Straight shooter ain't so straight

[Artist]

How straight is that ruler?

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by Artist

How straight is that ruler?

The ruler is NOT the problem.

It always surprises me how much stuff can be out of alignment. I mounted a Zeiss 6.5x20x50 scope with exposed target turrets on a 25 MOA DIP rail on a Anschutz 1710 HB classic. Did a quick look through the bore, bore sight, was within a half inch of POA at 25 yards on the first shot. Made the adjustments. Spot on, proceeded to do ammo testing as this is a new rifle I am working on.

When I got to moving the Turret dials on the scope to get the zero aligned to the witness marks, I realised I only had 4 minutes of right windage adjustment left. I have never seen an Anschutz where the dovetail or the tapped screw mounts aren't PERFECTLY aligned and this one was too so I assumed the rail was out a bit. Took the rings off and put on a set of Burris Signature Zees intending to use the plastic offset inserts to correct the windage. Mounted it with the zero offset inserts to check and see what insert I would need to use. Much to my surprise, scope is now just about perfectly centred on the windage adjustments after bore sighting with the laser at 15 yards.

So long story short, the rings were the issue, even though I can't see it visually. Issue is, 20 MOA is not a lot, it is about .020, so quite hard to see 2/100s of an inch outage on the rings. Rifles and the gear that we use on them has to be made to very precise tolerances or stuff isn't going to work right.

[markg]

Originally Posted by Dmay

I think this may be an over-reaction.
It is my bet that there are many Savage actions out there in the same shape, just have never been scrutinized as closely as OP did.

I forget that not everyone needs a 1l2 moad gun. Sometimes minute of moose is good enough and if this is the case then you are absolutely correct and I have over reacted.

[eric2381]

I’d use two piece bases and Burris rings with inserts. I use those on pretty much all my rifles though, because they’re so good. But this is definitely an instance they’d shine

[Vingiu]

Originally Posted by Dmay

I think this may be an over-reaction.
It is my bet that there are many Savage actions out there in the same shape, just have never been scrutinized as closely as OP did.

I was hoping someone might suggest this lol. I know savage actions are a touch crude, and thus likely fall into the hands of folks who might not worry about finishing quality as much as other shooters

Could be a pretty common thing, for all I know! But it seems fixable to me, with some of the good ideas I’ve found here

[Vingiu]

Originally Posted by Artist

How straight is that ruler?

lol fair question, I definitely did check it against my other rulers to be sure. These are my woodworking tools, not machinist accurate but they’re accurate enough for me

[Vingiu]

Originally Posted by eric2381

I’d use two piece bases and Burris rings with inserts. I use those on pretty much all my rifles though, because they’re so good. But this is definitely an instance they’d shine

I’m going to try lapping the Talleys I ordered but this also looks like a good option, if all else fails. I’ve never handled a pair but they do appear to have good reviews

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by Vingiu

I was hoping someone might suggest this lol. I know savage actions are a touch crude, and thus likely fall into the hands of folks who might not worry about finishing quality as much as other shooters

Could be a pretty common thing, for all I know! But it seems fixable to me, with some of the good ideas I’ve found here

No, this is not common for Savage. Have owned lots, none had this issue. As far as two piece bases and Burris rings, I really like Burris Signature rings with the inserts but they aren't going to fix the issue you have with this action. Your bases are going to be off square and the inserts will not correct the fact they are low or bowed. You also cannot lap the rings enough to fix this, all you will do is ruin a good set of Talleys. If you try too, they will not hold the scope properly, you will take off so much material they will be too loose to grip the scope. You need to fix it so the bases are level before mounting the scope. Like I and others have said earlier, file the bend out or at least epoxy it back to level.

[elkhunter11]

The action is a piece of straight bar, so place your ruler across the bottom, and if the gap is on the ends, the action has been bent, not machined poorly.