Help zeroing my 10 22 rifle

Hi

I mounted a Simmons scope on my 10 22 and took it to my near by indoor range to zero. At 25 yards my shots were down and left and it seemed to me that the windage and height controls did not give me enough adjustment to move my patterns up and to the right to zero the target. I spent an hour and could not get it. I'm a total beginner, never zero'd a rifle by myself. I was not prone and the shooting position was not the best but I'm wondering if My mount is that far off? Does that happen?

I modified my ruger by swapping in a tapco stock, added a low profile utg mount and accushot profile rings

I'm going to go back to the range next week and give it a shot but any guidance would be greatly appreciated. I want to get the rifle zero'd before I go do appleseed in April

Thanks

Have it bore sighted, then dial it in from there.

Probably something wrong with the scope. Simmons is a mid to low end company. Was the scope new, and what model is it?

First off, how well do you shoot it with iron sights?

Get rid of the UTG mount. I've been rocking a low end Simmons 3-9 scope on my 10/22 with weaver rings on it for damn near 8 years and it works well once you get past the 100yd parallax when you're shooting it closer.
Also, if you're not prone or using a bench and some sort of rest you won't get a good zero. The 10/22 bolt slams back in to a metal pin which makes things a bit wonky. Drop in a bolt buffer from VQ or the like and that will help, some.
If you swap the mounts and bore sight it and are still having problems pick up a BSA Sweet .22 scope for 50 bucks from amazon. They're nice little scopes (this and the sweet .17 are the only good things I've had from BSA).
Spend more than you're comfortable with on the mounts and you won't regret it.
Also, how are you holding the gun?
If your 10/22 has the barrel band and you have a sling on it and are pulling tight I've seen that cause issues.

Scope new, don't consider myself a good shot have been schooled on the basics. That is why I want to go to Appleseed. Will check out my mounting install

Also forgot to ask what ammo you are using. My 10/22s feed RGBs w/o a problem but I always zero with CCI mini mags as those are what I hunt squirrels and such with. Not outrageously expensive but they are consistent shooters.
Oh, and did you locktight your mount?

Not to impugn the rimfire firearms expertise here on M4C, but the guys over on RimfireCentral live and breathe this kind of stuff - scopes on the 10-22. It's a busy forum, roughly twice the size of M4C (membership and post-wise).

Just sayin'...

yes..using mini-mags...and thanks I'll check out that forum..I came here first because I also have a AR..thanks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hmac

Not to impugn the rimfire firearms expertise here on M4C, but the guys over on RimfireCentral live and breathe this kind of stuff - scopes on the 10-22. It's a busy forum, roughly twice the size of M4C (membership and post-wise).

Just sayin'...

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I can vouch for them. I've been a member over there for about 5 years. First went there when I took a 10/22 action apart and couldn't get it back together.
Now I'm too damn picky about my 22s...

Use the rings that came with the simmons scope or just some descent rings. The ones that come with the scope are the tip-off style, but are absolutely ok for a .22 rifle. The ruger factory mount accepts these as well. The UTG stuff is typically sub-par and I would advise you to avoid.

As far as zeroing the scope, first make sure that you have assembled everything torqing evenly and all the serews are blue loc-tited and have had time to dry.
The easiest way I have found to acquire a base zero is to use a large enough target with a bullseye. Secure the gun to the bench and set your cross hairs on the bull. Fire one shot and set the cross hairs back on the bull. With the gun secured, dial your crosshairs to the hole you just shot. Repeat to confirm, and then you can begin your fine tuning by shooting groups and really dialing her in.

If you are looking for some decent basic instruction you might want to check out a apple seed shoot.

I just yesterday sighted in a couple of 10-22 builds I finished recently. I was very pleased with their performance, but getting them on paper was difficult. First shots from 50 yards were nowhere to be found, so I moved up to 10 yards. I shot from sandbags on a portable collapsible bench. These turned out to be very accurate rifles.

http://SSEquine.net/ruger1022mod2sannotated.jpg

http://SSEquine.net/ruger1022mod3sannotated.jpg

I've got an el-cheapo Simmons on my 10/22 w/ a DNZ mount (cost more than the scope) and have had real good luck with that setup. I've heard that sometimes the receiver can have a 'hump' between the mounting screws causing the base to be canted. Anyway, if it were me I'd start by checking the base and rings.

not to promote nikon or anything. but they have some awesome deals on their rimfire scopes right now. the have their paralax set for 50 yards on these scopes; perfect for rimfire. I have a straight 4 power nikon prostaff on a new 10/22 takedown; works superbly.