What To Do If Your Riflescope Runs Out Of Adjustment

All riflescopes have a limited amount of internal adjustment that can move the rifle’s point-of-impact. The amount of adjustment required to sight in your scope is determined by how well aligned the scope is to the bore of the rifle. If the scope has less adjustment than what is needed to correct for its alignment to the rifle, you will run out of adjustment while trying to zero.

Some scopes feature mechanical stops that prevent over-rotation and provide rapid return-to-zero. While the dial will hit the stop, there may be more internal adjustment within the scope. Ensure that you are not engaging the stops when sighting in.

What will this look like at the range? When you attempt to make an adjustment, your point-of-impact will not change and/or the dial itself will physically stop turning.

SOLUTION:
If you are running out of adjustment while zeroing your riflescope, the solution is to improve the physical alignment of the scope to the rifle’s bore. There are many ways of doing this, including:

Running out of Windage: If the internal adjustment capability has been used, the correction needs to be made with windage adjustable bases or rings. Leupold offers windage adjustable bases (STD) which have two windage screws holding the rear ring. By loosening one side and tightening the other, they shift the rear of the scope right or left for gross windage adjustment.

Note: Some Leupold scopes feature a zero-stop, or ZeroLock windage dial that limits travel to ½ turn in either direction. This allows a rapid return to zero when dialing for wind drift. If you encounter this mechanical limit in the windage while sighting in, loosen the dial set screws and turn the dial in the opposite direction ½ revolution, then re-tighten the set screws. This will allow more dial travel in the direction you wish to move. Once the desired zero has been achieved loosen the set screws again, turn the dial until the zero stop or ZeroLock is engaged, then re-tighten the set screws.

Running out of Elevation Up: If your bullet is impacting low and you have dialed your scope all the way up, an inclined base such as the BackCountry Cross-Slot 20MOA base may lower your point of impact far enough to sight in.

Running out of Elevation Down: Many Leupold scopes feature a zero-stop, or ZeroLock elevation dial that limits travel below the set zero of the firearm. This allows a rapid return to zero when dialing for bullet drop. If you encounter this mechanical limit in the downward direction while sighting in, loosen the dial set screws and turn the dial in the up direction 1-2 revolutions, then re-tighten the set screws. This will allow more dial travel in the down direction. Once the desired zero has been achieved loosen the set screws again, turn the dial until the zero stop or ZeroLock is engaged, then re-tighten the set screws.

Running out of Elevation Up or Down: Leupold Technical Service offers purpose-built mounting shims for vertical alignment in either direction which we will ship within the US free of charge. Please call 1-800-LEUPOLD to order.

This can be a difficult problem to diagnose and solve. If you suspect that you are running out of adjustment and none of the above solutions help, feel free to call us at 1-800-LEUPOLD to speak to a technician who can help.