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Rifle Scope Mounting – The Sportsmatch Way

Rifle Scope Mounting – The Sportsmatch Way

At Sportsmatch we often receive emails and phone calls from customers asking – What is the best way of mounting my rifle scope onto my rifle ? Well firstly you need to make sure you buy the best scope mounting system you can afford as this is definitely not an area where you should look to save some money. Excellent quality scope mounts are often only a few dollars more than Chinese made copies of some of the best European and American brands. You want a set of scope mounts that are made from high quality materials and machined to tight tolerances. Otherwise you are wasting your time as your rifle scope will not be aligned with your barrel and you simply will not be getting the best from your rifle and scope. Low cost Chinese made 11mm scope mounts may also ‘creep’ which means slide along the rifles receiver after only a few shots. So take some time to choose your rings when next mounting a scope onto your new rifle. Just because a set of scope mounts are branded and sold in a nice blister pack doesn’t mean they are not made in China. You have been warned !

When mounting your scope you firstly need to ensure your rifle is unloaded. Safety is paramount. Next remove the top half of the rings and put to one side. The bottom half of the rings can then be mounted loosely onto the rifles receiver / scope grooves as far apart as possible on the scope rail. Leave a small amount of clearance either side of the scopes body tube for fine tuning the eye relief. The rifle scope can then be put into the rings and the top half of the rings carefully replaced loosely. When the scopes eye relief is correct and the cross hair has been set so it is absolutely vertical the screws can be tightened bit by bit and evenly in a similar way you would tighten the screws on an engines cylinder head. Your rifles scope mounting is now complete. For reference there are several videos available on Youtube which explain the scope mounting process very clearly but make sure a reputable scope mount manufacturer has sponsored or produced it.

So mounting a rifle scope the best way does not have to be difficult. Firstly a little thought and research into choosing the best scope mounting system for your rifle followed by carefully fitting the scope to your rifle and you will optimise the accuracy of your rifle and scope. Whether hunting or target shooting this is what all shooters aspire to and with a little thought can easily achieve.

Getting your rifle scope mounted correctly the first time is time well spent and once you have done it a few times it will become standard procedure. You will learn which scope mounting systems, rifles, scopes, ammunition etc. you can trust to provide years of accurate and enjoyable shooting.

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Height of Scope Mount Required

In each product catergory we state a maximum (upto) objective lens diameter dimension. Due to both rifle and scope designs varying this can only be used as a guide. If you are unsure that the height of the Sportsmatch scope mount you have chosen will be sufficient to clear your rifle scopes objective lens from the barrel of your rifle, we suggest (prior to purchase) you check. The way you calculate the clearance is by halving the overall outside diameter of your rifle scopes objective lens and then deducting half the rifle scopes body tube diameter. For scopes with a 1″ inch diameter body tube diameter this would mean deducting 12.7mm, 15mm for scopes with a 30mm diameter body tube and 17mm for 34mm scopes. This dimension then gives the figure comparible with the ‘A’ dimension that is shown below. The amount our ‘A’ dimension is greater than the figure you have calculated is the amount of clearance your scopes objective lens will be clear of your rifles barrel (dont forget to allow around 2mm for the scope covers). Calculating your rifle scopes clearance in this way does assume your dovetail or Picatinny rail is not raised above or below your rifles barrel. Please consider that rifles with grooved receivers such as some models of airgun and .22 rimfire rifle will mean the scope sits lower than a rifle with a raised dovetail or Picatinny base fitted. Something else to consider is that some rifles with a high or adjustable cheek pieces may require high or extra scope mounts so that your eye is in line with the rifle scope and your head is kept in an upright comfortable position.