nikon buckmaster/horizontal adjustment problem

[30-06 boy]

got out today to try my new nikon buckmaster 6-18-40 a/o.i bore sighted the rifle.i could not get the point of impact to adjust properly horizontally.the elevation knob adjusts the crosshairs from top to bottom or "lock to lock".the horizontal adj stops at 2 1/2 turns from the end of travel.i'm going to send the scope back.how is nikon"s customer service dept?jason

 

[HooterShooter]

I have found them to be very helpful.

 

[green 788]

Before you send that scope back you may want to read the following article. There may be nothing wrong with the scope at all...

http://practicalrifler.6.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=38

Basically, if you're dialed down low or way up high with the elevation, you will not have the normal amount of windage travel.

You say you have 2 1/2 turns of windage adjustment, which would be at least 25 MOA I would think. That should be 12.5 MOA in each direction from center--which should be more than adequate to center windage if your base and rings are on straight.

If your base and rings aren't straight, a possible solution would be to center the erector and switch to a windage adjustable base/ring set-up (like the Redfield JR type) and use this base to get the windage to a rough center. Or if you're using Weaver style rings you can sometimes correct an alignment problem by switching the rings, front to rear, and/or flip the rings.

Dan

 

[30-06 boy]

green 788,maybe i didnt explain the situation well enough.the horizontal adj has all the adjustment but 2 1/2 turns on one side.in other words,the crosshairs move the whole way through the adjustment range all but 2 1/2 turns.i have weaver bases and burris signature rings(weaver type)that has plastic inserts to get the proper scope to barrel tilt for long range shooting.

 

[green 788]

I think what you are describing are "phantom clicks," which means that the turret is turning, but the erector is not moving.

Your erector might look like the bottom image in the stack. It is possible that it is hitting the inside of the scope tube and stopping. (This doesn't mean the scope is broken). The erector spring holds tension against the erector tube, and the windage turret presses the erector tube against that spring.

I'll bet that the 2 1/2 turns of phantom clicks are when you're dialing the turret out. Right? Which would be counter-clockwise on most scopes, though I'm not sure on the Nikon.

Do you have offsets installed in the Burris ***-Align rings? Check the numbers on the polymer inserts and make sure they are all zeros. Otherwise, you'll have extra elevation on the scope (extra elevation from the ***-Aligns is fine when you need it, of course).

Having had another scope on the rifle before which worked fine doesn't necessarily mean that the mount is straight with the bore. Some scopes have more adjustment room to accomodate a crooked mount.

I would remove the scope, and then center the windage and elevation turrets. The proper way to do this can be found HERE...
...but you could also just dial the turrets end to end, and count the clicks half way back to center. That should get you within 3 MOA of center (or thereabouts).

If you just dial the scope turrets and count the clicks back to center, you won't have to remove it from the rifle. Once you've got both the windage and the elevation turrets dialed to approximate center (or exact center if you follow the instructions in the link above) then you'll want to bore sight the scope and see how far off the elevation and windage is.

If you have to dial the windage turret more than one turn (or 10 to 12 MOA) from center to get your zero--there is something wrong with the mount. It could be that one of the ***-Align rings has an offset in it (check the numbers on them) or it could be that the Weaver bases aren't lined up right with the bore.

I just don't want to see you send the scope in, wait on them to check it out, and then find out when you get it back that the problem is still there...

Good luck. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Edit: I didn't notice the last line of your post. You indeed to have the offsets in your mount. And you obviously know what they are for. I assume you've got +20 MOA under the rear of the scope--right? So basically, you do have the erector moved low for the 100 yard zero. This totally explains the lack of windage (left to right) travel. The erector will be "bottomed out" in the tube. One way that you can fix this--since you already have the offset inserts, is to swivel the inserts to either 4 o'clock or 8 o'clock, which will move the scope tube to one side or the other.

I am totally convinced there is nothing wrong with your scope. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Dan

 

[30-06 boy]

green 788,i looked at the link you suggested.i think you are totally on track!the elevation turret is maxed out,to get the most "clicks"for my 20" at 100 yards.i do have the scope "tilted" too much on the rifle.so the piece in the scope that moves when elevation turret is turned,is aginst the tube.so the reason the windage turret does not adjust "lock to lock" is that the intenal parts are pushed aginst the tube from the elevation turret.and it cant move freely.thank you for clearing this up for me.jason /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[green 788]

How much total elevation does the Nikon scope have? What bullet are you shooting, and at what velocity? How far out do you want to shoot (max range)?

Maybe you could drop to a 15 MOA shim and bring things into line...

Dan

 

[30-06 boy]

green 788,i worked on the setup for about 1 1/2 hour today.got it preety close.1st i set the elevation turret so that i still have 30 moa adjustment.next i set the bore on a red spray paint can top about 100 yards out.i played with different plastic inserts to get the bore and crosshairs close.got that straitened out.next,i set the windage adjustment in the middle of travel.i then did like you said,i turned the inserts in the front ring from horizontal to vertical.bingo!i have plenty of windage adjustment now.o by the way, the windage crosshair travel goes "lock to lock" now.i've got a 30-06 shooting 180 smk/sgk bullets hopefully at 2750 fps(load development) out to 700-750 yards.i'm sure the 30 moa of travel i still have is enough.the scope's travel is 9 turns/6 moa per turn= 54 moa adjustment. thank you for your time.saved me a lot of agrivation.jason

 

[green 788]

Good deal. Those Burris ***-aligns are a great invention. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

For your 180's in that 30-06, work up carefully to 56.0 grains of IMR 4350. Winchester or Remington cases... That load will almost certainly be very accurate, and it'll do the MV you're after, provided you have a 24" barrel, or a very quick 22" barrel.

I don't mean to take all the fun out of load development, but that's where you'll probably end up--right at 56 grains--if you choose the all time greatest 30-06 powder, which is IMR 4350. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Dan