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Rifle Scopes Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

Keith Johns

Phoenix Custom Rifles
Commercial Supporter
Full Member
Minuteman
When I level my scope body and turrets, my reticle is off level.

When I mounted my scope, I obviously made my cross hairs plum and level. I do not use clicks. I hold over. So my turrets being crooked doesnt seem like it would effect me as much as someone who does use clicks.

So, my question is, is this normal? Is it too much to assume the reticle and turrets should be in line with one another?

Thanks


Edited, I did a test with a plum bob. I think the test was pretty accurate.
It showed that it was off in the direction I thought, but not as much.
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

No its not normal, it should be straight and in line with the knobs. And Im going to guess its a Leupold since a canted reticle is the norm for them.
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

Keith,
Some manufacturers have a acceptable percentage of cant. If you are going to be dialing elevation i would make certain that the erector is level, which using the feeler gauge method should get it damn near level. If its just to much cant, send it to the manf. Leupold if im not mistaken allows a fairly "large" reticle cant within their standards
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: AZPrecision</div><div class="ubbcode-body">So, my question is, is this normal?</div></div>

The simple answer is, too often. This is a common problem on numerous scopes, but mostly in the cheaper price ranges. The cant of the reticle can cause an optical illusion that will cause you problems, but shouldn't effect the mechanics. Since the reticle is that far off, I would contact the manufacturer for repair or replacement.

DK
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

Im going to try to hang a plum bob and see if its off as much as it looks like. I'd imagin they have a way top get them pretty damn close. Closer than my eye can tell.

I dont use clicks like I said. I hold over/off. So its not a problem for me. But this seems alittle concerning. Ive never noticed it before but this one seems like its no doubt off.

And more people than myself have said this about this scope.
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

Ok. I did as good a job as I could at checking it with a plum bob, and a level. And it did indicate that it was crooked in the direction I thought, but not as much as I thought.

I've been shooting this scope for some time now and been shooting great. There's nothing I'm immediately worried about since I dont click. But I dont have the confidence in clicking anymore. Not if all scopes have an "acceptable" amount of cant in them.
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

Actually holding over with the reticle and dialing gives the same results. Canted is canted.

Rory
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Wireman</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Actually holding over with the reticle and dialing gives the same results. Canted is canted.

Rory </div></div>

Ummmmm, no.

If the reticle is canted in relation to the erector the results of holding and dialing will not be the same. If they were the same then there would be no problems as you can just plumb the scope and go.

Sounds like Keith has a good handle on what he's got going on.
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

If the vertical crosshair bisects the bore centerline, then no it would'nt make a difference if you hold over. I don't think it matters if the turret is canted and the crosshair is vertical either as long as the crosshairs track correctley. But I've been wrong before.

Rory
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

If you are using the reticle for your holdover it is important to mount that reticle perfectly plumb over your bore centerline. Are you using one of these?
p_289100000_1.jpg
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

Actually, it's not all that important.

If you had a 5 degree cant - which is a very noticeable amount of cant - it would introduce an error of about 1 MOA with a typical .308 load at 1000 yards. And that's about the same magnitude of error as a 1 mph full-value crosswind.

No one's going to not notice that much cant, so lesser amounts of cant will introduce even smaller errors.

It's better to have the reticle relatively straight, but there's no point in getting wrapped around the axle about it.
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Lindy</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Actually, it's not all that important.

If you had a 5 degree cant - which is a very noticeable amount of cant - it would introduce an error of about 1 MOA with a typical .308 load at 1000 yards. And that's about the same magnitude of error as a 1 mph full-value crosswind.

No one's going to not notice that much cant, so lesser amounts of cant will introduce even smaller errors.

It's better to have the reticle relatively straight, but there's no point in getting wrapped around the axle about it. </div></div>

Using a holdover yes, but wouldn't the error be a lot worse than 1 MOA if there was a 5 degree cant and you were to dial 12 mils? My thinking is that if the the reticle is canted off the verticle axis of the erector, that it would skew the center crosshairs considerably after that much adjustment because it's now moving in a angle to either the right or left.
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: USMCj</div><div class="ubbcode-body">No its not normal, it should be straight and in line with the knobs. And Im going to guess its a Leupold since a canted reticle is the norm for them. </div></div>

LMAO,sad...but so true. Their service is excellent though
grin.gif
Practice makes PERFECT.
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JRose</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Using a holdover yes, but wouldn't the error be a lot worse than 1 MOA if there was a 5 degree cant and you were to dial 12 mils? My thinking is that if the the reticle is canted off the verticle axis of the erector, that it would skew the center crosshairs considerably after that much adjustment because it's now moving in a angle to either the right or left. </div></div>

I agree. I haven't (and won't anytime soon) done the math, but if the mechanical erector is plub and the reticle is canted the divergence has to be compounded by dialing.
One can placate themselves theat its fine if one has logged dope, but why not have everything mechanically sound and only deal with the one true source of erratic POA/POI shift: the loose screw behind the trigger?
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

Thanks for your input guys.

Im not going to worry myself about it. I'll just keep shootin


I dont think it effects hold over.

The rifle is level, and the reticle is level. So how can raising the muzzle up cant anything? Your shot might be barely left or right of LOS.... like a 1/8" at most.

If the reticle is level and directly over the level rifle, holdover cant be effected. The turrets could be freakin diagonal, it wouldnt matter. As long as you can sight it in of course. Once I sight in, I never touch my turrets again. So them or the scope body being crooked means nothing to me.

Plus I've kinda proved it. I've shot groups out to 800 on days where I was lucky enough to have almost no wind. It did what it should.

So anyways. Never realized this about scopes. Especially one thats not cheap.

I see more room for improvement in the scope industry, than in any other in precision rifle shooting. Except maybe bullet production.
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

I finally got a VX-3 with a slight lean to the crosshair and I had it in my hands the second day after I received the confirmation they had received it. I use plain crosshairs and dial this rig to a mile so I needed it perfect. All better now. I'm okay with my Gold Rings.
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

Hi i would talk to the manufacturer if it is a high grade scope get it fixed i am sure the company will do that free of chargethere will come a time that you have to wind for windage to take a shot and you will be shit out of luck. but just using the reticle squared will cause you no problems.

I use both holdover and turrets and if i drop decent coin i expect the scope to be correct and i think you should aswell. also think if you ever want to sell it and it ibecomes to old for the manufacturer to fix it you will likley not get a good price on the sale.

Get it looked over by the manufacturer when you get a chance it should not cost anything to make it right.
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: AZPrecision</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> I do not use clicks. I hold over. So my turrets being crooked doesnt seem like it would effect me as much as someone who does use clicks.
</div></div>

That being said, however you still want it to be as close as possible. What happens if someday you diced to use clicks instead of holdovers? Might as well get it it fixed so you're more confident. Do you have a warranty? Might be worth a quick fix.

I have also found that the plumb-bob method sucks if your range to bob isn't far enough.
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

Just a quick note on how i square my scopes i set a target up and use a level and black texter and draw a line verticle then go back to 5 or 600 yards and level the rifle then square the reticle off the verticle line works a treat and you can see it back further than a string line also the drawn line cant be effected by wind.
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

That looks good WB but how do you plumb the scope centered over the bore? Assuming you have that done I go the final step and shoot my verticle line at 100 yards aiming at my 100 yard target and confirm my adjustment value and my impact is still on the line dialed up at least 30 minutes. It's a great feeling to cut that plumb line 30 minutes above my zero.

Darrell Holland has a good read on this subject and as long as the impact goes where it is supposed to he doesn't care if the turrets are level or not.

I get a kick out of guys that start talking about spin drift at 400 and 500 yards because their optics are not mounted correctly.
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">...but wouldn't the error be a lot worse than 1 MOA if there was a 5 degree cant and you were to dial 12 mils?</div></div>

No - the error I calculated is for a dialed shot.

If you want to calculate that for a specific load, the formula for the cant error is:

Horizontal Cant error = cos(90 - cant angle) * max ordinate
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

Well thats why I asked this.
Because I dont know whats expected or whats normal for scopes.

Honestly, the scope has worked great for me. This has just always bugged me a little, even though I dont feel it effects my shooting.

After using the plum bob, I see its not as far off as I first thought. But the level did confirm what my eye saw. I dont think its far enough off that anyone is to blame. I do feel they should be better, but such is life.

I'll just continue to use it and be happy with it. If I ever sell it I'll send it in for a check up before sending to the new owner.
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Hired Gun</div><div class="ubbcode-body">If you are using the reticle for your holdover it is important to mount that reticle perfectly plumb over your bore centerline. Are you using one of these?
p_289100000_1.jpg
</div></div>

^ ok what is that ?
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: dbateman</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Hired Gun</div><div class="ubbcode-body">If you are using the reticle for your holdover it is important to mount that reticle perfectly plumb over your bore centerline. Are you using one of these?
p_289100000_1.jpg
</div></div>

^ ok what is that ? </div></div>

Yes, what is it?
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

It balances on the barrel and the level will show you the centerline of your bore. That way you can mount the scope as close to dead center above the bore as possible.

DK
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

It is an EXD ENGINEERING VERTICAL RETICLE INSTRUMENT

Using this you are assured your scope is centered above the bore and then using a plumb bob or perfectly plum drawn line or level line you can align your crosshairs. This eliminates all error from untimed actions, mismachined screws holes or variations in your mounts. Unlike placing a level on your rail and just squaring the scope to the rail. Relying on that method can leave you all kinds of misalgned that just shows up downrange as the mystery wind value against the wind or "spin drift". Spin drift is real but not 4" at 500 yards. This tool is what helped me the most with the "cold bore shot".
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Hired Gun</div><div class="ubbcode-body">shows up downrange as the mystery wind value against the wind or "spin drift". Spin drift is real but not 4" at 500 yards. </div></div>
That's a good description of what might happen if the OP shot his rifle with the reticle "square with the world" and cranked in elevation with the turrets due to the cant between the turrets and the reticle--the turrets would be cranking in windage with the eleveation because they're crooked.

However, it will <span style="font-weight: bold">NOT</span> happen with a decent scope, held with the reticle level, due to being off center from the bore a few fractions of an inch.
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

yes after i set the scope up i dial 30 or 40 MOA up and aim at a a bullet hole on the line and want to cut the line verticaly above the bullet hole i have fired into the line below.

It needs to be tested after setup as mentioned.
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ASM1</div><div class="ubbcode-body">OP
your a gun smith ?
</div></div>

*Cough* *cough* glad you mentioned it and not me......


check it's centered. Send it back. Get it fixed. Start learning more before calling yourself a gun smith. You will do nothing but harm to your reputation by being ignorant and offering customers poor advice, not understanding basic issues or looking at them with a blank face when they ask you something. In the long run, your reputation is very important. More important than your ego. all the real, good gunsmiths have done the time and what needed to be done to get where they are. No short cuts
wink.gif
That's as plain as I can say it and with some thought you will realise I am being helpful.
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: AUJohn</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ASM1</div><div class="ubbcode-body">OP
your a gun smith ?
</div></div>

*Cough* *cough* glad you mentioned it and not me......


check it's centered. Send it back. Get it fixed. Start learning more before calling yourself a gun smith. You will do nothing but harm to your reputation by being ignorant and offering customers poor advice, not understanding basic issues or looking at them with a blank face when they ask you something. In the long run, your reputation is very important. More important than your ego. all the real, good gunsmiths have done the time and what needed to be done to get where they are. No short cuts
wink.gif
That's as plain as I can say it and with some thought you will realise I am being helpful. </div></div>

Who are you talking about? Who is OP?
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

Keith, OP=Original Poster, which is you.
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

Hope thats not directed towards me, I was just telling you what OP meant!
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

guys, take it easy on Keith, last time I checked scopes and firearms were two different beasts and most gunsmiths will have very little idea about the internal workings of a scope and the same goes for scope manufactures in regards to firearms
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: AUJohn</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ASM1</div><div class="ubbcode-body">OP
your a gun smith ?
</div></div>

*Cough* *cough* glad you mentioned it and not me......


check it's centered. Send it back. Get it fixed. Start learning more before calling yourself a gun smith. You will do nothing but harm to your reputation by being ignorant and offering customers poor advice, not understanding basic issues or looking at them with a blank face when they ask you something. In the long run, your reputation is very important. More important than your ego. all the real, good gunsmiths have done the time and what needed to be done to get where they are. No short cuts
wink.gif
That's as plain as I can say it and with some thought you will realise I am being helpful. </div></div>

Ok, 1. Where did I offer adivce?
2. Where wa I being ignorant? by asking a question about scopes? They dont teach us optics in school.
3. Good gunsmiths put in the time... you mean like me paying for and attending gunsmithing school? Or me working my ass off to make my customers happy?

why dont YOU gain some knowledge and not make YOURSELF look ignorant.
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

The effects of a canted reticle can be confusing to some and black magic to others. A few years ago several friends and I were shooting together and we "discovered" some of us needed windage while others did'nt. That's when we all started using the plumb line and dialing 30 moa or so of elevation to make sure everything was square. Wierd winds went away and we were able to start putting values on given winds. Some of us in the group had won or placed well in some pretty good matches and a few folks thought we could shoot, but we were just another example of the experienced ignorant.

Lot's to learn.
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

Right handed shooters are tilting their heads slightly right. This could in turn make a plum reticle look leaned left. This is what your talking about right?

This is what using a plum bob a few times has shown me. I try to be as right behind the rifle, with my head as straight up and down as possible when I shoot.
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

Keith

There should be lot's of threads on different methods for checking the level of your scope. I zero my rifle at 100 yds and then dial 30 moa or so of elevation to make sure my reticle is square with my bore. You can measure the actual distance the bullet impacts high to determine the scope click values as well.

Good shooting.

Rory
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

I'm pretty sure I get my scopes level. Rifles too. With the right tools and some effort its not hard.

I asked you something else. I was talking about you and your friends getting different windage
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

Guess not.

Well, my friend and I have gotten different windage on targets with rifles that should have about the same trjectory. This was years ago

After starting to use a plum bob to level my reticles, I realized that I tended to think a reticle leaning right slightly, was plum. I assume this is because as a right handed shooter, I need to lean my head slightly right over my stock.


I think this is why you look through some peoples scopes and theyre way crooked. Cause they lean their head a lot when they shoot prone.

I now try to use a straighter body position when I shoot prone. This helps what I'm talking about.
I watch other people shoot prone and their at a 45 degree angle to their rifle. RH shooters leggs going out to the left, and their heads tilted way over to the right.

I think shooting like that, and that effect from your head being tilted, can cause erratic windage. Just a little different tilt from shot to shot, or from shooter to shooter, would cause shots to be off my a lot way down range. Like past 600 yards.

Thats what I thought you were talking about.

Now I think I see what you meant. you dial up 30MOA at 100 to make sure you turrets are square to the bore right? You said reticle. If you use a plum bob to get your reticle plum, and your rifle is level under it, your reticle is where it should be. That doesnt mean the turrets are though, and thats what the the test you mentioned would test for. Making sure the turrets were plum/level with the rifle plum/level. Is that correct?
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

Hi Keith,
First lets take the rifle out of the equation and answer your original question. With a level on the turrets your reticle should be plum to a plum bob line or a known verticle reference. House siding or corners are usually right on. If your reticle and the turret housing are out of alignment your scope will not track normally and it is easily correctable error that most manufacturers will fix. (Burris refused to fix mine though)

Now the rifle part.
If you don't dial your elevation correction then just mount the scope with the reticle plumb and enjoy. Now what is a level rifle? This is a can of worms with a few right answers. Some will say use the level level level deal and go by the bolt rails in the action. Some swear that the rail must be level and just square off of that. Both "can" lead to a very slight alignment error. The most correct answer for me it to actually situate the scope directly above the bore centerline with the http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=6097/Product/EXD_ENGINEERING_VERTICAL_RETICLE_INSTRUMENT tool. So far this is the only tool I have found that can do this. If your scope turrets and reticle are aligned you might find that on a few rifles they will not align with the rail or bolt races. This is okay as the important thing is to have the scope directly in lign over the bore. That way when you raise or lower your turrets or raise your point of aim with the reticle you know the bore is following it precisely.

The acid test now it to actually zero the rifle and then dial up 30 minutes and shoot the same zero and confirm your point of impact has raised 30 minutes up a verticle line.

A friend of mine wrote a short easy to understand article on this subject. Follow this link, http://www.hollandguns.com/articles/Reticle.pdf to check it out.

For the head lean thing this will play tricks on everyone. This is why for precision long range work a level on your rifle you can see from the shooting position is imperative. The most consistantly accurate ones are scope mounted. The ones mounted on the rail can be accurate but must be confirmed against the plumb reticle. Meaning if the reticle is perfectly aligned with a known plumb edge and the rail on the level reads level then you are good. If it doesn't use a scope mounted level.

I hope that helped.
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

It did, thank you.

I'll be looking at getting one of those tools. Dont have time to look into it right now but I will.

To "level" the rifle, I just get it to what I consider to be "level" to the best of my judgement. There isnt any one thing on the rifle I trust to put a level on, although I do that too just to help.

I worry about my rifle being pretty damn level, and my scope reticle being plum, ligning up with a plum bob. I've never used clicks, only holdover, and never had a problem.

The only reason I asked my question in the first place is because I dont know anything about scopes. I've owned about 4 in my life.

Lastly to the people who sarcasticaly asked if I'm a gunsmith...
I'm 1 year into gunsmithing school, and I make bolt knobs for bolt handles. Excuse me for not being as informed as you on scope knowledge. We cant all be.
 
Re: Reticle is crooked when turrets are straight

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Wireman</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Lot's to learn.</div></div>

whistle.gif


Edit for clarification: I'm poking fun at the grammar, and not at the OP. It's ironical!
grin.gif