I remember mounting scopes the hillbilly way of just doing my best to make the scope level and fighting the rings until they felt tight enough. It wasn't until I decided I wanted to try my hand at distance shooting that I realized there were legitimate reasons for making the scope perfectly level to the rifle. So when I set out to buy my first precision rifle, a Ruger Precision Rifle chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor, I decided it was time to invest some serious money in the glass and rings and opted for a Vortex Viper PST 6-24x50 with the Vortex Precision Matched Rings. Having bought my first precision set up, I did a lot of research and bought a rifle vice, inch pound torque wrench and a Wheeler Engineering leveling kit.
I did the best I could with the tools I had at the time and ended up with a really clean and precise install. I continued to use the two level method until I found a better way.
The tools I use now include some of the tools I used many years ago on the RPR but they have grown and have been refined.
For the purposes of this post I will be mounting a scope I was interested in testing out, onto my Radian Model 1 6mm ARC build;
An Arken Optics SH-4 Gen II 6-24x50.
And decided to use the Arken Optics Cantilever mount.
The first tool on my list is this Tipton Ultra gun vice. I owned the model before this one and found this one to be significantly better. Its railed frame which allows you to slide the rubber clamps back and forth, and the clamps can also be raised and lowered to your desired hight. The clamps at the top of the vice help to level the rifle in the exact position you want.
The second necessary tool I use is an Inch Pound Torque wrench. I have a wrench made by Vortex Optics but there are a lot of nice ones out there.
You can find some of the popular available options at the link to Brownells below;
The third tool I use is this Wheeler Engineering scope leveling kit. I find this to be a very nice tool and it works perfectly.
You can find the Wheeler Engineering Leveling Kit at the following link to Brownells;
The fourth tool I use is the Wheeler Engineering Lapping Kit. Depending on the rings you buy and the level of quality, you might need to lap your rings; which basically means sanding them down until the two rings are perfectly aligned.
You can find the Wheeler Engineering Ring Lapping Kit at the following link to Brownells;
The last tool I use requires a bit of an explanation. What some have started to find, is no matter how nice their rifle scope is, the crosshairs/reticle might not always be perfectly level to the body of the scope. What this means, is even if you use a nice rifle vice and a nice scope leveling kit, you could end up with a scope which is level on the outside but slightly askew on the inside. Thats where the Real Avid Level Right Pro comes in. To oversimplify the kit, it shines a light through the front lens of your scope and projects an image of your scopes reticle/crosshairs onto a grid which is leveled and positioned behind the rifle. You then use the projected image to level you scope with the crosshairs. This ensures your scope is perfectly level.
You can find the Real Avid Level Right Pro at the following link to Brownells;
I start the scope mounting by first setting the mount/rings on the rifle just finger tight, and placing the scope in the rings and moving everything around until I can find the best eye box/relief position. Once I have determined the perfect positioning, I remove the scope and torque down the scope rings to their specified inch pound measurement; in my case the cantilever mount called for 30 inch pounds.
After torquing down the rings, I use the Wheeler Engineering level to level the rifle into the gun vice.
Once the rifle is locked into the vice and is perfectly level, I attach the second wheeler level which gets clamped to the barrel.
Next I use the Wheeler Engineering scope ring lapping kit to check my rings. The kit comes with two rods which both terminate into a sharp point. You place the rods juxtaposed to each other and make sure the tips of both come into contact with each other perfectly. In my case the cantilever mounts rings were perfect and did not require any lapping.
If your scope rings are not lining up perfectly with each other, lapping is very important. If the rings are slightly off, when you tighten the rings down on the scope, the rings will tighten against the scope tube unevenly and can effect your zero. Lapping basically means setting in a solid bar which you pre-coat with a grit infused lapping paste into your scope rings. You then affix your top rings until the bar can barely be moved, and then using a handle which is screwed into the bar, you can then turn the bar repeatedly until the high points of the rings are perfectly aligned.
Next, while ensuring the rifle remains level, I place the scope in its rings and place the level on top of the top turret and place the top of the rings on the top of the scope. After applying some blue lock-tight onto the scope ring screws, I start all the screws until they are finger tight but the scope is still able to move within the rings.
The next step is to get the Real Avid Level Right Pro set up. This includes mounting a flashlight to the rifles pic rail just in front of the scope, and placing the grid just behind the rifle, ensuring it is perfectly level.
Once the kit is set up it should look something like that. Once I had the kit all set up and made sure everything was level, I shut off the lights.
It wasn't very dark in my workshop but I was still able to see the projected image of the crosshairs against the leveled grid.
The last step to the process was to tighten the ring screws. I always make sure not only that everything remains level, but also that I tighten the screws evenly. I recommend tightening the screws a bit at a time and in a X pattern. If you tighten the rings too much on one side it can pull/twist your scope and effect its level.
I purchased a throw lever and scope level with the Arken Optics scope, and so the last part of the process was mounting them while the scope and rifle were still level.
The final product turned out perfectly, and I know the scope is perfectly level on my rifle. I think if you use this method to mount your scope you will be thrilled with the results like I am. Acquiring all of these tools is not an inexpensive proposition, but having quality tools always pays off in the end. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions.
If you want to watch a video of this install you can find it here;
Remember, Faith Kills Fear!
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