Backfire store is selling the MDT LRA Send It level to mount on your Picatinny rail as a anti cant device. That is a great use for it but I also use it to level the rifle when mounting scopes. Once you get the rifle level you can use a bubble level on the elevation turret to level the scope.
I also use this device to level the rifle. I has a bubble level as well as a digital read out of how many degrees +or- you are out of plumb. Then with the bubble level plumb set a second bubble level on the elevation turret and compare the 2 bubble levels till scope is level.
Maybe an unpopular opinion, but getting your scope absolutely level with the rifle is a bit of a waste of time; just string up a plumb bob at your minimum parallax distance and get your scope’s reticle level with the level you put on your rifle and you’re good to go.
At some point the rifle needs to be straight up and down (or Level) then setup your plumb bob loosen your rings and line up the reticle with the plumb bob string. Then tighten your rings and torque. But what if the rifle is not level and is canted 20 degrees to the right. Then if you adjust the scope to the plumb bob you will always have to keep the rifle canted 20 degrees to the right. The plumb bob is a great way to check the tracking, but if you shoot from a tripod or bipod at some point you need to start with a level rifle.
First off, its not going to be 20 degrees off, its likely going to be at most 1-2 even with the worst eyeball estimate. Secondly, either you have a swivel that can account for uneven ground by canting (on tripods that’s going to be your ball head) or you’re not going to be level anyway.
Just pointing out that expensive specialized levels are unnecessary for the task of mounting an optic unless you do it all the time (at a gun shop for example). It’s an expensive enough hobby as is.
Yes the MDT LRA is very expensive. When I first discovered the MDT, it was a video on mounting scopes. However the digital I showed above is only $40.00. I believe Jim is using the MDT as a anti cant device on a rifle while shooting or hunting. I believe I have seen it on some of his videos. I am sure it works well for that. I don’t need that as I use Burris Veracity scopes on my hunting rifles. They have a heads up display in the scope and it has a digital anti cant level, so I really don’t have a use for it there. My two Pulsar Thermals a Thermion Duo DXP 50 and Pulsar Thermion 2 XP 50 Pro both have digital anti cant displays on the video screen.
But a 1 degree angle is 17.78 mils. So there is an issue there. WORMS Formula. Too familiar with it. 1 degree at 500 yards is over 8.5 meters off. Give or take, but an 8" howitzer has a good effective burst range of over 150 meters. So 1 or 2 degrees off is ok.
Interesting discussion. Since started buying rifles and scopes, I was not purchasing a specialized leveler. Till, not long ago, when I had one of my rifles scope mounted by my gunsmith. This time around however, I had a leveler (I believe a Vortex). The day I was dropping off the rifle, scope, rings, and the leveler at the store, the gunsmith was available as I went over with him what he was receiving from me, and once he saw the “leveler” he looked at me and asked if I was sure about mounting that? I told him I didn’t know, and proceeded to tell me that it was a waste of money and time once you are out in the field hunting, whether or not you were going to stop and adjust every time you were off balance, and his answer was no. So, that was my first and last rifle to have one. After all, he has been doing this longer than I have and especially I am paying him for his skills and “advice.”
I either put the rifle on a tripod or in a gun vice, and adjust the tripod or vice until the bubble shows the gun is level. This shows the gun is level from a cant perspective. You use a regular bubble level on the barrel or picatinny to level up and down. Now that the rifle is level put the scope on the rifle. Set a bubble level on top of the elevation turret and rotate the scope in the rings until the scope shows level. Then the rifle is level and the scope is level relative to the rifle.
