Rifle Scopes Vortex PST Reticle Issue

[03psd]

I has having a problem mounting and leveling my Vortex Viper 1-4 PST on my 6.8 hog slayer. It appeared to me that I could not get the reticle level. I ended up hanging a weighted string line and getting the reticle vertical lined up with the string. The elevation turret is visibly canted to the right. To double check I put a level on the elevation turret and got it level then I looked thru the scope at my verticle string, sure enough the reticle is tilted to the left.
3 questions:
1 is my methodology sound?
2 has anyone else experienced this and how does it happen?
3 what can I expect from Vortex in terms of repairs?

I bought the scope used but it's condition was advertised as excellent and appeared to be prior to this issue.

 

[Blwxxzy]

Vortex will take care of it

 

[Holliday]

Yes, call Vortex. They will take care of you......

 

[Bar99]

Best warranty in the business....

 

[Threadcutter308]

I has having a problem mounting and leveling my Vortex Viper 1-4 PST on my 6.8 hog slayer. It appeared to me that I could not get the reticle level. I ended up hanging a weighted string line and getting the reticle vertical lined up with the string. The elevation turret is visibly canted to the right. To double check I put a level on the elevation turret and got it level then I looked thru the scope at my verticle string, sure enough the reticle is tilted to the left.
3 questions:
1 is my methodology sound?
2 has anyone else experienced this and how does it happen?
3 what can I expect from Vortex in terms of repairs?

I bought the scope used but it's condition was advertised as excellent and appeared to be prior to this issue.

Assuming the scope was in rings and everything was mounted to the rifle, did you also make sure the rifle itself was level ? (Easiest way is to put a small level on the top of the Pic rail. Except, if the scope is mounted to the rail, there probably won't be room). The other thing you can do is to get a new deck of cards and stack them up on top of the rail, until the top of the stack touches the flat bottom of the scope body under the turrets. You may be able to put another couple of cards under the scope, but at some point, the scope will "high center" on the cards and you'll have to pull a couple of them out. With the rings caps off (or loose), you'll be able to rotate the scope slightly. When adding more cards, the scope will rotate less and less. The leveling system on Spuhr mounts works generally by the same idea, except they cut a specific, angled slot in the base and supply a separate metal wedge of the same angle. Leveling your scope is done in a very similar fashion to the deck of cards above. It's quite ingenious.

You can also hang a plumb line at the range and shoot a vertical ladder. If your scope isn't plumb, it'll show up pretty quickly.

Lastly, Vortex has arguably the best warranty policy and customer service in the industry. If you end up needing to send it back to them, they will take very good care of you. If one of your purchasing criteria was to buy a product that the manufacturer would stand behind, you made a great choice in Vortex.

 

[03psd]

Assuming the scope was in rings and everything was mounted to the rifle, did you also make sure the rifle itself was level ? (Easiest way is to put a small level on the top of the Pic rail. Except, if the scope is mounted to the rail, there probably won't be room). The other thing you can do is to get a new deck of cards and stack them up on top of the rail, until the top of the stack touches the flat bottom of the scope body under the turrets. You may be able to put another couple of cards under the scope, but at some point, the scope will "high center" on the cards and you'll have to pull a couple of them out. With the rings caps off (or loose), you'll be able to rotate the scope slightly. When adding more cards, the scope will rotate less and less. The leveling system on Spuhr mounts works generally by the same idea, except they cut a specific, angled slot in the base and supply a separate metal wedge of the same angle. Leveling your scope is done in a very similar fashion to the deck of cards above. It's quite ingenious.

You can also hang a plumb line at the range and shoot a vertical ladder. If your scope isn't plumb, it'll show up pretty quickly.

Lastly, Vortex has arguably the best warranty policy and customer service in the industry. If you end up needing to send it back to them, they will take very good care of you. If one of your purchasing criteria was to buy a product that the manufacturer would stand behind, you made a great choice in Vortex.

The scope was mounted in a LaRue spr mount that was attached to the upper receiver. The reason I hung a weighted string 30' away and used it to check for level was so that I could basically take the level of the rifle out of the equation. I know the string was perfectly vertical, if it wasn't we all have bigger problems. So with the reticle vertical line perfectly on the string the turret was both visible canted and verified with a small bubble level sitting on top of it.

 

[Threadcutter308]

The scope was mounted in a LaRue spr mount that was attached to the upper receiver. The reason I hung a weighted string 30' away and used it to check for level was so that I could basically take the level of the rifle out of the equation. I know the string was perfectly vertical, if it wasn't we all have bigger problems. So with the reticle vertical line perfectly on the string the turret was both visible canted and verified with a small bubble level sitting on top of it.

Ahhhh, gotcha now. Yes, it does sound like the reticle/stadia is not lined up properly in the internals of the scope. In reality, you were just checking the reticle for plumb. It seems like your results confirmed that the scope needs to be looked at by the factory. You should call them to discuss. I had a Gen II EBR-2C for a while. Vortex is quality stuff. I never had any issues, but of the posts I've seen here and @ Scout, Vortex is a standup company. You shouldn't have any problem at all.