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Making a Homemade Anti-Cant Device
by Roy Seifert

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Disclaimer:  This article is for entertainment only and is not to be used in lieu of a qualified gunsmith.  Please defer all firearms work to a qualified gunsmith.  Any loads mentioned in this article are my loads for my guns and have been carefully worked up using established guidelines and special tools.  The author assumes no responsibility or liability for use of these loads, or use or misuse of this article.  Please note that I am not a professional gunsmith, just a shooting enthusiast and hobbyist, as well as a tinkerer.  This article explains work that I performed to my guns without the assistance of a qualified gunsmith.  Some procedures described in this article require special tools and cannot/should not be performed without them.

Warning:  Disassembling and tinkering with your firearm may void the warranty.  I claim no responsibility for use or misuse of this article.  Again, this article is for entertainment purposes only!

Tools and firearms are the trademark/service mark or registered trademark of their respective manufacturers.

I recently built a custom varmint/target rifle in .22-250 Ackley Improved.  It has a 27-inch barrel with a 1 in 8” twist.  I plan to shoot 80-grain bullets because I want to get some extended distances out to 1,000 yards.  To get this type of accuracy consistently, it is important that the rifle be perfectly level.  A canted rifle dramatically affects accuracy.  Refer to the excellent article on the Recreational Shooting, Inc. website.  So, I needed to find a way to keep my rifle level shot to shot. 

There are many types of anti-cant devices available; most of which consist of a spirit level on a mount.  Rather than pay the $30+ for one I decided to make my own.  I found an empty prescription bottle that fit snuggly onto the scope adjustment knob caps.  I cut the bottle leaving enough room for a wooden plug.  I cut a piece of one-inch dowel 1/2-inch long, then filed some notches around the edge with a jeweler’s round file.  These notches provide better grip for the epoxy.

I spread a thin film of epoxy around the inside top of the bottle, then pushed the notched dowel into the bottle.  I set the bottle onto the scope cap so the plug was bottomed onto the top of the cap.  I also spread a thin layer of epoxy on the top of the wood to act as a filler.

  
I purchased a cheap sprit level from the hardware store and removed the vials.  After the epoxy dried, I drilled a 3/8-inch hole in the center of the plug and epoxied a vial into the hole.  I made sure the vial was level by comparing it to a receiver level. 

  

After the epoxy cured, I painted the assembly flat black.  Now I have a portable anti-cant device that I can install or remove easily.

 

 

 
   © Copyright 2008 Roy Seifert.