Randy Newberg talks about a common mistake some people make when selecting the wrong rings for the size of their scope, most often to occur when mounting a large objective lens scope.
When mounting a scope it is desired to have the maximum eye relief, most often by moving the scope further back in the rings. As the scope moves back, the large objective end, usually called the "bell" of the scope get closer to the barrel. If the scope rings are not high enough and the scope is too large, it can cause the scope to come in contact with the barrel, resulting in serious issues of accuracy and consistency.
In this video, Randy purposely shows how it can happen and then shows how to prevent it from happening.
Thanks for watching and good luck at the range.
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An excellent refresher on mounting scopes correctly. I have encountered this problem as I'm sure many others have usually a high mount have been the problem solver. Not only to clear the front of the scope from the barrel but it has helped with handling the bolt by keeping the distance far enough from the back of the scope to make it more comfortable. Thank you!
Randy’s videos are the best. Straightforward and very informative. Keep them coming sir.
I'm new to hunting deer and target shooting..this is exactly what I needed to know. Thank you Sir. Hello from Texas USA
Spring if your new to setting up a rifle and scope , there are many things to know to get it right . And there are tools for the job you may not have but a good gunsmith will , like a lapping bar and torque wrenches correct bits and drivers and levels . Even the best rifles and scopes will shoot poorly if not set up right . You may be very technically experienced but without the tools it's hard to get it right . Just food for thought when your making a large investment like that . Good luck and happy hunting .
Don't forget a laser bore sighter. Helps you get on paper before you waste ammo trying to sight in. Welcome to the club, brother.
@@scbane pull the bolt and use your eye to "bore sight". Save your cash on a fancy machine.
I too am a noob from Pennsylvania this was a useful video
Thanks for the tip Randy! I am just getting into this sport and as luck would have it I do have to mount two scopes onto two mossberg patriot rifles I recently purchased. It was clear to me that the scope optics housing should not touch the rifle rig in any way but it is your point about the eye relief that really interested me. I am aware of the "getting scoped" phenomena having once seen it happen to another person so I am keen to avoid the same thing happening to me but I do find I am having problems with getting the full field of view in the scopes mounted on my air rifles. Have yet to do the mounting on my patriot rifles but it was clear to me I was doing something wrong. Now I know what that is!
I have been guilty of leaning forward. Thanks for the excellent information.
What I have found with scope rings,is that each manufacturer has their own idea of what high,med & low is there is no standardization. One manufacturers High is another manufactures med
Firearm Solutions thank you for putting that out there !! I have noticed the very something,,, frustrating to say the least !
I wish manufacturers would standardize centerline to top of mounting surface. Would make life much easier!
I wish they wouldn't even bother with the low, medium and high all together and just give a measurement. Especially with rings that mount to a rail. It isn't that hard to just say how many millimeters it is above the rail and then I don't have to guess and hope they fit right when I get them home or order them.
I have a tendency to stick with the same manufacturer. Talley. No surprises with the height,they are excellent rings for the price, and they pretty much cover every rifle out there.
That's actually what I was hoping would be explained in the video. So thanks.
I like to use 20 MOA rails and medium rings for big scopes. Also leupold rails and rings are some of the best you can get.
This guy is cool. I could listen to him all day.
You chose a good topic and had a clear explanation. Thanks!
Was that a pun? A ''clear'' explanation..?
THANK YOU RANDY. HOPE SEASON GOES WELL. I'LL BE WATCHING.
Thanks Randy, I now understand it. I just ordered mounts for my new scope. Very informative.
Don't forget, eye relief changes depending on what power you have the scope on. You're better off mounting your scope in prone on the highest magnification. Hi magnification = shorter eye relief, and low magnification = longer eye relief. In prone, you will normally be on high magnification because you're steadier and your head will be farther forward. So when you shoot off-hand, you typically will be on a lower magnification which will give you a longer eye relief and your head/eye will naturally be farther back from the scope anyways. So setting it up in prone on the highest magnification puts the scope at the perfect distance from your eye in all positions. =) ~Jared
Oh yeah.. Unless the perfect distance from your eye is making the scope touch the barrel like you said lol 😆😆. That's when going to higher rings comes in. 😄
Jared Moyer ok I look into those videos. But first what is about the 7mm08 that you love about?
Very true! What’s crazy about these VX5’s and 6’s is that the eye relief between lowest and highest power is soooooo small that it doesn’t make a difference. I believe it’s literally under 1/4 inch.
Wrong. Maybe with your scope from the 80s
One thing you dont want is to have your scope at the highest mag. They even teach you that in the military..
Thanks so much for the video. I was working on my scope today and realized it was too low and wasn't sure of the best approach, so that's how I came to be here. Just wanted to say thanks for the clear n concise breakdown of proper mounting.
Glad it helped!
@@Fresh_Tracks Wow, I didn't really expect you to see my comment since the last one was from a while ago, but I'm glad ya did. Hope you're doing well!
Good video. I have a Weatherby in 270 with a Nikon 50mm objective scope on it. The rifle is devastatingly accurate at longer distance where it is a proven long range killer. At the time of set up, I chose the medium height rings & although I have the required gap from the barrel, however, frustratingly it is not enough to allow me to use an unmodified lens cap at the objective end...a real pain in the arse when it is raining or drizzling...
Fantastic tip. Appreciate the straight to the point presentation.
I used high rings and a 20moa base and have just about 1/8 inch clearance. Perfect fit for me.
Thank You for this information. I have a Weatherby .257 I want to install a Vortex Viper 6-20X50 and with stores closed now it's tough to chose the right fit
Thank you for sharing your wisdom on this subject... this saves a lot of grief! And, since I'm kind of ADD, thank you for sharing it in a concise, straightforward manner.
Great video Randy. Just did this for bear season this year. Moved up to mediums for my 44mm objective end.
Thank you for this video. I’ve always been shooting on iron site and new to scopes
Everyone needs a neighbor like this guy.
Good video. I was in a bit of a dilemma with going w/med Leupold BC rings or high for my 50mm. I know guys like to go as low as possible, but I jump on a stock high, plus the Remington Model 700 has a nice cheekpiece. I went with the high rings, and, although I have a good deal of space between scope and barrel, it seems to work for me. If you get too low it's hard to clean between scope and barrel and I have seen rust spots on a barrel of a LOW mounted scope.
Thank you sir, great advice.
My gunsmith buddy showed me a trick when I mounted a scope on my RPR and the scope was touching. He cut some brass shims, I don’t remember how thick for sure maybe 50/1000s, and put them under the scope in the rings and that was enough to create daylight clearance. Worked like a charm.
Definitely!... Great common sense when it comes to mounting a scope!... I have 56mm bell on my Strike Eagle (5x25x56) and did my measurements before buying the correct ring size, also planned for bubble to be on one of them to measure tilt!... Make's it easier to mount!... Set out 25 yards with bullet light in the chamber to zero in on the barrow!... Worked out beautifully on my POF-308! Mounts:Zeiss Precision Ultralight 1913 Mil-Spec Rifle Scope Mounting Rings with Anti-Cant Bubble Level 34mm X-High
Great advice! Very clear presentation and reasoning
thank you for the great information. Good luck with the elk.
Good advice I mean it should be comon sense and I know most hunters and rifleman knows about this things I appreciate your input on what size of rings to use according to the size of your scope again ty .
so simple when well explained. +100
Perfect perfect perfect and easy to set up!👍🏾
Great advice, most guys just want their scopes on. I want to pull up and focus right away without adjusting back and forth. Thanks.
Great video randy
Very informative. Thank you!
You can also add a spacer that will lift your scope. I had this problem with an AR ten and 50 bell scope. Bas pro shop has them.
Good stuff thanks for sharing
Great info sir..might have solved my wandering groups with new scope..thks.
That's probably a parallax problem if you don't have any obvious issues like this.
Thanks Randy, great video. I’m having trouble picking out a scope and scope rings for my Remington 7MM Magnum. It was my grandpas and he had an old weaver scope with flip rings on it so you can shoot Iron sites as well. Trying to maybe find someone that will be tall enough so I can also shoot iron sites, is that a good idea? Currently looking at a Vortex Optics Viper PST Gen I 6-24x50 SFP Riflescope - EBR-1 MOA Reticle.
Thank you I have a Swarovski z5i 2.4-12x50 and I also have a 25/06 HOWA model 1500 Is this also the reason I ran out of elevation adjustment because of the medium rings? Paper barely fits through
Great video easy learning ..very informative
Thanks for this clear video, have been looking for a simple "chat" on the subject. Have a 3.5-10x50 and I can't get it back far enough for the 3.3" eye relief. Anyone have some thoughts on the battle between scope to bore distance vs eye relief/ring height? Should I just go to a 40mm or go to a higher ring and not sweat it?
I know im late to the party, but what type of rifle is it? You might need to use cantilever rings or a 1 peice ar15 type scope mount. Typically, " medium" rings are all you need for all but enormous scopes. try using risers if possible to test out new heights.
Thanks for taking the time partner
GREAT explanation and understanding....you are a definite pro!!!!
Thank you very much for this scope mount height info.great demonstration and solved my issues.keep it up sir
Good tips. Medium rings were the ticket for my set up. ☝️
With a smaller objective lens, medium would be fine on this set up.
Good stuff, Randy. Well explained. Going through the EXACT situation you attend to on a SAKO AV in 300 WEA. Fitted rifle with (rearward) extended Optilock bases and extra low Rings. Whoops, the scope bell now hits the front of the new base but clears the barrel. So, I didn't gain any actual rearward scope movement for more comfortable eye relief. Darn, I suppose higher rings would work better, despite their chart indicating X-low would work.
My old Marlin 30-30 and I have taken alot of whitetail over the years and I never noticed until I started watching videos about scope mounting that my scope is too high. I have medium rings and I need low I guess. I have to lift my cheek up a little to see through the scope so I don't get that weld on my stock but like I said I've taken my share of deer and hogs with it, never missed, so I might just leave it alone. Thanks for the video.
great tips...very well done...thanks and more segments like this one...
Thanks, will do!
Thank you for the video much needed
Just learned alot Thank you
Great explanation. Thx.
Randy, do you prefer 44mm or 50mm objective scopes? Or does it make that much difference?
Exactly what i was looking for much appretiated this is what youtube is for
Great explanation of a common problem. Thanks!
Glad it helped!
Wow glad I stumbled upon this video. I mounted a 50mm to my Browning BAR the other day and it's touching the barrel. This saved me from wasting ammo at the range. I've always hunted without scopes so I'm new to this. Good to know thanks for the video.
Very good information, straight to the point instructions! Thanks for sharing.
Great Video! i am by no means an expert. However, I've done well so far with my Vortex Viper 50mm bell. First on an M&P10; and just tonight changed from a cantilevered mount to vortex low pro series on my NEW Savage 110 Tactical. Leveled the rail in the gun vice, then leveled the turret. Maybe im a natural lol instinctively pulled the scope back to me. This maximized my eye relief. With the 2nd highest comb on my accufit stock im catching a great view of the reticle every time i shoulder the rifle. Now to zero this thing! Looking to break a record with my 308 lol now im dreamin'
Range day 110 tactical zeroing, using 168gr sierra match by federal.
Useful information. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful
With large objectives, I prefer using a chassis or stock with adjustable LOP and adjustable cheek rise. This allows me to locate the scope optimally (bell clearance, etc) and then tailor my natural position to the scope. Given the cost of optics with these 50mm+ objectives, the cost of the chassis or stock is pretty tame. A big plus is the tendency to pick up additional rigidity and reduce overall weight slightly with these swaps.
Well im just getting into long range shooting with a scope for the 1st time at 55yrs old.My eye sight isnt as good as it use to be and i need the help.lol but i can still take our a flies wings at ....lol anyway i use to shoot all the time with irons only and now found it quite fun to get into the longer range shoots.I recently purchased a started Savage Axis in 6.5Creedmoor and tore it apart for a Boyds AtOne thumbhole chassis.I am looking into purchasing a nice scope and have decided id like a 5x25x56 sand would love any suggestions on any brands you would think worth the purchase?I hear from a lot of people that say Vortex is awesome and as many say Vortex scopes are junk.So i have looked into Mueller and Burris and other older brands but still dont want to waste the money on a mistake.Scope's in this mag. are not cheap.So any specific brands you could suggest would be a great help?
wow very informative tips sir, how i wish to have an original scope here in the Philippines for my airgun....😊...thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Is using the high or extra high rings needed for something like a Ruger 10/22? It has a way small diameter barrel then the rifle in the video obviously. Just wondering if that would be the same circumstances while using a 50mm objective lens on a 10/22.
Great info
The higher the rings, the higher the comb needs to be if you find you are lifting your head to see reticle. Howa rifles (as well as CZ, Tikka and Sako) have notoriously lower comb heights than more common makes. You will almost assuredly need to add some form of cheek riser if you're planning on using 50mm objective or more scopes.
Of course..
A lot of good information. Love the background music. Is a soundtrack available?
Weatherby Vanguard with a Vortex 4-16x50, Talley medium rings work. Left about an 1/8” between the bell and barrel.
I have the same setup but on a win. Model 70 . How's your elevation turret? I'm going to have to shim or lap for more elevation!?
Randy, how much space would be minimum and recommended between the barrel and bell of the scope? I'm using 50 mm objective scope with medium rings and the closest point I have 1/16" between the curve of the bell and barrel. At the end of the scope, I have about 1/4" between the scope and barrel. I'm considering replacing the medium rings with high to get some more clearance but I would REALLY rather not since I've already taken the time to lap them.
Thanks for helpful video. What’s your estimate for minimum clearance between barrel and scope?
Looked like at least a piece of paper to me
Im having issue with my browning x-bolt 300 win mag empty brass hitting the windage turret on my scope on ejection after mounting my scope low like youve explained... do you have any recommendations for me??
randy, thanks for doing what you do!
Thanks for watching.
Great advice 👍
A help with this if you are using a larger objective may be an add on, stock cheek piece that allows you dig in but maintain center eye to center scope alignment. Without that, I like to play with the un-scoped rifle, giving some serious thought to my scope choice.
Randy whos stock is that howa using? (The 300 mag you are using to show proper scope mounting ) Thank you.
I have a 1941 custom Mosin Nagant 91/30 and I installed a new scope mount (after I found the old one I installed years ago was falling apart and came loose) and I ran into the same issue except that the scope bell contacted the mount itself as the new mount pins into the rear sight. Since it was only a 2-3mm difference I opted to remove a small amount of stock from the mount itself, allowing the scope to sit with a few millimeters of clearance. However I ran into issues where I just could not get a consistent grouping and when attempting to bore sight the scope, I had to bottom it out however I was still inches below the reticle. For argument sake I then clicked the scope up and up to bring it to "center" to start over, however this brought the reticle down. I am assuming at this point my scope is trashed and even though there is millimeters between the bell and the mount, the scope had been banging off of the mount too many times while shooting. Would you agree with this assessment? I ordered a new scope and will be using taller mounting rings to test if that is what caused the issues I faced when attempting to sight in the rifle.
Thanks much for this video! Your point is well understood and taken. However there remains one question which I would appreciate your feedback on. Regarding sliding the scope back towards the eye sufficiently to allow a full field of view without truncating the periphery of that f.o.v. with the dreaded black ring of darkness😱: Q: when mounting a variable scope, should you have it set to its lowest or highest magnification? I originally set all of my Leupolds by leaving them on the lowest mag., but then I get the dark ring of f.o.v. reduction when adjusting to the highest....forcing me to stretch my neck forward to fill the f.o.v.😡 This is true whether considering the 2.5-8 or any of the 1-4 or 1.5-5 models. Thanks again Randy....much appreciated indeed.
Rob Krochenski I set my eye relief at the highest magnification and this is why: eye relief is less critical at low power. If walking around set at 2.5x, I can shoot quickly and have fewer issues with head position. But, if at 8x, I am likely prone and that usually results in your face to be closer to the scope with the most critical eye relief. I’d rather be solid at high magnification in the prone because my shot will be longer and more deliberate.
Thanks much!
Just bought a Ruger precision rifle and a vortex diamondback tactical scope with a 50mm lense, I didn’t see any videos so I went with vortex medium rings... hope they are high enough 🤞but at the end of the day, I might be sending them back for higher rings.
Man howa's is taking over!!
Good advice Newberg! Like your videos....
Glad you like them!
3:03 Not only that, for picatinny rail users (and possibly standard) it would also allow the use of magnification adjustment on some scopes. Because it had "lock" them there because lack of clearance.
I had the gun shop mount my new scope. It did not work at all for me, I had the black ring even at 2x, I think they mount then forward for safety, but really, it just forces the shooter's face to crawl up the stock. I remounted my scope, selecting bases and rings that provided good site picture, but also worked with my natural and most stable off hand position. The position you shoot from is something to think about, because eye relief changes a bit if you shoot prone or bench or off hand. Sometimes you have to compromise. The other thing is clothing. I mounted my scope in the summer in a t-shirt. I hunt up north in late fall with quite a few layers on. I calculated that my clothing was adding about 5/8 to 3/4 of am inch. I chose to deal with this with a slimmer recoil pad, taking 1/2 an inch off my length of pull. I shoot a 7mm 08, and it is quite mild in terms of recoil, so this worked out fine and I did not have to chop up my nice walnut stock!
All good points. Glad you took it upon yourself.
pseudopetrus Gday mate I’m thinking about buying a 7mm08 and was wondering what you think about them any feedback would be much appreciated mate would be using it for mostly deer and ferrel pigs thanks Yogi Australia 🇦🇺🤙🤙
I bought the vortex pst viper with 50mm objective from what u are saying I should get large (high) rise mounts
Randy, what type of Bore Sight Equipment do you use?
Great tip! Thanks
Wouldn't it depend on the type of rings and rail? I just mounted a Leupold VX6 4-24X52 on my 7mm with low rings and it has more than enough clearance. Maybe because I use a picatinny rail or that the tube is 34mm. I ran into some issues with Tally rings that look similar to what you have. Thanks for the vid!
Great tip. Thanks.
I have the 6x24x50 Diamondback Tactical. Am using the Burris XTR Signature rings. Started out with the 1.50 height. Was to high so I went to the 1.25. As stated, each ring Manufacturer is different as I had leupold rings before these
Thank you this video help me a lot
Just a small physics tip (and you can verify this pretty easily with a pen or pencil in your hands): where possible, mount the rings such that the distance between them is maximized. To demonstrate why you do this, hold a pen level in front of you placing your fingers as close to the center as you can - then making some small back-and-forth motions note how much the ends of the pen move. Next, do the same but with your fingers our toward the ends of the pen, i.e. with your fingers at a near max distance away from each other, make similar back and forth movements. You should be able to see that the ends of the pen move much less when your fingers (the "rings") are further apart relative to the movements made when your fingers are closer together. Unless you are using el cheapo rings or an action with misaligned taps, the greater the distance between your rings, the straighter your scope will be relative to the action (and barrelm if the action and barrel are mated correctly). Vibrations from shooting will also have less impact on POI, etc, when the ring distance is greater.
I just bought a pair of DNZ Game Reaper one piece mounts for my T3X Superlite and Remington 700. The rings are rather close compared to two piece base and ring mounts, and now after reading your post I'm having second thoughts about the DNZ mounts. What scope mounts would you recommend for a sturdy mounts for hunting? Thanks for bringing the ring distance importance to light.
@@archstanton9703 my example applies only to 2-piece mounts. One piece mount is good
@@ntaylor1829 I appreciate the clarification. I bought a one piece DNZ Game Reapter one piece mount for my Tikka. Thank you and have a good one!
Great point thank you so much for sharing I now see my mistake. Aloha from Hawaii.
I mount mine using a plumb line and make sure the rifle/scope combo works when I aim the rifle upward at a 45 degree angle with medium amount of clothes on to simulate colder weather. VX3I scopes have horrible eye relief to begin with.
Thanks for info
99% of my rifles have med rings. i usually use 40 mm. i like metal one piece mounts if i can use them. I like the one piece dove tail mount. but have a couple rifles that have aluminum mounts too. the thing to remember is metal to metal, mount to rings, dont use aluminum rings on metal mount. good video. having a cheap line up tool works good too. and torque too
Do you find eye relief is different, depending on your position? I find that if I am prone with a scope for standing, the relief is off. If I set the scope for prone relief, then it works better.
Yes, shooting position surely tweaks eye relief. Adjust it to your most common shooting positions and mark the location on the scope so you do not lose that mark when you level it and tighten the rings.
Correct me if I'm wrong but sliding your scope backwards doesn't change your eye relief, or the eye relief of the scope. I just changes the position of your head/neck while adjusting to get the proper distance from the scope?
I built a custom thumb hole rifle, 270 Mauser bolt action, and mounted the scope too low. The heat from a sunny day would change the impact point at 100 yards. I raised the scope and installed an adjustable cheek weld and the heat displacement problem went away.
Helpful thanks
You can put a shim in there as well and then you are still low as possible but it wont be touching. A shim made from a pop can works perfect I've done it many times and it does not flex or lose accuracy.
This is a problem I got on one of my rifle. Will have to change a new rings. Thanks for the tips
Bummer. Not that hard to fix.
Randy, I use that same Fat Wrench torque screw drive. I was helping an old-timer buddy of mine mount his new VX-5HD on his 300 RUM Sako IV last night. We used the high Leupold rings and tried to tighten the bases (cross bolt with torx) to 65lbs, but ended up twisting the top of the torx bit! Have you had that happen? Do you think Wheeler would replace that bit?
I've not had that happen. I suspect Wheeler will replace. What are you tightening to 65#? That is a lot of torque.
A video on your shop/camp would be cool!!
I noticed he uses dual dove tail leaupold rings and bases.I have them on all my hunting rifles,you don't have to worry about the windage screws coming loose on the other style.it's solid that way!
What the fuck are you talking about? Windage screws on a ring? What?
He’s referring to standard bases and rings, the rear ring is held in by screws which allow you to change windage...