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Collimator Question...

Permanently deleted user
I've been told that there are collimators, or bore sighters, that will square the reticle with the action on a rifle. Is this true and if so, can someone point me in the right direction for one? I mount scopes for customers and I have a crude reticle alignment tool...but it still leaves a lot to guess work. I also do not trust bubble levels. Having been a custom builder all my life has taught me that there are VERY FEW levels that you can actually trust.

I need a tool for bore sighting (I've always pulled the bolt and sighted the bore, which is difficult to do with a semi-auto), and a quality tool for aligning the reticle. Is there a combination tool available for this???

Thanks!
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Comments

10 comments

Date Votes
  • nmyers
    I use a 1st Gen Leupold boresighter, which cost about $50 when they came out. I don't understand how it works, but it does. It mounts to the bore of your rifle with a magnet (no arbors needed), & you see a grid when you look through the scope. Not X-ring precision, but good enough to get you on the paper.

    The thing that really baffles me is that it works regardless of the height of the scope above the bore. No adjustments, it just works.

    There have been a couple of improved models, & Brownell's latest one has a list price of $100.

    Neal
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  • RCrosby
    Don't know of any that would actually help in squaring the scope with the action. Maybe if you had an octogon barrel?[:D]
    Very little surprises me these days, though. If there is such a critter I'd sure like to know how it works.
    Maybe someone in benchrest crowd would know.
    Personally I've never been good enough to be dissatisfied with locking the rifle vertically in a vice then eyeballing the crosshairs for level.
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  • XXCross
    When all is said and done, the customer will have the final say. Everyone cants a rifle a little differently and the scope will have to be set level to the individuals line of sight. I wouldn't get to excited about buying some expensive bore sighter...any of them will get you in the ball park and that's close enough to start.
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  • perry shooter
    Hello I have an older TASCO with different SPUDS for each caliber it has a grid also and IF the scope is mounted directly over the bore 99% of all mounts are then the grid will show even the slightest tilt to the crosshairs of the scope in the rings. I love mine. had it for 20 +? years

    EDIT sort of hard to explain but because the grid is 1&1/2 inch above bore line the grid will be completely off & out of sight if it is not setting up right. with it up right it will show any tilt to crosshairs.
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  • Bubba Jr.
    I used to have a collimator, it's used to adjust your lens to infinity or any other distance you have it set for. There may be a tool to set your reticle with, but I doubt if it is called a collimator.
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  • Permanently deleted user
    quote:Originally posted by perry shooter
    Hello I have an older TASCO with different SPUDS for each caliber it has a grid also and IF the scope is mounted directly over the bore 99% of all mounts are then the grid will show even the slightest tilt to the crosshairs of the scope in the rings. I love mine. had it for 20 +? years


    What keeps you from having the device in the barrel at an angle not square with the action...seems as if you had it tilted slightly, you'd have to rotate your scope to get the reticle to line up with it.?.?
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  • dcs shooters
    I use a Tasco like perry has. Like he says if the scope is above the bore, you can square up the scope to it. You might have to rotate both a little to do it. I've been using mine since the mid '70,s.
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  • tsr1965
    Hi Eric,

    Hope all is well with you and your family over the Christmas season.

    I use scope levels for mounting the scope so the cross hairs are square with the rifle's verticle center line. Actually I use my own precision levels...one for the action, and top of scope bases', and the other is a machinist protractor level, for the top turret on the scope. After the scope is mounted properly, then the collumnator may be used or one of the bore laser's to simulate an approximate zero.

    Wheeler Engineering does have a scope leveling kit, that includes the levels and accessories.

    Best,
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  • Permanently deleted user
    quote:Originally posted by dcs shooters
    I use a Tasco like perry has. Like he says if the scope is above the bore, you can square up the scope to it. You might have to rotate both a little to do it. I've been using mine since the mid '70,s.



    So are you saying that once the vertical lines of the collimator and the scope are adjusted so that they line up, the scope is square to the action of the rifle.?.? I'm having some difficulty grasping this...it almost seems to me as if you could twist both of them 5 degrees to the right and they'd still line up.?.?
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  • He Dog
    The collimator on a spud rotates around the bore, but does not really lean, thus the scope mounted parallel to the bore can rotate in the rings, but cannot revolve around the bore as the collimator can. Still, you can line them up perfectly and still have the scope canted a tiny bit, that is why I use a leveler as well as a magnetic collimator.
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