Achieving Levelness

J

JeffKr

Guest
What's the standard method for making sure you are level in your typical benchrest airgun competition? Is it done by eye? Are there any scopes with integrated levels?
It looks like there are rules in the UKBR22 aimed at preventing you from achieving level via the mating of your stock with your rear rest/bench, but then you are allowed to use a bipod in some classes which would serve the same purpose no?

Thanks for the clarification.
 
JeffKr said:
What's the standard method for making sure you are level in your typical benchrest airgun competition? Is it done by eye? Are there any scopes with integrated levels?
It looks like there are rules in the UKBR22 aimed at preventing you from achieving level via the mating of your stock with your rear rest/bench, but then you are allowed to use a bipod in some classes which would serve the same purpose no?

Thanks for the clarification.
Click to expand...

Hi,

Not 100% sure what you mean - are you talking of keeping the rifle level in the horizontal?

If so, these types of level can be used, we have no rules against them: http://www.brownells.com/items/rifle-scope-level.aspx

Brian
 
Most of us level our front rest. If your scope is installed correctly, that should keep your rifle level.
Hope this helps,
Todd
 
If you use a level when you post your target so that the target is level and IF, and that's a big if, your scope is perfectly centered and squarely mounted it's easy to see if the rifle is level. If you use a level on the front rest you have to remember that the sand in the bags can shift a bit so it won't keep your rifle level if you manhandle it during loading.

Dennis
 
Brian, yep I meant with the horizontal, thanks for the link those would certainly work regardless of the rest.

My OCD brain definitely prefers using a level target (careful some targets are printed crooked!) matched to my reticle lines like Dennis mentioned, but that's not as useful with a UKBR22 target that only has concentric circles. I guess eyeballing parallel with the outline box suffices. The idea of using a level on a level on a sandbag just makes me cringe but if you guys are shooting X's with it I won't argue :)
 
I must admit I don’t use levels now and adopt the method Dennis has highlighted above. I put the horizontal crosshair exactly at the bottom of the black ring on target one, then look along the row to target five (or as far as I can see) and make sure it’s in the same place on that target. If not, I’ll adjust the rest to suit. That way, even if the target is not quite level, your front rest is aligned with it. Works for me.

Brian
 
I do parts of or all of the above to be honest. In many BIG competitions you dont get to put your target up so u can only hope the boards are marked correctly and square for the targets to be put up by officials. I also do the eye test, and level test on the front rest but in saying that sometime you have to raise the rear bag to a certain level to get on the target depending on the range and your set up which gives you a downward facing rifle set up.

I close by saying i have not found a rifle to shoot better or worse if everything is perfectly level or not as the rifle will still be moving the same way each shot, but in my own mind i feel better if everything is as level as possible.
 
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Pete Wass said:
I have always wondered about what might be gained by leveling a round dot and round rings.
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Didn't seem to worry Dan Brown at the last World Championships :D

DanBrown.jpg


Brian
 
When you get sighter shots and you're shooting at a set distance you could hold your rifle sideways and as long as you were at the same angle each time it wouldn't matter. It's still good practice to achieve level for cases when you have no sighters and you're using your scope to adjust for drop.
 
Square Targets

DSCN0348.jpg
JeffKr said:
When you get sighter shots and you're shooting at a set distance you could hold your rifle sideways and as long as you were at the same angle each time it wouldn't matter. It's still good practice to achieve level for cases when you have no sighters and you're using your scope to adjust for drop.
Click to expand...

If all the targets were square it would still be a challenge because Airguns just don't shoot in the same place every time {AND THAT IS WHY ITS SO MUCH FUN].:mad:
 
Brian_K said:
Didn't seem to worry Dan Brown at the last World Championships :D

DanBrown.jpg


Brian
Click to expand...

Brian

Dont forget the EV2 has a pull out level on its left side so Dan maybe of using his but cant see it from this picture.

Is not the purpose of keeping everything level to reduce 'cant' and so if you are angling the rest/rifle to marry up with an imperfectly postioned comp card, are you not opening up to the possibility of cant.

For me I need to have the rifle level. When I set up a scope I use a plumb line to marry up with the vertical cross hair and then put a bubble on the action, and get it all in line.

I have just taken delivery of one of those Brownell offset levels today. Very good bits of kit.

Tony
 
Yes I use the level on my ev2, with bags and now with the neo rest.
Dan


Tone said:
Brian

Dont forget the EV2 has a pull out level on its left side so Dan maybe of using his but cant see it from this picture.

Is not the purpose of keeping everything level to reduce 'cant' and so if you are angling the rest/rifle to marry up with an imperfectly postioned comp card, are you not opening up to the possibility of cant.

For me I need to have the rifle level. When I set up a scope I use a plumb line to marry up with the vertical cross hair and then put a bubble on the action, and get it all in line.

I have just taken delivery of one of those Brownell offset levels today. Very good bits of kit.

Tony
Click to expand...
 
Tone said:
Is not the purpose of keeping everything level to reduce 'cant' and so if you are angling the rest/rifle to marry up with an imperfectly postioned comp card, are you not opening up to the possibility of cant.
Click to expand...


Tony,

As JeffKr said above, cant is only a problem if you change distance. At the distances we shoot at and once zeroed for that distance, it makes no difference at all (within reason).

Now I use a joystick rest, levelling up with the target is of lesser importance other than to bring peace to the shooters mind.

Levelling the scope up in line with the target (rather than a bubble level) when using the windage rests can be a time saver (you don’t need to use the vertical adjustment as much). Other than that, I see little benefit.

Brian
 
Not that is does me much good!

We have strings with a metal washer attached to the top of the target frames. PLUM Bob I think? The target aligned with one of the vertical lines and the string and is perfect level. The the cross hairs are alined with the string or any of the vertical lines. Some targets out of page printers do not print square with the target edges and the sting alignment corrects that. Assuming the scope is mounted properly then a click of elevation should get you what you expect with no horizontal.

With that done I need to do a better job of reading the wind. Our tree lined range makes that difficult.

Credit for this idea goes to our resident engineer who is going out of the country for a couple of years. We will miss Scott Bailey. Scott almost single handed poured the concrete tops and transported them to the range and did most of the work on the cinder blocks. The Holbrook club will be a place for him to shoot when he returns. I think he said it was thirty miles or so from his home.

Bob Zimmerman
 
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