle scope tracking…..can it be done without ammunition?

[want2learn]

I was wondering, would it be reasonable to confirm the tracking accuracy of a rifle scope without having to shoot ammunition? It's not so much a matter of using ammunition...but rather it could be effected in a suburban back yard.

I thought perhaps measuring out/drawing a 3 MIL x 3 MIL grid with ½ MIL gradation on a plumbed to gravity paper target at 100-200 yards, maintain the rifle/scope unit fixed and stable….. and rotate the turrets to see if the reticle follows or deviates from the grid.

Does this sound reasonable?

thank you

 

[Sierra2885]

I was wondering, would it be reasonable to confirm the tracking accuracy of a rifle scope without having to shoot ammunition? It's not so much a matter of using ammunition...but rather it could be effected in a suburban back yard.

I thought perhaps measuring out/drawing a 3 MIL x 3 MIL grid with ½ MIL gradation on a plumbed to gravity paper target at 100-200 yards, maintain the rifle/scope unit fixed and stable….. and rotate the turrets to see if the reticle follows or deviates from the grid.

Does this sound reasonable?

thank you

That’s almost exactly what I did in my suburban back yard to test tracking. I also did a “dry” box test the same way. This way I had everything set up and manually tested, so when I got to the range all I had to do was confirm with live fire.

 

[Sierra2885]

YouTube is a great resource for this sort of thing. That’s where I got the technical data and step by step how-to for the box drill and mil tracking test

 

[PinesAndProjectiles]

Try these:

Store - Box to Bench Precision

Snipers Hide 100 Yard Scope Tracking Target - MIL - MOA - For Milliradian and Minute of Angle Scopes - True Minute of Angle - Precision Shooting -

www.boxtobenchprecision.com

 

[ken226]

I make a large target with lines and dots spaced 10cm apart, Set the scope up on a fixture @ 100 meters. Make sure the reticle subtensions line up with the lines/dots, then run the turrets from dot to dot, as far as your target will allow both vertically and horizontally.

The fixtures can be purchased or fabricated.






It's a pretty shitty through-scope pic with my phone, but you get the idea.



Use the reticle to test tracking even further that the target size allows. For example, my target has 7 mils of elevation, and my USO scopes JVCR reticle has 10 mils. So I align the 10 mil mark on the reticle with the top dot on the target, then dial 17 mils of elevation. My reticle center ended up aligned with the bottom dot, showing perfect tracking over a range of 17 mils.

You can do the same with windage.

I fabricated the fixture from leftover 2x4 steel tube from a previous trailer smoker project.

 

[BigJimFish]

Tracking testing is best done without firing rounds as you are adding a good deal of variance by including the gun, shooter, and ammo in the equation. It is best done with the scope mounted on a solid fixture and viewing a properly calibrated target at a carefully measured distance. FIxtures exist and can be purchased. Here is the one Frank and Mark designed a few years back. You can also make your own fixture from steel if you are a welder or from wood if you have that skillset. Mine is of wood and is quite robust and effective.

I couple years ago I posted a scope testing methodology article that has some information on exactly how to run mechanical tests on a scope as well as some information on the fixture I built. Minnesota already linked you probably the best current target for doing testing. The larger Horus CATS target I use is no longer made since Horus was acquired by Nightforce. You could just tape a couple of the smaller targets together to get the same effect though or run them at half the distance from the scope. I would recommend a good deal more vertical test range than 3 mils. Frankly, you should be able to test from optical center all the way to max elevation as not all problems show up in the center of the scope. Often errors are not linear. It is also good to have a few mills each side of center to do a bit of a box pattern with as sometimes being off center horizontally can effect vertical tracking as well. Lastly, even if you have already tested a scope unfired be sure to test it occasionally after use as they sometimes eventually "settle in" to being less on point than they were out of the box.

 

[want2learn]

Wow.................thank you all for the detailed answers and photos........it's very helpful...........i'm very grateful

 

[ken226]

Wow.................thank you all for the detailed answers and photos........it's very helpful...........i'm very grateful

A very important part of tracking test is in measuring the distance to the target.

I played around with this a bit the first time I used my scope tracking fixture, and found that if my distance was off by as little as 12 inches, I could visibly see that the subtensions didn't line up on the target markings.

You need the distance from scopes erector gimbal to the target to be very correct. A long measuring tape would be ideal.

A small distance error could result in you returning a perfectly good scope, and having a disagreement with the manufacturer as to who has better test equipment. That's easy to answer; they have better equipment.

 

[ZG47A]

I was wondering, would it be reasonable to confirm the tracking accuracy of a rifle scope without having to shoot ammunition? It's not so much a matter of using ammunition...but rather it could be effected in a suburban back yard.

I thought perhaps measuring out/drawing a 3 MIL x 3 MIL grid with ½ MIL gradation on a plumbed to gravity paper target at 100-200 yards, maintain the rifle/scope unit fixed and stable….. and rotate the turrets to see if the reticle follows or deviates from the grid.

Does this sound reasonable?

thank you

Yes. Box test with ammo is (and always has been) purely for iron sights.

 

[Yellowhammer]

I was thinking about this last night. Hear me out...if one doesn’t have a rock solid tracking base to test with could you not co-align a good green laser (like the vis laser on a Dbal-D2) to your zero’d scope, take one of the box to bench targets with the constant aiming point, then use the laser to make sure you always held on the center aiming dot while dialing the scope?

The crosshairs should move to the various points on the tracking target while the green laser keeps the rifle aligned in the aiming point. Do it in a lead sled to make it a little easier.

Cheaper than shooting the ammo if you’ve already got the stuff to do it.

FWIW, I’ve used a similar method when removing zero’d scopes & replacing with new for folks with good results: mount laser, put rifle in vise, use something to mark where the laser and crosshairs both are on a distant wall/fence (2 marks), change/remount a different scope, then re-align the laser (first mark) & dial the scope to the second mark. It works as long as you aren’t changing anything other than the scope. One guy didn’t have to adjust his newly mounted scope at all.