10/22 Scope mounting question

[Whiskey Tango Foxtrot]

I installed a Bushnell 3-9x40mm scope on my 10/22 using the Weigand Combat Integramount. Zeroed at 50 yards, the scope is four "clicks" away from maxed out on the up/down adjustment.

My questions are as follows:

Is it common practice to zero out at 50 yards and compensate for drop beyond that?

I was wondering if it would be appropriate to shim the mount so that I could zero out the scope at longer distances. Obviously I currently have no more room for adjustment.

If a shim is appropriate, then what should I be aiming (no pun intended) for on the scope's vertical adjustment? 50 "clicks" at 50 yards?

Thanks in advance for the response and sorry if this topic has already been addressed.

[CSACANNONEER]

Sounds like a barrel droop to me. Have you recently remove and replaced your barrel? What kind of barrel are you running?

[Bearclaw]

Good choice on the scope. I recently put the Bushnell 4-12x40 scope on my 10/22 and I LOVE IT! I also have mine zeroed at 50 yards as this is most practical for me. What you zero your rifle at depends on the type of shooting you will do. For me, I know that 90% of my shots will be within 100 yards - and most of those within 50 yards. I zero at 50 and just need to hold over 4-6 inches at 100yds, depending on the rounds I'm using at the time.

[Mssr. Eleganté]

...Is it common practice to zero out at 50 yards and compensate for drop beyond that?

No, that's not common. I used a Power Custom scope base and have been able to easily zero three different scopes from 25 to 100 yards. Before getting the PC base, I was able to zero a 6-20x40 Bushnell at both 50 and 100 yards just using the included Ruger base.

[gotime]

I had to shim my scope on a 10/22 in a folding stock, used the old aluminum foil trick. Worked perfect. I guess the 10/22 is prone to barrel droop and you can replace the v block for under $20, but aluminum foil is basically free.

[owenriquez]

sounds to me that you got the wrong scope rings. Mine doesn't have that problem... do a research on which scope ring is recommended for 10/22.

[Whiskey Tango Foxtrot]

Two things:

This is on a brand new rifle. I have a total of 30 rounds down the pipe.

On the Weigand base, the bottom half of the rings are integrated into the base which is milled out of one piece of aluminum, so there's no chance that these are the wrong rings with this base, though it could be that Weigand has designed this base for zeroing in at 50 yards or something. I will check with him. Here is a picture of the base in question.

http://www.jackweigand.com/1022.html

[BSlacker]

Shimming between the scope and ring would defeat the purpose of the mount and possibly damage the scope. You could shim between the mount and receiver to tilt the mount a little.
Also see if Jack sells a 20MOA mount. It tilts the scope for long range high bullet drop or barrel droop situations.

[Whiskey Tango Foxtrot]

Thanks for the input.

I had no intention of shimming the scope in the rings... It would be between the base and the receiver.

The v-block is interesting. Though it would seem that you should also do a bedding kit for best results. It seems that the v-block is meant for refined adjustment. I'm dealing with gross adjustments at this point.

I'll let you all know when I hear from Jack.

[cudakidd]

I have this mount on two 10/22s. Great mount. And No you should not run out of adjustment at only 50 yards. Check your mounts and scope alignment. Did you boresight first?

I Zero at 50 Yards. I prefer Mildots by the way. I have shimmed but at 175 yards!

[Whiskey Tango Foxtrot]

Good to hear that this mount is working well on other 10/22's.

I did not boresight first. I assumed that that was something done more on high power rifles because of the cost of bullets.

Too, I think there's little in the way of alignment because the base and bottom half of the rings are one piece, am I missing something here?

My install was as follows:

I Presumed that there was little in the way of mount adjustment - screw base to receiver with some "small screw Loctite." Don't strip the threads.

Place scope in lower half of rings, determine eye relief distance, screw top half of rings to bottom half with some "small screw Loctite." Don't strip threads!

Go out and shoot groups at a sighting in targets and make adjustments to scope until you are in there.

[Mssr. Eleganté]

I recall something about a "Ruger bump" on the top of some 10/22 receivers. It's a flaw left over from the casting process. My receiver didn't have the bump, so I'm not sure how prevalent it is or if Ruger has fixed the problem. But it used to be brought up all the time over at Rimfire Central. It would cause the scope base to be raised up at the front, leading to problems sighting in the rifle at longer ranges. Some guys would solve the problem by filing down the bump on the receiver while other guys would file out a recess on the scope base to fit over the bump.

[Whiskey Tango Foxtrot]

Maybe the best solution is to have a gunsmith take a look so I don't spend all my time chasing the variables around.

[Mssr. Eleganté]

Here is a page that describes three of the causes of not enough adjustment on a Ruger 10/22 scope...

http://extreme-precision.forum-2007.com/carabines-a-percussion-annulaire-rimfire-rifles-f17/10-22-tips-tricks-t946.htm

Just scroll down to the part that begins with "Infamous Ruger "Hump". Don't take it to a gunsmith. Being able to work on the gun yourself is 95% of the charm of the Ruger 10/22.

[Whiskey Tango Foxtrot]

Thanks for the insight. $90/hour wasn't exactly what I wanted to spend on a $230 rifle...