Howdy. I recently purchased at auction a late 70s vintage Browning B-78 RB in .22-250. It came with a pair of scope mounts marked "Browning" but no scope. I have mounted a Leupold VX-II 6-18 x 40 scope on it, and managed to get out to sight it in this afternoon. I like this rifle!

I've got the windage dialed in properly, but am experiencing some difficulty with the elevation. I've got the knob turned as far "down" as it will go but am still 4" high. As the elevation knob has gotten rather difficult to turn (and I'm not willing to "force it") it appears that I have run out of clicks. I'm no expert on scoped rifles (it's been about 10 years since I've used a scope) but I'm guessing that perhaps I need a higher rear mount perhaps? Does anyone know what mounts these are supposed to take?

Incidentally, I was using factory ammo, starting at 50yds and moving back to 200yds. I was impressed with the Hornady 55gr bullet (1" for 4-shot groups) until I fired the Winchester 45gr and started getting cloverleafs. My intent is to use this for varmints, so I would like to get dialed-in at up to 300yds or so.

Thanks in advance for any advice you might be able to provide.

Try some burris signature rings with the offset inserts. Should take care of your elevation problem.

John

Troubleshooter - If you have the original Browning mounts for your B-78 the problem may be with the scope. Is there anyway to shim the rings?

I have a B-78 that I got in a trade but did not get any mounts. I wrote Leupold and they replied that they make the proper bases for the B-78 but I lost the e-mail. If you want to change the mounts, you might contact them. They are very nice folks.

Troubleshooter:
I recently had the rings replaced on my '70's vintage B-78. One of the ring screws had gotten stripped during a scope replacement. The smith had to use two different height rings to get the scope to line up. He initially couldn't get the scope to bore sight. He ran out of elevation. He ended up using a low ring on the rear base and a medium height ring on the front base. Works as good as new now.

If you have the original Browning bases then you do need a low ring in the back and a medium up front. That is the way they came from the factory. If you change to Leupold bases then you should be able to use two rings the same height. The other thing that people sometimes do is put the front base on backwards to change the spacing. The round end should be to the front. Lay a straight edge across the bases before you put the rings on. If they are not flat you will put some horrendous ring marks in your scope.

Jerry

Hondo64d: Appreciate the advice. I'm not familiar with the Burris offset ring but will look into them.

Blowtorch53: I hope it's not the scope's fault. It's a brand-spanking new scope.

Buckstopper and Jerryv: The scope mounts were on the rifle when I bought it, but are marked Browning, so I'm guessing that they are original. The rings are Leupolds that I bought, since there were no rings on the rifle when I got it. Wonder whether it would be better to replace the front mount or front rings with a medium-height?

The rings I replaced the originals with were Leopold as well. Seems to me that it would be easy just get a set of medium rings and replace the front one. No frogging with the mounts necessary. Cost would be a factor.

The Burris Signature rings with the plastic inserts are good for a small misalignment, but even with the offset inserts, they don't have enough range to handle this much.

I think the original mounts and rings were made by Burris, but the front mount should be marked Browning. If the rings you bought were low height, then you could get a medium height front ring. If you bought mediums, then you could get a low rear or a high front. The low rear - medium front combination should fit up to a 40 mm diameter scope.

Jerry