If you are new in shooting, you most probably overlook the ring height when fitting a scope to a rifle which further makes the shooting experience horrible.
You can either fit your scope with rings that are too high, then you will not have a good cheek bond. That will affect your accuracy negatively.
If you try to fit rings that are too low, and there are chances that your scope can touch the barrel of your rifle before it rests on the front scope ring.
You must have a proper ring height somewhere in between these two extremes to make sure you get the most comfortable fit and accurate target shooting experience.
3 Steps to Measure Scope Ring Height
#1. Install Scope Mount
The first step is to install the scope mount on your rifle. While installing your scope mount, first degrease all the male and female threads thoroughly.
Now, carefully twist each thread adapter to recommended spec using a Torque Wrench. Always prefer a Torque Wrench that comes with a Calibration Certificate for its high accuracy.
Use a removable threadlocker fluid on each male thread screw to eliminate your scope mount coming loose and also protect the threads from rust or corrosion.
#2. Adjust the Stack Height
You can now create two equal stacks on top of the scope mount where you require your rings using washers, spacers or shims.
You can now check the stacks height by placing your scope on top of the stacks.
Adjust the height of the stacks by adding or removing shims to make sure that you get enough height for scope covers and to clear operation of the bolt, if you have a bolt action rifle.
Also read – Best Scope For Air Rifle Target Shooting UK
#3. Measure the Saddle Height
Saddle height is the height from the top of the scope rail/mount to the bottom of the scope tube. You can better understand with the illustration below –
The rings are measured by the “A” height, while your saddle height is labeled as “B”.
Never go with vague terms like low, medium, or high for saddle height. Mostly companies mention ring heights by using saddle heights. You can measure by adding the below numbers in your “B” height with respect to tube size.
- Add .5″ for a 1″ scope tube
- Add .59055″ for a 30mm scope tube
- Add .66929″ for a 34mm scope tube
- Add .688975″ for a 35mm scope tube
In contrast, you can also deduct those numbers from the “A” height of the scope rings, that would also give you the “B” saddle height.
You can either use dial calipers for measuring the height or you can use a penny which is .0593” thick on an average.
Check out – Best Air Rifle Scope For Night Shooting
Final Thoughts
Once you have measured the height, it’s time to purchase the proper scope rings, install them and mount your scope.
If you follow the above instructions carefully to measure the scope ring height, you can easily install the scope rings for your rifle scopes with accurate height as per your requirements.