Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Existing mounted scope question for Mule Deer

I have a Winchester Model 70 Coyote in 300 WSM with a 2.5x10 Nightforce scope. I sm getting groups in the .5 to 1.5 inch range dopending on the powder and bullet combinaton. I did not true the rings when I mounted the scope. Do you think I would gain anything by truing the rings?

By "trued," do you mean lapping the inside of the rings, or making sure the centered reticle is pretty much pointing in the same direction as the bore?

Sorry for the confusion. I am referring to lapping the rings. I think I have centered the reticle, to the best of my ability, using information from your writings.

Then it all depends on whether the rings are putting any significant stress on the scope. Nightforces are pretty stout, so unless the rings are really out of line I doubt any significant problem is due to the mounts.

What kind of mounts?

Burris XTB base with with Weaver style Millet Rings.

I understand; I just wanted some experienced input before I starting fixing things that aren't broker.

Thanks for your responses.

Guys: I'm not Mule Deer, but I have seen one. I've not tried this with rings, but it just might work to reveal ring stress. I have used the process to detect stress in the receiver/bedding of several of my rifles.

The suggested process: Install a gridded boresighter, and record the x and y coordinates for the cross hair intersection. Without removing or touching the boresighter, loosen the screws for the forward scope rings and see if the crosshairs move at all. If there is significant movement, then either the rings or the receiver are flexing the scope. If the rear rings were forcing the front of the scope downward, one might see no movement though. Buy tightening the front ring and then repeating the process with the rear ring, one might still detect the issue. Misallignment could be due to either faulty rings or issues with ones receiver or bases. Lapping though, should rectify things regardless of cause. By loosening only one of the rings, one should theoretically be back to the same POI when they are tightened back down. Your thoughts please?


For receiver assays, I go through the same process but loosen the recoil lug and tang screws. If there is apparent movement on the boresighter, the bedding is flexing ones action/barrel. When I bed fully relaxed barreled actions, there is no apparent movement with either loose (fully relaxed barreled action) or torqued down action screws. The units I've bedded, have always shown improved accuracy.

Rings are only one stress point.
A scoped rifle consists of 6 stress points crunched together with torquing screws.

1. Floorplate to stock
2. Action to Stock (bedding)
3. Scope bases to action
4. Lower rings to scope bases
5. Scope to lower rings
6. Top ring to scope tube.

Now crunch that lot together and guess where an issue can be found? And....we havn't looked at ammo yet or the quality of the scope.

I recommend you look at the entire rifle assembly not just a single point.

Accuracy means consistency, reliability and trusted performance, not just a good group one particualr day.

The other factor is that the groups Ruger700 is shooting are totally within the normal range of a good factory .300 WSM.

A gunsmith friend tries to avoid going to the local range during times when many other people are there, just because he always gets asked for free advice. Well, one time he went early in the morning and another guy was already there, shooting away with a scoped rifle.

My friend started setting up, but pretty soon the guy comes over and starts asking why his new factory rifle won't shoot better groups. My friend looks at the rifle rather perfunctorily, and can't find anything obviously wrong. So the guy asks him to shoot the rifle.

In an attempt to get this over with, my friend sits down at the bench and shoot a 5-shot group that's about an inch. The guy looks at him and says, "So what's wrong with the rifle?"

Maybe the deer are very small in his area?

LOL, must be smaller than the praire dogs around here! KDJ

I have, many times, been tempted to start asking the bench rest shooters questions. But, I respect their time & leave them alone. There are other places to get that info.

Likewise, seems every time I go to the range with my Sinclair Arbor Press, Wilson dies and my other load paraphernalia packed into my large cloth tackle bag, I always get asked to explain my use of it by others. And, inevitably they'll holler down the firing line, "Hey, Charlie come check this out!" Then here comes Charlie and the other three family members they brought with them.

I thought private ranges were supposed to alleviate this unwanted social interaction?