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Shimming Mounts/Scopes


Dekers
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Help me out here.

Personally, I have never needed to shim any scope/mount on any rifle I have ever owned.

The way I see it, if the rifle/mounts/scope are all working correctly, there should never be a need to shim anything.

Now, if you are shooting incredibly close (unlikely) or incredibly distant (out of range of all normal adjustments) then shims may be required, but it's a terrible option in my view, change equipment to deal with the problem instead.

Can someone please tell me what I've missed as there seem to be those about who find the need to shim regularly.

:good:

Edited by Dekers
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I have found that some of the longer scopes sometimes need shimming to get the correct elevation adjustment on some centre fire rifles. (do't ask me why. I don't know why but they sometimes do)

For this I use and have always used film negative. 

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Shimming scopes works and is commonly done, especially with lower level air rifle/rimfire kit - that doesn't mean to say it's right. It's not something that would be considered as acceptable practice by a serious long range centrefire shooter with middle to decent kit. If you need more elevation than the internal adjustment of your scope, even when correctly set up, then you need an inclined rail.

I had a Howa 1500 a while ago where the receiver was drilled off centre, the only practical solution to optically centre the scope was to use Burris rings with offset inserts, solved the problem and also adjusted to give another 10moa of elevation for longer ranges, this is what they are designed for.

You can use a hammer on a quality wood handled chisel or an adjustable spanner on an Aston Martin, both work - after a fashion.

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Only done it on 2 centre fires and they where both pre ww2 Mausers action that had been remade into sporting rifles the bridges didn’t quite meet modern base highs.   One the owner didn’t want to spend the extra on a custom base being made the other was my fathers rifle I didn’t have time at the that moment to do it properly it now wears custom made claw mounts.  

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If you google ‘adjustable weaver mounts’ you will find numerous scope mounts with varying levels of adjustment, never needed them but they are out there. I happened to see them whilst looking for an adjustable riser with X-Y movement that doesn’t exist!

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16 hours ago, Whitester said:

I've shimmed a couple of rifles and all have held zero and none have damaged the scope. I still use some of these scopes and they are years old.

 

has anyone got personal experience that it damages scopes or ******* your zero?

Yes possibly got the scope somewhere still damaged the tube 

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Over the years I have seen many a damage on tubes, you can always see it as it leaves the ring mark on the tube from the front edge of the ring base

 

Had a photon RT that ran out of elevation, spoke to importers and said I wouldnt bodge the rings and take part in this shimming trend that seams to be happening. They said glad I did not shim as it will void warranties and putting a bend in the scope tube. 

 

If you have to shim then there is something wrong. It might be a common thing but it's a bodge to get around a manufacturing fault, normally a Chinese one, I don't do bodge.

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15 minutes ago, activeviii said:

Over the years I have seen many a damage on tubes, you can always see it as it leaves the ring mark on the tube from the front edge of the ring base

 

Had a photon RT that ran out of elevation, spoke to importers and said I wouldnt bodge the rings and take part in this shimming trend that seams to be happening. They said glad I did not shim as it will void warranties and putting a bend in the scope tube. 

 

Just wondering what you did to sort out the elevation issue with the photon as this sounds like the same issue I had? I am using the Yukon sw30 extended rifle mount to get the eye relief, rifle is a tikka t3x.

Scope was on a CZ before but the elevation was just there on that rifle.

Mick

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7 minutes ago, powler said:

Just wondering what you did to sort out the elevation issue with the photon as this sounds like the same issue I had? I am using the Yukon sw30 extended rifle mount to get the eye relief, rifle is a tikka t3x.

Scope was on a CZ before but the elevation was just there on that rifle.

Mick

Sent it back.

Just because there was very little stock in the RT, I was not keeping something that was not good just because it was new and no one else had. If it don't work, it goes back. They need to sort out their problem not let the public bodge.

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19 minutes ago, activeviii said:

Sent it back.

Just because there was very little stock in the RT, I was not keeping something that was not good just because it was new and no one else had. If it don't work, it goes back. They need to sort out their problem not let the public bodge.

I agree it is a bad design, so many are having the same issue. Yukon should of made the mount adjustable.

Mick

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"The way I see it, if the rifle/mounts/scope are all working correctly, there should never be a need to shim anything."

Ok, lets define that slightly tighter, some photons and night vision appear designed to only work the length of your back garden, and I know for a fact some scopes simply don't have the elevation for VERY long distance (a Bushnell LONG range scope I bought some years ago went straight back when I found the best elevation I could get was still about a metre low at 600 yards on a .243), then there are apparently some really cheap scopes about, with next to no adjustment (they must be REALLY cheap, I have experienced/owned some very cheap scopes over the years and never had a problem).

The picture posted by 1066 clearly shows there is more than potential for damage by shimming, I have a scope damaged in this way to (no - I didn't do it).

But the question has really been answered........ The way I see it, if the rifle/mounts/scope are all working correctly (take that widely), there should never be a need to shim anything."

:good:

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Buy really cheap scopes I disagree I’ve a S&B and Ziess with no horizontal movement and a S&B with no adjustment at all on a David Lloyd set up.  The no horizontal adjustment scopes need the right adjustable claw mounts and it’s sorted.   

All rifle set ups need to be a complete kit the mounts must not be overlooked or under estimated it must all work together 

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