A rifle scope is an important accessory for any air rifle shooter. It allows you to shoot accurately at longer distances thanks to the zoom provided by this optical sight. Learning how to adjust a pellet rifle scope becomes simple when you take it step by step Soft air gun. In this article, we will show you our methodology to simply get your sighting optics in just a few minutes.
CHOICE OF MATERIAL
First, check that your scope, your collars and your rifle are compatible. To help you choose a sighting optic suited to your needs, find our article “ How to choose a scope for your pellet rifle?”.
To do this, several points must be checked:
The width of the rifle rail should match that of the collars. In fact, there are two types of rails in the world of airguns. On one side we have a rail with a width of 11 mm also called a dovetail rail. On the other side we have a 22 mm rail to the picatinny standard adopted by NATO.
The diameter of the scope body must match the diameter of the collars. There are several body sizes. The 24.5mm barrel riflescope remains the most common standard.
The height of the collars correlates with the size of your lens.
Once you have all your equipment and it is compatible, you can move on to assembly. If you want to avoid problems, you must follow the normal path.
MOUNT AND INSTALL YOUR SCOPE CORRECTLY
First, install the collar feet on the rifle rail, ensuring good fixation. As part of a powerful rifle, opt for suitable mountings. One-piece clamps for 11 mm rails for example.
Secondly, place the bezel on the collars and close everything without tightening. Before that we will adjust the attitude and the eye relief. These scholarly terms are, however, very simple to understand.
Eye relief represents the distance between the eye and the scope. To do this, simply place yourself in a shooting position and move the scope forward or back to make the shadowy areas disappear.
For the trim, simply lock the weapon on a shooting stand then point the barrel at a horizontal object. The objective is to make the line of the object coincide with that of the reticle of the scope.
Once this operation is complete, tighten the screws on the upper hoops to secure them permanently. Prefer cross-tightening, that is to say by tightening each opposite screw diagonally.
Even with good tightening, the assembly can become loose due to vibrations, remember to tighten regularly.
ADJUSTING A PELLET RIFLE SCOPE IN 4 STEPS
Here is a simple and effective solution for adjusting your pellet rifle scope. Divided into 4 steps, this adjustment is within everyone’s reach. This tutorial allows you to not be dependent on a gunsmith or a friend for your recreational shooting sessions.
- POSITIONING SHOTS
For the first shot, position your rifle on a stable support. You can block it in a vice, place it on a support using a bipod or a sandbag for example.
Once the rifle is positioned, it must not be moved. You will need to set a target at 10 – 15 meters, for the adjustment prefer a large target to be able to have the impacts directly if the offset is too great.
You get into a shooting position, align the reticle with the center of the target and take 3 or 4 shots. You thus have a result which must be grouped.
- DRIFT ADJUSTMENT
Now that you have visualized the position of your shots, simply bring your reticle closer to the center of the target to finally be able to score a hit.
Firstly, we carry out the drift adjustment, that is to say towards the horizontal adjustment, with the turret on the right side.
To do this there are several types of wheel, either you have turrets directly, or caps, which can themselves hide either an adjustment with a wheel or with a screwdriver.
If your shot is too far to the right, aim clockwise to move the cursor to the left and vice versa, if the shot is too far to the left, aim counterclockwise to move the cursor to the right.
- HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT
This involves carrying out the same principle as for adjusting your windage telescope, but this time if in height, with the vertical adjustment, therefore with the upper turret.
If your shot is below the target, you will need to screw the dial counterclockwise to raise the slider.
If your shot is above, you will need to screw clockwise to lower the reticle.
To begin, make around ten clicks (small notch on the wheel or turret, audible when screwing or unscrewing with a screwdriver), whether in drift or height.
- CONTROL SHOTS
Now it’s a matter of taking 3 or 4 shots to check the correct adjustment of your scope.
Once the shot is made if it is constant but still far from the center of the target, return to step 2 to get closer to the target.
If you are in the center, Bravo!! You have just adjusted your rifle scope for your air rifle. This process will be very useful if you have a new rifle, if you move your scope, if you change your scope and in many other situations.
In conclusion, for the adjustment of your scope, we advise you first to purchase a quality optical sight. If you have a large budget, choose a brand like Bushnell . Or for more reasonable prices, favor brands like RTI, Hawke or Bauer.
to use quality lead, but especially lead that you will use on a daily basis. Indeed, each pellet gives different results, poor quality pellets can also cause trouble in your setting.
Additionally, adjustment is provided for a given distance and under specific shooting conditions. Each modification of one of its parameters will ask you to refine your setting again and thus repeat the 4 adjustment steps.