Setting Up Your Scope by Jerry Teo

[Len Backus]

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[ss7mm]

Jerry:

Great writing and fantastic article. Hopefully all will read it and learn from your experiences.

It's this type of article and writing that put this site at the top of the heap.

It's was a great article and I for one thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It gives me another place to point people to when they have questions about setting up their scopes.

[Mysticplayer]

Thanks for the kind comment. New scopes coming out all the time that wil improve our abilities to engage game at long range. We know need scope makers to look at different reticle styles. The IOR MP8 is a wonderful design. Nightforce has something similar but nothing from affordable companies.

The Nikon BDC has uses but I prefer consistent distance in my hash marks plus I want them on the windage part of the reticle.

I expect with pressure from all these Chinese scopes, the major brands will adjust to suit.

Jerry

[Huntinfool]

Good article!

It's needed in todays world as our sport is growing in leaps and bounds.

As technology expands so does our potential distance with the proper time in practice spent and use of the proper equipment!

Keep up the good work!

Chuck

[Mysticplayer]

I just picked up an Elite 4200 Tactical scope and put it through its paces. I took some pics so you can see how a scope test might look like. I am very impressed with the mechanicals. As you can see from the test, it is bang on. Optics are also very good but not nearly as perfect as my AO 6X24 scopes. The same as the Leupold VIII.

Test rifle was my 6.5 Mystic F class rifle. All shot at 45yds in light winds.

The first pic shows the initial 2 shot group which is essentially one hole (bottom target). Then the elevation turrent was spun a full revolution and two more shots fired. Always aiming at the same bottom target. This was repeated until I went to the top of the travel. The top two groups are closer because there wasn't a full revolution left.

As you can see, the groups are vertical (pic might be a bit canted but it did go straight up) and equidistant. I did go back down the 'zero' but didn't make another shot before going to the next higher mark.



I then moved the aiming point over 1 mil dot and repeated the test but taking one shot at random elevation levels. Always going back to zero before going to another setting. Eventually, all elevation marks were targeted. You can see the repeatability is spot on.



This confirms that the elevation turrent moves linearly and consistently/repeatably. I never go past the setting then back up. I dial directly to what I need and I want the scope to respond immediately.

Finally, I shot the box to test the windage. I started in the top RH corner and fired one shot, then adj DIAGONALLY and put the next in the lower LH corner. I then dialed back to the first shot then back to the second.

By changing both turrents at once, I put it through the toughest style of adj we will do. The shots were perfect.

I then dialed to the upper LH corner and back to the lower RH corner. I did pull a shot in the lower RH corner so repeated. All corners are square and equidistant. Repeatability and linearity is maintained.



Please note the lower RH corner is a bit off but that could have been me shooting a bit cramp as I was having to aim down for the target stand.

I will do more work as I go LR shooting but I have the confidence that this scope is working well at the start.

I hope this gives you a good visual idea of what testing a scope should look like. Good luck with all the new optics coming in 2008.

Jerry