imported post
There is an outdoor range on Ebey Island, off Homeacres Road. Exit off the Hwy 2 Trestle just east of Everett. Range fee is $15.00. Eyes and Ears required. They are open to the public Fri-Sun, noon to 4pm.
If you are going to mount everything just take your time. Clean the receiver and bases then put a light coat of oil on each surface to help prevent rust. Screw them down using a small drop of blue loctite on the threads. When the screws touch down lightly tap each base forward a tad then torque down the screws. Don't over-tighten. If there are any sharp edges on the rings that can contact the scope then sand them down with a fine grit paper. Clean the rings so they are free of any grit or boogers left behind. Mount the bottom rings and check the alignment - the scope body should be snug in the bottom rings but able to slide forward and back without any binding. The best way to be sure is to use 1" or 30mm bar stock to adjust an off axis ring. Never use the scope body for that. When alignment is good mount scope and top rings. Lightly snug the screws, again with a small dab of loctite, but leave them loose enough to move the scope. Place the scope on high power and shoulder the rifle. Move the scope so the exit pupil is just right for you using a natural hold. Next, without moving the scope forward or back rotate the scope so the reticle appears to be aligned. Snug the ring screws a bit more to help prevent scope movement from an accidental bump. Check reticle alignment by placing the rifle on beanbags or something and looking at the reticle from behind the rifle. It might help to use a low scope power setting for this. A little practice and you can get it pretty close. Once aligned tighten down the screws, applying a little more torque on each screw - alternating until they are good and tight. It helps to have the right tools that are in good condition. Now you can do a rough sight in inside the house. Measure the scope height above the bore (you need to know this anyway). Do a best guess on distance between center of scope tube and center of chamber (or firing pin hole in the bolt). Write this down for future reference. Now make a small target with a couple of X's, with those X's marked at the same distance. Put it on a wall where you can see both X's - one down the bore of the rifle and the other in your scope. Hopefully you are aligned with the target with your scope knobs at the center of their adjustment range. Adjust the scope knobs until dead center X.
aka Wiley E. Coyote Scope mounting - ver 0.1
Next, check the ballistics for the cartridge you are shooting. Here's a pretty damn good ballistic calculator:
http://www.mega.nu/traj.html
The three most important things to know are scope height, muzzle velocity, and the ballistic coefficient of the bullet. Select a 200 yd zero range and print the chart out, or just write down the relevant distances and drops. At the range it would be a really good idea to first shoot at 25 yards. It might be a good idea to do a 2nd check at 50 yds. A .308 shooting a 168gr zeroed at 200 yds will hit just a hair low at 25yds, about 1" high at 50 yds, and about 2" high at 100 yds. You should be in the same ballpark but it really depends on the cartridge you're using.
