Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Home made scope leveling jig...

To the OP...nice job. I might have to build one of those too.

THAT is really a good idea!!

I still trust my best leveling tool which is the eyes I was born with. If my reticles are crooked, it's because I didn't put enough effort into it. 43 years of shooting & I have yet to have any trouble.

No longer have it, but the best leveling system I had going was out my backdoor when I use to have a range and backstop. I had a plumb line at the backstop, and I had a universal holding fixture that mounted upon a 3-foot square cement pad at the firing line. I'd hold the barreled action plumb and square in the fixture and then use the plumb line at the backstop to square the scope reticle. This system was always quick and simple, no fuss and no muss, everything was square to earths gravity. I saved the little portable gizmos and techniques for making a quick fix when afield. Even then, having some form of small reliable level, that easily fit upon the surface of the action, while it was held square in a makeshift fixture, when combined with a simple high contrasting string plumb bob, hung at a distance, makes for a very easy to use travel setup which is pretty darn accurate when mounting scopes on the go.

You're jumping through a lot of unnecessary hoops.

In what way? If you had a scope with rings to mount on a rifle, it is probably best to do so in a fixture that holds the rifle steady. You could just lay it across your lap when mounting and tightening things down, but I feel it always best to have the rifle held steady to keep your hands free to make adjustments and to button things down. I have an original Reticle Leveler, that is fairly square, but those I've seen of late have the brass rod, leveling lines, and the level itself, out of square from each other. If you were mounting the scope across your lap, you could be just as close to square by merely eyeballing the reticle square to the receiver. Still though, I tend to bring the rifle into the shop for mounting the scope vs over the trunk of the car out in the parking lot of the gun store.

In addition, my old holding fixture would allow me to shoulder the rifle in the shooting position so that I would have hands free to make minute adjustments for eye relief, reticle focus (my backstop also included an optical resolution chart), and such, while everything was held into place. Very convenient, very stable, and I love being able to walk away to answer the phone and come back 15 minutes later to find everything exactly where it was before being interupted. Also made an excellent platform while hand fitting the parts for a stress free mount. Best system I ever had.

But, absent needing to hold the rifle steady while keeping your hands free, you could do most everything by eye and snug everything down farmer tight. Eyeball the bore and reticle on a distant target, and then shoot a few rounds to center things up. In the shop, however, that to me is too much like monkeys working on a transmission with baseball bats.

Best

What I'm getting at is levels and outside references like plumb lines are not necessary, no matter how the rifle is being held during the procedure.

I can't explain why Segway added a level to their device, other than to satisfy the irrational need for one.

The problems you mention about recent production samples are worrisome.

I have and use a Segway just as you do but I think the OP's design has merit for a "knob twister" most especially.

If the reticle is square, it is square, never mind how it got that way or what its later use may be.

GaryVA, you're way over thinking this. It's a simple matter of extending an imaginary line greated by the crosshairs through to the center line of the action. No stupid gizmos needed.

You do it with the rifle in any position at all as long as the centerline extends as described.

The problem with most of the gizmos out there is the ability to get the gun level. Really hard to find a flat spot on a gun. Usually if I find a flat spot like on top of the base, then you lose that spot once you put a ring on it. And unless you have your scope sitting high, it is hard to slide a level underneath the scope to put back on the base.

I guess you could get it level and then mount your scope, but I have found it hard to hold the gun solid once i level it.

I said the very thing in my post, but back in the shop, it went into the holding fixture, the parts were hand fit for a stress free mount, everything was aligned with eye relief set, the reticle was focused for optimal clarity on the distant resolution chart, and then it was shot on paper at the same location and same backstop. No stupid gizmos whatsoever, it was rather ingenious, incredibly simple, a big time saver, and most precisely accurate. One of the biggest time savers I ever had for starting from scratch and ending with an incredibly accurate, well tracking, stress free mount. As I said, best system I ever had, but this range was converted over into an archery trail course, so I no longer have the pieces and parts permanently placed to make this system work.

There is no need to level the gun. All you need is a way to get the vertical part of the reticle pointed at the center line of the bore.

Easier said than done.

I do it all the time with my old Segway gadget. I'm a notorious scope swapper.

Very easy to do. Just move your eye up and down along the line of the vertical cross hair to the centerline of the bolt, bore, action.

Friend of mine turn me on to this and holds or has held over 30 world records with his guns in competition.

Rekon he has some experience.

You can do this hanging upside down from a tree limb and it will work.

Shooters focus on the action being level. Wrong and not necessary.

It doesn't matter the position of the action. It's the centerline of the bore and the vertical cross hair relationship

Save your $$$ and buy your kids some ice cream!!!!!

The very reason my fixture worked so darn well. It would square up the barreled action having the barrel axis lined up with the scope axis upon a fixed plumb line downrange. Most high end custom built rifles have the barrels mounted straight, but just about everything else is off. So the trick is not making the alignment off the ass end, but off the business end. My being able to go through every step in the process of fitting, mounting, and adjusting off the same fixture was great!! Wish I had the room to keep that range and my jig in place in tandem with the archery course, but I did not.

I get it, but you are still relying on your eyeball. Be nice to have a scientific method. I cannot count how many times I have mounted a scope straight, only to pick up the gun later and it looked crooked.

Agree and disagree. I t takes repetitive eye movements to accomplish our common goal

You will be pleasantly surprised how accurate the human is eye after some practice. We checked this with a machinist level and the method is solid and true.

Please try it and get back to me here or via PM.

I'm not saying your method doesn't work very well. What I'm trying to convey is the the human eye is capable of detecting the slightest variance in misalignment with a little practice and without the need in this case for a fixture.

Just my 2c and I don't mean to offend.

Try it, Sir.