Overcoming Elevation Adjustment Limitations: A Guide to Elevation Adjustable Scope Rings

For some small calibre ammunition like .22 LR, many scopes can’t be adjusted to zero centre. This is especially true when using high magnification scopes with less adjustment range. What can we do? And how can we avoid this situation?

Most of these bullets drop quickly after 50 metres, and the scope’s elevation adjustment can’t reach that far. If you want to shoot at long distances. You will therefore need a pair of elevation-adjustable scope rings.

As shown in Picture 1, it has screws on the side that allow the height to be adjusted. There are currently adjustable scope mounts on the market with maximum adjustment values of 20 MOA, 30 MOA and even 40 MOA as an option. The following adjustable rings have a large upward range that can be used on the scope with a 56mm objective lens.

what are elevation adjustable scope rings

When we say long range shooting, we refer to the distance more than 500 yards, but for some ammunition like .17HMR, .22LR there is a significant bullet drop happened only 60 yards. So to solve the lack of elevation adjustment is actually to compensate for the bullet drop.

As picture 2 shows, the degree of bullet drop varies from ammunition to ammunition. Adjustable mounts are more suitable and widely used for airgun and ammunition with more significant ballistic drop like .17HMR, .22LR.

How do I mount the adjustable scope ring?

A quick answer: Set the rear mount② higher than the front mount① and the scope will be tilted forward a little.

How do these MOA adjustable scope rings work?

For example: a scope with a total of 60 MOA elevation adjustment range, on a 0 MOA rail, you would have to adjust 30 MOA down at the most, which may not be enough for long range targets (there may also be insufficient adjustment for toy guns calibrated for ultra close range). With a 20 MOA rail, however, the downward adjustment of the scope is 50 MOA, which means that you now have 10 MOA of upward adjustment and 50 MOA of downward adjustment out of a total of 60 MOA of elevation adjustment, so that you can align the scope at longer distances.

Picture 4 shows how the adjustable scope ring works.

What’s the difference between a 20 MOA scope rings and standard scope rings?

The numbers “0” and “20” represent the slope of the base of your mount. With a 0 MOA mount, there is no slope to the base and it is level with the barrel, whereas with a 20 MOA mount, the base has a slight slope and when the scope is mounted on the mount, the base of the mount is higher at the rear and the front of the mount is lower, forming an angle with the barrel. This solves the problem of insufficient scope elevation adjustment for medium to long range shooting and increases the scope adjustment range.

What’s the difference between a fixed angled scope ring and an adjustable mount?

Both fix angled scope ring and adjustable ring can compensate for bullet drop. Compared to adjustable rings, fix angled scope rings is firmer and more stable. Also, they are generally more accurate, especially in situations where recoil is a concern. While adjustable mounts are more flexible, however, they may not be suitable for precision shooting.