What Is Scope Ring Height And How To Measuring Scope Ring

Before ordering a scope ring for your rifle, you might probably take quite a lot of time to pick out the best scope for yourself. Anyway, this seems not to be an easy task to do. So, what is scope ring height and how to measuring scope ring?

Don’t worry; here we would like to give you the clearest and straight-to-the-point explanation ever. Keep scrolling through our article and find the answer to your question.

What Is The Scope Ring Height?

In the technical definition, scope ring height is the length between the center of the scope and the thickest area out of the scope tube. Normally, the diameter of a scope ring is almost similar to that of the objective lens.

When fitting the scope into the rifle, make sure that you have adjusted the proper ring height. If the ring height is exceedingly high, you could not have an obvious view towards your target. On the other hand, if the ring height is too low, it may, unfortunately, be placed in the barrel of the weapon in a direct way. 

Why Is Scope Height Important?

To see the true importance of the scope height, let’s take a look at the trajectory that a hunting shot will take. As far as our knowledge goes, besides the refraction, light advances straight linearly. To put it simply, when we view whatever object through the scope, it is always a straight line which we call “a line of sight”. No matter the object is the thermal scope or the long-range, the “the line of sight” theorem still remains accurate. 

Unfortunately, a principal named Coriolis strongly opposes the perception above. They said that the bullet is subject to natural weather and travels in a loop. A clear explanation for this knowledge is that gravity has made this. Gravity here acts as the main force that constantly makes the bullet drop. Moreover, the barrel tends to point up slightly to make sure the bullet could intercept the sight offset or the vision line of the scope.

At first, the bullet will cross the zero height roughly 50 yards, which is called “ the secondary zero”. Again, the bullet intercepts the zero at 175 yards named as “ Primary zero”. Other terms we should know are the “Kill zone” or the “ Kill Window”, which is 4 inches in height. When you already got the high accuracy result, just aim and pull the trigger – the point-blank range. 

How To Measure The Scope Ring?

Shep’s Method

When determining the proper scope ring height for your rifle, the first method that comes to your mind must be Shep’s method. This technique is so easy to follow but still guarantees you unbelievable results. Here is the step-by-step guidance you should have a look through.

Step 1: Install The Scope Mount On Your Rifle

Locating the scoping mount on the rifle is the very first step you need to do. This approach is simple, but it takes you time to read through the instructions of the manufacturers as carefully as possible to reduce unwanted mistakes.

Before installing the scope mount, degrease all male and females threads cautiously. Make sure that there are no threads left. Then, by using a high-quality Torque Wrench that is graduated in Inch lbs, torque each screw to the suggested spec. 

We highly recommend you use the Vortex Optics Torque wrench as it is super accurate and has a Calibration Certificate as well. Moreover, some Blue Loctite 242 will be perfect to use on every male thread. This works best in eliminating the chance of your scope mount getting loose. 

Step 2: Create Two Stacks At The Head Of The Scope Mount

To make these two equal stacks, a small tip for you is to use the washers, coins, or shims. Put them closely near to where the rings would be. Then, you should place the scope on the top of the stacks to check the stacks’ height. 

You always have to make sure that you have kept enough height for the scope covers and cleared the bolt operation as well. To do that, you could add or remove the spacers carefully to adjust the height of the stacks. 

Step 3: Measure The Spacer Stack’s Height

Dial calipers will be a perfect choice to calculate the proper height for your spacer stack. A Dial caliper could be a great investment for you, especially in case you work on the firearms by yourself. Also, this handy object could work well with a number of objects with high proficiency.

What if you don’t have a Dial caliper? In this situation,  you just regard the average penny as .0593”  thick. This is the most popular result that all spacer stacks have. Though there may be some inaccuracy, it causes no significant matter for you.

By measuring the spacer stack’s height, you could get the desired “saddle point”. It means that you have got the height of the distance from the top of the mount to the bottom of the scope tube. 

Chart Method

Another easy way you could do by yourself to measure the scope ring height is by searching on the ring height chart. Before directly jumping into this chart, we would like to show you two main scopes of ring sizes. Don’s skip it as it will help you a lot in reading the ring height chart!

#1. Base to ring center

This part is not complicated at all. Get yourself the base height and add the ring height. If the result is smaller than the attainable combination, the base height is greater than your scope height. It means that you are in business. Here you have found the ring as well as the base combination for you.

#2. Base to ring edge

When your manufacturers tend to measure from the base to the inner ring edge, you need to carry out some more calculations. 

Supposing that your scope tube is 1 inch, add 12.7 mm to the compound height of the base and ring. On the other hand, if your scope tube is 50mm, add 25mm to the compound height of the base and ring. This will help you ascertain whether it fits your scope height size or not. 

Ring Height Chart

Here is the ring height chart that you could look up the correct height for your scope ring.

Type	Height	Size
420210	1.00 in.	34mm
420211	1.50 in.	34mm
420212	1.00 in.	30mm
420213	1.25 in.	30mm
420214	1.50 in.	30mm
420215	1.00 in.	1 in.
420216	1.25 in.	1 in.
420217	1.50 in.	1 in.

Still Not Sure About Scope Ring Height?

To make assurance double sure, Westhunter Optics is a viable alternative you could have a try on. This machine has a special scope ring design that gives a range of adjustments for scopes in ¼” inch and tubes of  1” and 30mm. 

Moreover, the optics could be up to 75mm out of the objective. About the measuring result, you will get a solid permanent mounting solution for your rifle scope.

Conclusion

So what is scope ring height and how to measuring scope ring? Now we bet you have got your answer. Understanding the scope ring height properly and the measuring techniques will definitely help you have the best shooting journey. Let’s try one of the two methods by following our instructions above and enjoy the result!