I recently purchased a RB hunter and mounted a bushnell 2x6 scope on it. I took it to the range and could only adjust the scoope enough to group an inch low and half an inch left at 25 yards. The scope is maxed out on its horizontal and vertical turrets. I know when I take it out to 50 or 100 yards the group will move a lot more to the left. I tried lapping the rings but it did not work. I know many people shoot this gun and I am sure somepeople in this forum are handy gunsmiths so any input on this issue would be appreciated.

hunter model with FACTORY ruger scope rings?....and mounted correctly/solid? definately not a gunsmith here, but that clarification may help someone.
what kind of load/velocity?

Welcome to the forum!!!

Sounds like a great rig! I bet if you posted a picture it might help a lot...

Duane

yes, they are factory rings and they are secure. I will work on posting a picture.

I would suggest placing the gun in a vise and turn the scope adjustment screws to make sure that the crosshairs are in fact moving. I had a similar issue with a B&L 2X once upon a time. Hope you get it figured out!

Welcome to the foru GG!
I've never known anyone to have that problem with that gunh & factory rings.That said, any machined piece can get messed up in manafacture. Do you have another scope available that you can try? I would guess the issue is going to be with the scope, but it's just a guess.
One last stupid question, but bear with me because it's a more common mistake than some folks think. Is the scope oriented properly in rotation? By that I mean is the elevation turret on the top? I have seen more than one person mount their scope out of rotation with the elevation turret on the side & windage turret on the top & end up with issues getting it -0-ed. Surely don't mean to insult you but I have no idea of your level of experience.

I was gonna suggest swapping the scope rings front to back. This might help isolate a concentricity issue with the inner surface of the ring v. base clamp of ring. If this test pushes the groups high and right it could indicate a machining issue with the ring portion. I think this makes sense. And I would certainly examine the contact points of the ring base for any machining irregularities.

Craig

Well said, Vance; I have experienced the same situation just recently with a friend and his new 30/30 Contender and B&L Elite 3200 scope. I re-mounted the scope correctly and it zeroed right in.

WELCOME TO HANDGUN HUNTER MAGAZINE, GG!

They also make an adjustable scope mount for air rifles(spring piston) which might work on a pistol.Spring piston air rifles barrels are slanted down and theres not any more adjusting from a scope so thats why they make these type of mounts,just a thought.

I think I may have solved my issue.

I found a ring from one of my other rugers and mounted it on the rear. That seemed to correct the vertical alignment. It may have been a bad ring.

As far as the horizontal problem. I looked at the front ring and I could see that the small center post on the ring was holding the front of the ring elevated where the rear part of the same ring was flush on the gunrail. This would hold the front ring high and not allow the scope to sit flush. I filed down the post until it just barely catches in the hole. This allowed the ring to sit flush on the rail. The scope sits nice on the rings.

I took it to the range and I shot it at 20 yards (small range). I was able to group the shots zero on the vertical plain with plenty of adj room. I grouped 1.5 to 2 inched high. The scope is still maxed high but as long as the impact doesnt drop to much at 75 I would be satisfied.

This may have been confusing but what do some of u guys think about the work. Is filing that ring going to damage anything?

Do you think I will be able to shoot it at 75 to 100yds?

I have an extra set of High blue rings and a set from a SRH that you may be able to use one of??

Let me know

Thanks, something that may help me out is if someone with a Ruger hunter could post a pic of the scope rail from the top view of the gun. I have a feeling the groves in the gun may be machined improperly but I cannot find a good pic of this area.

I ended up sending the gun back to Ruger. I called them and it turns out its likely the ring grooves are not machined properly. So instead of trying to find a gun smith, Ruger said they would pay to get it sent back try to machine it properly.

That is nice.

I really like Ruger!!!

Hi GG,

I just happened on this post. I have the same setup - a SB Hunter with Ruger factory rings and a Bushnell Elite 3200 2-6x32. I have the "high" rings. I laser-bore sighted it in first, and then followed through 25, 50, 75, 100yds. All worked well.

I had to return the gun when the bushing surrounding the firing pin became recessed. They repaired it and I put the scope back on. Then I had a problem. But I found that I had not seated the locking lugs properly in the mounting cuts on the Hunter model. It took me a while to figure it out, because the mount looked and felt as secure as it did the first time around. But when I disassembled and then reassembled it I found that the lugs hadn't been seated correctly and actually had a slight cant to the scope.

Let us know if the problem is solved when you get the gun back. Good luck.