Setting up a scope to suit the shooter

[huntswithdogs]

On another thread, someone made a comment about having your scopes leveled.
 I've always done my own scope set up. I'm left handed. To any righty that shoots my rifle, the first thing said is that my crosshairs are crooked. Maybe for a righty, but not for me. I've shot other lefties' rifles and the crosshairs are straight to me. Maybe it's the difference in which side you shoot from? I don't know, that's just what I've been noticing. What's fun is when I pick at my BIL about his crooked crosshairs. He's a righty and to me, them thangs have one heck of a cant!
Another thing about having someone else set up a scope for ya...How in the heck do they know what YOUR eyerelief is?

Just a few thoughts that ran past this morning... Comments?


HWD

[sgtt]

The statement would imply, to me, squaring the scope w/the axis of the bore.  There are several tools available for this.  I have not any to be perfect.  They don't.

[MZ5]

Personally, I used to just set a scope up to be as level as my eyeball could make it (not from a shouldered position).  At this point, I'll often/usually put the rifle in my cleaning cradle and use a torpedo level to help me make sure I have the scope very close to level.  I do not believe I am manic about perfection of scope leveling.
 
I want my reticle 'straight' because if it is not, windage and elevation adjustments, whether achieved via clicks or hold-off, will cause my bullets to go somewhere other than where I intended.  That this is not a practical problem for so many shooters demonstrates that either minute-of-deer is pretty large, or that so many shooters are such poor shots in the first place that it doesn't harm them. 

[Hooker]

I have to agree with MZ5.
Very slightly canted cross hairs will show little effect at short yardage but at longer range the effect can be dramatic.
If the cross hairs are aligned properly and they look cocked when you mount the weapon and aim the problem is not the scope or you it's the stock and or the scope mountings.
Stocks that don't fit the shooter are the cause of lots of accuracy issues. Scopes that are mounted either to high or to low also play heck with accuracy.
To high of a scope or comb will cause you to raise your head and your cheek weld becomes a chin weld. This causes you to roll the comb toward you and the result is canted cross hairs. If the scope or the comb is to low you roll the comb away from you trying to get your eye to align with the scope  and the result is the same. Most of us compensate for this by shifting our hold and moving our head into less than ideal positions and we get by.
But our hold then is un-natural and we wind up muscling the weapon and accuracy suffers. It's easy enough to check close your eyes and mount the as if you were going to shoot hold that position open your eyes. Note where you are looking. Most of us are going to be looking under the scope and off toward our gun hand.

Pat

[MZ5]

Hooker, thanks for the reminder about how important good stock 'fit' (fit to the shooter, not to the rifle metal  ) is!  I have had a couple of experiences in the past of shouldering a rifle I was considering purchase of, and immediately thinking to myself: 'Wow! This is really not comfortable at all!'  Rather than contemplate stock replacement options, I simply wrote them off as not suitable for me.