Ran out of elevation

kyotekiller25

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Jan 31, 2021
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I'm not sure I've ever had this happen while trying to sight in any rifle in 30 years, but I ran out of upwards elevation trying to get this Browning BAR 22 zeroed at 50 yards. I'm topped out on the elevation turret and still 2-3" low from center. Not good...

I'm using a set of Warne medium height 22 rings and a Burris Fullfield E1 4-14x scope. Scope has 60 MOA of elevation and reticle was centered. The Browning has a grooved receiver. Quality rings and scope, everything is tight and set up properly.

So what gives?

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At 50yds you need each .5" is 1 moa (ish).

Buy some shim stock (very thin metal sheet). Each .001" is about 1 moa. You'll want to shim it 30 moa or so to get the view more into the center where the glass is better and the windage will have more adjustment. Remove the scope and place .030" of shim stock in the bottom of the scope ring so it is under the scope. I use a touch of Shoe Goo to hold it still and to the scope. If you shim the back ring up the scope will look down and the impact will rise. If you shim up the front ring the scope will look higher and the impact will drop.

One single shim would be best and more than two may not be stable but it is just a 22.
 
I'm not sure I've ever had this happen while trying to sight in any rifle in 30 years, but I ran out of upwards elevation trying to get this Browning BAR 22 zeroed at 50 yards. I'm topped out on the elevation turret and still 2-3" low from center. Not good...

I'm using a set of Warne medium height 22 rings and a Burris Fullfield E1 4-14x scope. Scope has 60 MOA of elevation and reticle was centered. The Browning has a grooved receiver. Quality rings and scope, everything is tight and set up properly.

So what gives?

View attachment 8713659
Mind uploading a picture from the side, particularly the objective end near the rear sight.
 
You won't see it as it is .030" and inside a scope ring.
You are likely misunderstanding what I asked.
The picture gives the impression the objective may be contacting the rear sight. Another picture from the side and not above showing the gap or lack there of in that area is what I was wondering about.
 
You are likely misunderstanding what I asked.
The picture gives the impression the objective may be contacting the rear sight. Another picture from the side and not above showing the gap or lack there of in that area is what I was wondering about.
THIS first, then verify the rings are not designed with elevation and you have them in the right place
 
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You might need to find a 20MOA base or a set of Burris Signature rings that allow you to adjust the MOA of the scope while keeping the scope aligned properly in the rings without jerry-rigging some bullshit that could hurt your scope, or cause problems down the road. They're not cheap, but they are high quality and the correct thing you need to fix this, and would make your life a lot easier in the long run.

 
What rings?

ETA:
Will answer my own question, they are Warne. The dimple seems to be positioned for an 11 mm dovetail.

No idea if this model Browning has the potential for "barrel droop" like the take downs and 10/22's do.
 
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The Browning has a grooved receiver. There are no bases to speak of for a BAR 22 LR, let alone 20 MOA bases. This rifle was only made from like 77'-85'

I think I've got 2 options here. Either break down and buy a set of $80 Burris signature rings and then a set of $20 inserts, then try to figure out how to even use such a ridiculous contraption. Or two, swap the Nikon Rimfire 4-12x40 that's on my 10/22 out and see if that changes anything. It has more elevation, and the clicks are 1/4" at 50 yards instead of 1/8". That's probably the first route I'm going to take. What a giant PITA this has turned out to be...
 
The Browning has a grooved receiver. There are no bases to speak of for a BAR 22 LR, let alone 20 MOA bases. This rifle was only made from like 77'-85'

I think I've got 2 options here. Either break down and buy a set of $80 Burris signature rings and then a set of $20 inserts, then try to figure out how to even use such a ridiculous contraption. Or two, swap the Nikon Rimfire 4-12x40 that's on my 10/22 out and see if that changes anything. It has more elevation, and the clicks are 1/4" at 50 yards instead of 1/8". That's probably the first route I'm going to take. What a giant PITA this has turned out to be...
BKL adjustable would be another option
 
I noticed those small dots or dimples. I don't have the original packaging for the rings, but I thought they recommend them to be on the bottom, is that correct? The rings are suppose to be good for both either way I thought.

Also not sure if the Browning is an 11mm or 3/8" dovetail. There isn't a ton of info on these rifles. The manual doesn't specify either.

The rifle is nice, but it's almost more hassle than it's worth haha.
 
I noticed those small dots or dimples. I don't have the original packaging for the rings, but I thought they recommend them to be on the bottom, is that correct? The rings are suppose to be good for both either way I thought.

Also not sure if the Browning is an 11mm or 3/8" dovetail. There isn't a ton of info on these rifles. The manual doesn't specify either.

The rifle is nice, but it's almost more hassle than it's worth haha.
Bottom position is 11mm top is 3/8", allegedly the BAR is an 11mm but I'd take a set of calipers and measure it myself.
 
BKL looks like a great idea! I've never heard of them. Looks like that drop compensated might be the ticket since it adds some elevation? For whatever reason, this thing seemed to shoot around 2 feet low at 50 yards.

I remounted everything and centered the reticle again. Will take a big piece of poster board and see where the first 5 shots land at 25 yards and go from there. Maybe we can figure this out together and see what the best route to go would be.
 
Two things spring to mind.

#1
If you go Burris Signature rings, I believe you want part #420556, which is marketed as a high rimfire/airgun 1” ring for 11mm and 3/8 grooved receivers. Springer airguns tend to be harder on scopes and rings than our guns, so you’ll probably be ok.

Here’s a selection of non-XTR signature rings. By the way, XTR and Zee rings are for picatinny rails.

#2
Murphy Precision might make a 11mm dovetail-to-picatinny adapter. I have one on my CZ 455. Area419 might make one too. Not sure either would hold up to centerfire recoil, however.

They attach differently: IIRC the Area419 clamps from the side and the Murphy one clamps from the top.

These tips are from memory. Pardon if I am wrong.

Also, I guess you could always have a very competent gunsmith drill your receiver and attach a picatinny rail to it. I hear that receivers tend to be very hard on drill bits, and of course you need the rail aligned very precisely.
 
Would any of the Area419 rails work? I emailed them and they sent me the specs on 4 of their rails. They dont make one specifically for the BAR, however I don't see why maybe one of these wouldn't work. I have one on my CZ457 and it's been good.

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Just got back from the range. With the crosshairs optically centered, the first 5 shots at 50 yards were 17" low and 8" right. I came over to the left 8" and dialed up all I could which was roughly 12". Shot another 10 shots and they were still roughly 4.5" low at 50 yards. So that's where we're at! Doing the same exact thing. So it's either get a dovetail to picatinny, or Burris signature rings with inserts.

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There’s a chance the receiver or rail on the gun itself is what is off as well.

Try your other optic. See how close it is when it’s mechanically centered.

Next try the suggested Burris rings. They come with the inserts (at least mine did) and you can add moa in wherever needed. They’re actually a set of rings that would have been really nice to have available years ago when crooked receivers and rails were more common and scopes lacked adjustment like they have currently
 
You can also try swapping the rings around. I typically run the fastener side opposite to my bolt. Maybe they’d be more centered up. Also can try swapping front for back etc.

Just mechanically zero the scope out. Try swapping rings around see if a combo gets you closer.

Lightly tighten up. Fire a shot at a bigger target and see where it hits. I’d normally just looked down the barrel like I’m bore sighting but doesn’t seem to be an option with your rifle
 
Would any of the Area419 rails work? I emailed them and they sent me the specs on 4 of their rails. They dont make one specifically for the BAR, however I don't see why maybe one of these wouldn't work. I have one on my CZ457 and it's been good.

View attachment 8713957
I guess if they fit your receiver’s dovetail, the only thing I’d be worried about is recoil-induced slippage. Use some nail polish as a witness mark and keep an eye on it.

Also, hopefully they won’t interfere with ejection.