Sorry if this is an elementary question but I am relatively new to target shooting and am still learning. I am ex military so I understand the principles of elevation and windage.

Now to my question. I have a Winchester Model 70 Springfield .30-06 with a B&L Balvar 8A scope mounted. The E&W adjustment on on the mount and I'm looking for some guidance as to the value of the tick marks on the scope mount. I'm trying to understand these values before I return to the range to control the number of shots I need to make trying to get a zero. Also, for this rifle, what would be a good zero distance for taking shots in the 200 to 300 yrd. range?

Thank you all, in advance, for the help. In the future I'll try to come in with more intelligent questions.

Not sure what the graduations on the scope mount indicate, but a simple way to sight in your rifle is to put a target 25 yds from the muzzle. Remove the bolt, block/wedge the rifle to be immoble, then adjust until the target is centered in the bore. Next, without disturbing the bore sighting, adjust the scope reticle until it too, is centered on the target. Make sure the rifle isn't moved during the sighting and both bore and scope stay centered.

Fire off a round. Again, bore sight to target center, then move the reticle to match the shot placement on the target. If done without disturbing the bore sight, the next shot should be dead center. If not, repeat the process until both bore sight/scope reticle/shot placement all align in the target center.

Move out to 100 yds with the target. If you are shooting 150 - 165 gr bullets, you should be somewhere at 12 o'clock high to the target center. If you adjust your POI (Point of Impact) to be 2" - 2 1/2" high at 100 yds, you'll hit within a 4" circle at both 200 yds and 300 yds. If those ranges exist for target placement, they should be shot for verification.

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Though old technology those scopes and mounts are very good equipment. The mounts and rings are selling at gun shows for between fifty and a hundred bucks by themselves in this part of the country.

kdub gave you good info on setting up the scope. I don't know what the adjustments are as far as distance at a hundred yards, but most of these are set up and left alone and not moved up and down as you would modern internal scope adjustments.

In other words say once sighted in for say three inches high at a hundred yards and shot at other ranges to verify where there hitting they are basically left alone.

Lots of folks now use range charts with the gun sighted in at a hundred yards then use so many clicks to go for each extended range. The B&L adjustable bases really don't work well for this system as the cones do not give precisely repeatable results.

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Bob from Idaho

I dug out my copy of the "Facts about Telescopic Sights", 8th Ed, 1965 by Bausch and Lomb. According to them:

"Each of the two screws controlling adjustment is accurately calibrated, 1-min. (1-inch per 100 yards) per line. These are not "clicks" - so that the adjustment can be made in any fineness desired. Each adjusting screw is provided with a lock screw on the opposite side of the mount."

So, it looks like the line divisions are 1-minute.

Now, this would apply to the mounts that B&L made themselves. There were/are other adjustable mounts out there. The guns I have with B&L scopes all have Buehler adjustable mounts, which look more like your standard Redfield mount with windage and elevation adjusted at the rear base, and are 1-piece.

The B&L mounts are 2-piece and the scope sits in "V" blocks. Kuharsky (sp.) Brothers made similar mounts, but I believe they are 1-piece.

Just wanted to chime in with some of the trivial info that I am aware of.

Dan

These folks gave you solid advice. Take care...
Oberndorf

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