Adjusting You Riflescope

vixdname

Lads, myself and a few lads were talking about zeroing riflescopes the other day and one of the lads who isnt into the shooting asked a good question which none of us were able to answer with authority. So here goes .....

When you're zeroing your scope and you find that at 100yrds you're shooting low by a couple of inches and you adjust the elevation dial upwards for 8 clicks on a 1\4 moa scope, are you actually moving the horizontal part of the reticule upwards or are you in reality moving it downwards so as you'll have to bring the rifle up so as to bring your shot to the correct level ?

I never thought of the adjustments this way but clarification by any of you learned chaps would be great !!!!!

Tackleberrywho

vixdname wrote: »

Lads, myself and a few lads were talking about zeroing riflescopes the other day and one of the lads who isnt into the shooting asked a good question which none of us were able to answer with authority. So here goes .....

When you're zeroing your scope and you find that at 100yrds you're shooting low by a couple of inches and you adjust the elevation dial upwards for 8 clicks on a 1\4 moa scope, are you actually moving the horizontal part of the reticule upwards or are you in reality moving it downwards so as you'll have to bring the rifle up so as to bring your shot to the correct level ?

I never thought of the adjustments this way but clarification by any of you learned chaps would be great !!!!!

My understanding is if you move the dial up to raise your point of strike you (actually moving the cross hair vertically downwards.) as a result your aim point rises.

Now that makes sense in my head but I've a mad head lol
Does it make sense to you what I have said?:D

Now I await the Pro's to rip me to shreds

Cass

When you adjust your rifle scope upwards for a longer shot you are infact moving the crosshairs downwards so as to force the rifle/barrel to be lifted upwards to allow for the trajectory/flight of the bullet.

As with all bullets they do not fly straight and true. They travel in both a horizontal (left and right) and vertical (up and down) arc. So in actual fact when you fire the rifle the point of view through the scope is not the actual aim point of your barrel.

Bit of a mind bender, but true.

johngalway

I would have thought the reticle would move downwards to meet up with the point of impact.

deerhunter1

johngalway wrote: »

I would have thought the reticle would move downwards to meet up with the point of impact.

I think it depends on the make of the scope be it european or American, or on cheaper scopes, but you are correct in what you say

Mr.Flibble

ezridax wrote: »

a horizontal (up and down) and vertical (left to right) arc.

You may find the following information useful:

- pointy bits that stick out the side = elbows

- round bit you sit on = a*se




It's definitely the opposite to what people are saying in the case of iron sights and scopes with external adjustments.

Rearsight up = back of rifle down = muzzle up = raise poi on target.

However I'm not particularly au fait with the guts of internally adjusted scopes, so, given that the primary image in a scope is upside down, you might well all be right. (Apart, obviously, from the poster who thinks the laws of optics, mechanics and gravity are different in Europe and America.)

Cass

Mr.Flibble wrote: »

You may find the following information useful:

- pointy bits that stick out the side = elbows

- round bit you sit on = a*se

Its been a long day and i've a bad headache so maybe i'm just not up to speed. Kinda messed that up, so i've adjusted the post accordingly.

Apart, obviously, from the poster who thinks the laws of optics, mechanics and gravity are different in Europe and America

Well if i can make a mistake so can others.

You have a point though. As i said earlier to raise up the barrel/rifle to heighten your point of aim then the scope crosshairs must go down. Don't see how raising the crosshairs can increase your point of aim. Logically it would cause the barrel to drop down as you drop the (now raised) crosshairs down onto your target.

dwighet

ezridax wrote: »

Its been a long day and i've a bad headache so maybe i'm just not up to speed. Kinda messed that up, so i've adjusted the post accordingly.




Well if i can make a mistake so can others.

You have a point. To raise up the barrel/rifle to heighten your point of aim then the scope crosshairs must go down. Don't see how raising the crosshairs can increase your point of aim. Logically it would cause the barrel to drop down as you drop the (now raised) crosshairs down onto your target.

correctamundo;)

Tackleberrywho

ezridax wrote: »

Its been a long day and i've a bad headache so maybe i'm just not up to speed. Kinda messed that up, so i've adjusted the post accordingly.




Well if i can make a mistake so can others.

You have a point. To raise up the barrel/rifle to heighten your point of aim then the scope crosshairs must go down. Don't see how raising the crosshairs can increase your point of aim. Logically it would cause the barrel to drop down as you drop the (now raised) crosshairs down onto your target.

Did my reply to OP not sort this out?


Nobody corrected me? yet! And people are still replying??:D

I'm havin a hoegaarden at the moment to get rid of my headache from last night.;)

johngalway

Unless I'm missing something really simple...

Your point of impact is 2 inches below the point your crosshairs is at.

Adjusting your scope upwards, moves your reticle downwards.

Adjusting your scope, no matter in which way, will not adjust your rifles barrel

So since you can't move your barrel upwards, it follows that you must be moving your crosshairs downwards.

The confusion stems from the fact that to move your crosshairs downwards, you need to rotate the elevation dial upwards.

Clear as mud now I hope :cool:

Cass

Tackleberrywho wrote: »

Did my reply to OP not sort this out?

Stop picking on me, ya big bunch of gits. :eek:

First Mr. Flibble then you. I'm going home.........................S**t i'm already here. Well you get the point.:p

Nobody corrected me? yet! And people are still replying??

You posted less than a minute before me and "His Excellency" Johngalway (:D). Relax and bask in the glory of being right.

Mr.Flibble

ezridax wrote: »

Its been a long day and i've a bad headache so maybe i'm just not up to speed. Kinda messed that up, so i've adjusted the post accordingly.

Cheap shot. Sorry, couldn't resist it.

ezridax wrote: »

You have a point though. As i said earlier to raise up the barrel/rifle to heighten your point of aim then the scope crosshairs must go down. Don't see how raising the crosshairs can increase your point of aim. Logically it would cause the barrel to drop down as you drop the (now raised) crosshairs down onto your target.

Maybe it depends on which end of the scope the crosshairs are in?

dwighet

T.B.....whats a hoegaarden?

Mr.Flibble

johngalway wrote: »

So since you can't move your barrel upwards,

If you can't move the barrel upwards, you'll never move the poi upwards.

johngalway

Mr.Flibble wrote: »

If you can't move the barrel upwards, you'll never move the poi upwards.

at Now be hairs picking don't. Rearrange that into a sentence

Place your rifle on the floor. Adjust the scope turrets any which way you like. Did your barrel move?

Of course you can angle or point your barrel in any which direction you choose, safely, but your scope will never ever be able to move your barrel for you.

So your POI isn't where it should be. You adjust your scope to compensate, then you move your barrel to shoot at the intended target. If you don't, you just hit your first bullet hole again.

johngalway

ezridax wrote: »

You posted less than a minute before me and "His Excellency" Johngalway (:D). Relax and bask in the glory of being right.

Don't worry, am due a spectacular cock up any day now

It wasn't me!

dwighet wrote: »

T.B.....whats a hoegaarden?

an odd beer with a kinda herbal, minty taste to it. Strange feckin' stuff.

Mr.Flibble

johngalway wrote: »

Place your rifle on the floor. Adjust the scope turrets any which way you like. Did your barrel move?

It's a questionof relativity. Relative to the reticle, yes, the barrel did move.

johngalway wrote: »

Of course you can angle or point your barrel in any which direction you choose, safely, but your scope will never ever be able to move your barrel for you.

No, but it can tell you where to move the barrel to.

johngalway wrote: »

So your POI isn't where it should be. You adjust your scope to compensate, then you move your barrel to shoot at the intended target. If you don't, you just hit your first bullet hole again.

You hope. But otherwise, - exactly.



Actually, I've belatedly worked out what you people are talking about. I presume you mean that if you were to shoot the rifle in a vice and the poi was below where the crosshairs were on the target you would say the gun was shooting low, but, leaving it in the vice, adjust the crosshairs down to coincide with the bullethole, thus zeroing the rifle.

It seems to me that the answer to the anomaly is that I was assuming the reticle cell acts as the rearsight. Evidently, and notwithstanding it's location in the scope (which I think is usually in the back half), it actually acts as the foresight, which, on an iron-sighted rifle you do move in the opposite direction to the required correction.

Yet the adjustment knobs do appear to move the reticle cell the other way. I can only assume this on account of image inversion. Perhaps there's a real rocket scientist on here who can tell us.

Tackleberrywho

It wasn't me! wrote: »

an odd beer with a kinda herbal, minty taste to it. Strange feckin' stuff.

Nice though!
On Tap in the Roisín Dúbh in Galway to name a few!

A little bedtime reading

http://www.chuckhawks.com/scope_reticles.htm
http://www.nikon.com/products/precision/society/story0203/

It wasn't me!

Tackleberrywho wrote: »

Nice though!
On Tap in the Roisín Dúbh in Galway to name a few!

I wouldn't have more than one or two at a time, personally, taste is too odd. There are a couple of places in Dublin selling it on tap too. Not bad though, you're right. Certainly good for a bit of variety.

Tackleberrywho

It wasn't me! wrote: »

I wouldn't have more than one or two at a time, personally, taste is too odd. There are a couple of places in Dublin selling it on tap too. Not bad though, you're right. Certainly good for a bit of variety.

Variety is the splice of live!
I have used Nikon, tasco, Bushnell, Burris, swarovski, Nightforce the list goes on
I like Nightforce reticles as they are laser etched and can be illuminated. Very fine during the day and very bright in low light

But some guys prefer old school heavy reticles without any batteries LEDS etc.

I think in a few years a reticle will be on the market that auto adjusts!
Input range etc and the cros hair will move li a zoom lens on a digital camera

patsat

Tackleberrywho wrote: »

I think in a few years a reticle will be on the market that auto adjusts!
Input range etc and the cros hair will move li a zoom lens on a digital camera

Pretty much here already! haven't figured out how to do links on this yoke yet so you will have to go to the bother of searching for it yourself!:D

look for the burris eliminator on youtube, i think its what your talkin about!:cool::cool:

Tackleberrywho

patsat wrote: »

Pretty much here already! haven't figured out how to do links on this yoke yet so you will have to go to the bother of searching for it yourself!:D

look for the burris eliminator on youtube, i think its what your talkin about!:cool::cool:

I'm not happy with Burris other then mounts though.
http://www.youtube.ie/watch?v=FqTCD5CexMg
I looked at the video.

If they make a 5-40x70mm scope auto adjust I will buy it
Depending on the price of course.

I nearly bought a Zeiss Divari 6-24x72 recently but if it had higher mag I'd own it now:D 24 is not good enough for a blind fecker like me

patsat

And you could be sure it would be pricey!

Did a good bit of looking around reviews and stuff and decided the bushnell yardage pro laser scope was the best! Doesn't have that red dot but it has BDC turrets made for different calibres!:cool: its the same 4-12 x 40mm size so its lacking a bit of mag for long range varmint rifles but perfect for shooting deer! Thats why i have one on the way over from the states!:D:D:D Its been held up tho due to that F****N volcanic ash! :mad::mad::mad:

johngalway

Tackleberrywho wrote: »

I nearly bought a Zeiss Divari 6-24x72 recently but if it had higher mag I'd own it now:D 24 is not good enough for a blind fecker like me

Good lord, aside from the I'm sure spectacular price tag, you'd need a wheeled cannon to mount that yoke on

Can imagine me shooting foxes with it, all he'd see would be a giant eyeball blinking at him, freak out and drop dead :eek: