Recentering a scope reticle

[2buffalo]

Other than doing this just to make sure there are no serious issues with everything "lining up" well I really don't see a benefit to doing it.

That's because there is no benefit.

 

[Tommy T]

Same here. But I usually lose count at least twice and have to start all over.

Been there done that

 

[Philward]

Moving a scope from one rifle to another, or maybe selling it? A used scope you just bought? Not every rifle is drilled and tapped perfectly square with the action/barrel.

 

[johngibbs222]

Has anyone tried it? Perhaps it's me but I can see next to bugger all when I block the end of my scope with a mirror. I tried it with the reticle illuminated and off, btw.
Extremely sceptical as I just checked the date and it's not April 1.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

I may occasionally center a reticle before mounting and bore-sighting a scope. If a properly centered reticle is way off on the bore scope, it is an indication that you have a mounting issue.
I must say that the mirror trick is a novel idea that I didn't know about.

 

[Old Rooster]

If a properly centered reticle is way off on the bore scope, it is an indication that you have a mounting issue.

Many years ago my brother bought a used rifle with mounting holes not drilled perfectly in line and that's how a gunsmith showed my brother the screws were not drilled correctly. Gunsmith wanted to weld the holes, refinish action and redrill holes using the correct fixture, costing a lot of money for a Mark X rifle (I think it was) .
Since the rifle shot well he put the little cap screws in holes and had the gunsmith use his fixture to re-drill new holes.
Point is the mirror trick worked well.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

Many years ago my brother bought a used rifle with mounting holes not drilled perfectly in line and that's how a gunsmith showed my brother the screws were not drilled correctly. Gunsmith wanted to weld the holes, refinish action and redrill holes using the correct fixture, costing a lot of money for a Mark X rifle (I think it was) .
Since the rifle shot well he put the little cap screws in holes and had the gunsmith use his fixture to re-drill new holes.
Point is the mirror trick worked well.

I had a similar experience with a custom rifle, of all things. The simple, no-cost, solution was to use a set of Burris Signature Zee rings with off-set inserts. By rotating the inserts, I was able to easily move the centered reticle in line with the bore.

The Burris Signature rings are the most underrated rings in the industry.

 

[SteveLM]

I've tried this trick a couple of times and was never able to see the reticle well enough to do the alignment. An ordinary mirror uses glass that is too thin to let in much light.

 

[marc357]

Some of this has been covered, but-
1: It can help determine if your receiver is drilled and tapped off-center. This happens more often than you might think.

2: It can help determine what scope base you should use to optimize scope elevation travel for your particular system and intended use. The top of the receiver is not always parallel with the bore, either.

You can optically center your scope, then shoot at a big piece of paper at 100 yards, and determine exactly where the barrel is pointed, vs. where the scope is "looking". This will show any windage offset due to crooked holes in the receiver, as well as show how much of your available elevation travel you will use to zero the rifle, and help determine if you need a 10, 15, 20MOA base, etc.

 

[Tommy T]

Moving a scope from one rifle to another, or maybe selling it? A used scope you just bought? Not every rifle is drilled and tapped perfectly square with the action/barrel.

I have seen some where you have to use off set rings because the rails where so bad off

 

[Old Rooster]

I had a similar experience with a custom rifle, of all things. The simple, no-cost, solution was to use a set of Burris Signature Zee rings with off-set inserts. By rotating the inserts, I was able to easily move the centered reticle in line with the bore.

The Burris Signature rings are the most underrated rings in the industry.

I did not think of the Z rings at that time, would have been much less expensive.
I still use the Burris Z rings.
They don't ever leave marks.

 

[big johnson]

Thanks for the tip, never checked it out and I change scopes from rifle to rifle often.

 

[tribb]

Thanks for the tip, never checked it out and I change scopes from rifle to rifle often.

Did this once to see if could center the scope and then sight it in using burris offset Posi align ring inserts with their signature zee rings. Yes it can be done took several rounds to accomplish . Don't know if it made my optical performance any better though. I had no way to judge it.!!

 

[tribb]

I had a similar experience with a custom rifle, of all things. The simple, no-cost, solution was to use a set of Burris Signature Zee rings with off-set inserts. By rotating the inserts, I was able to easily move the centered reticle in line with the bore.

The Burris Signature rings are the most underrated rings in the industry.

I use them a lot on my rifles and for other folks rifles whenever possible.