Hopefully most scope adjustments are the same.
With some there is no arrow on the adjustment knobs to see which direction in up/down or left/right.

which direction is left and which direction is up ?

I have bad news for you. Not all turrets turn the same way for up and down or right and left. You might look around on the inter web and see if you can find a manual for whatever scope model you have.

These rifle which have the same scope other than made a few years apart the adjustments are absolutely opposite each other. I bough one of them used and man it sure was frustrating the first time I tried to sight it in. Senior moment...I didn't look at the turret I just dialed.

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Bill Bates

And make sure the turrets are marked correctly. I bought a .22 target pistol with a big red dot optical sight on it. I went to sight it in and I was having a difficult time dialing in the group. Here it turned out that the directions on the dials were written in reverse of what the dials actually did. I'm going to take a Sharpie and write on the sight tube that the dials are marked in reverse of what they actually do.

As a general rule, you turn the top knob(elevation) counter-clockwise for up and the side knob(windage) clockwise for left. 99.9% of all scopes are set up like this. Same goes for red dot sights.

Hmmm, I have never seen a scope adjustment knob without adjustment arrows. All scopes are not the same! I suggest calling the manufacturer and asking. Maybe a stick-on label has fallen off with click markers and the arrow. If I am correct - they can advise you and send you appliqués if appropriate. Worth a phone call.

Some scopes are made with no adjusters and the base adjusted for windage and elevation! (made a very handsome hunting set-up, with very clean lines!) But what a pain if you changed one thing or more on your ammo!

Ivan

All of my scopes have direction arrows. Except for one - a pre-WWII Unertl target scope with no internal adjustments.

I guess I'm just an experimenter. I'd fire a few shots, then turn the knob a few clicks and see which way the group moved. Easy-peasy!

Turrets screw in and out and press the internal erector tube against one or more springs. It works like this:



Adjustment directions do vary. It the turrets aren’t marked for bullet impact, the surest way to find out is to use an optical boresighter like the Bushnell. The newer ones attach with a magnet, but I prefer the ones that use arbors that insert into the bore. You can often find them used at gun shows cheap and it’s worth having more than one set.



Mount you scope on the rifle and attach the boresighter. When you look through the scope you’ll see the crosshairs on a grid (think graph-paper). Adjust each turret one at a time and note which direction the crosshairs move. If you turn the elevation adjustment counterclockwise and the crosshairs move up on the grid, you’ll know that CCW moves the bullet impact down. If you adjust the windage turret and the crosshairs move left, you’ll know that direction moves bullet impact to the right. It’s a good idea to write the information on a small piece of paper and glue it inside the turret caps (eg. CW or CCW = U, CW or CCW = R).

The bore sightseers are also handy if your changing scopes on a rifle that’s already sighted in, provided you can use the same split rings and bases. Attach the boresighter and make note where the crosshairs are on the grid. Remove the top portion of the rings and the scope, but don’t loosen the bottom half of the rings or bases. Install the new scope, snug the scope down and adjust the crosshairs to the same spot on the grid. You’ll need to check it at the range, but you’ll be darn close if done carefully. You can basically do the same thing when swapping scopes between two sighted rifles, but you’ll need two boresighter.

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"I also cook."

I had one of those mounted on a 98 Mauser rechambered for 22-250. One of the many I wish I'd kept.

My uncle has one, but won't sell it after I told him how much it was probably worth.

I think darn near all modern scopes have adjustment arrows on the dials but some are barely visible and that is poor manufacturing design. All scopes should have LARGE visible markings and arrows on the dials so take off the lens caps and look at the markings before you buy a scope, it will save you frustration and wasting expensive ammo on a cloudy or overcast day. Ask me how I know.

While most scopes are now 1/4 minute of angle I had a couple from the early 60's that were 1/2 MOA.

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Front sight and squeeze

That reminds me. I have a .22 that I recently scoped but have not yet sighted in. My indoor range only goes out to 25 yards.

The owner's manual says that each click adjustment is 1/2" @ 100 yards. (Probably really is 1/2 M.O.A. but they don't want to confuse newer shooters I suppose)

It's been a long time since I sighted in a scope and I forget how to compensate for shorter distances. What will each click equal at only 25 yards ?

Most scopes (Weaver, Springfield, Nikon, Tasco, Bushnell, etal) seem to use a 1/4" change per click of the turrets. I have a 8x20x40 Bushnell that is a 1/8" per click.

If it's 1/2" per click at 100 yds which is quite close to 1/2 MOA, at 25 yds it will be 1/8" per click.

One of my most useful firearm accessories is a laser boresighter similar to this:



It will get you one paper and the rest is up to you. Remember, if you are using the bore sighter indoors at wall about 20 feet away you want the cross hairs to aim about an inch above the red dot on the wall.

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I stick the rifle stand I made for working on them on top of my truck hood and aim. Take the bolt out (almost all mine are bolt guns) then, look down the bore and line it up on a spot on the neighbors fence. Then without moving the rifle adjust the scope to center on the same spot checking the bore once in the while.

Then I go to the range and set up a target at 25 yards. Fire one round at the mark using my bags. Then line the scope back up on the mark and then keeping the rifle still, adjust to about an inch above where the bullet hole is in target. Now I am ready for 100yds and have a pretty good idea how the scope adjusts.

Most all my rifles are set for a couple inches high at 100 yds. This set me for a kill shot up to 300 yds on deer sized or larger game with no real thinking. Farther away or smaller stuff I can go from there. Just how far is it, which gun is it, whats its drop etc etc? My little 308 Mohawk with its 18 1/2 barrel is pushing it but I dropped a buck one shot at slightly over 350 yds. My 300 and 338 do much better. My 6 mms are out of steam for chest shots past 300. My 350 Remington Mag I better start thinking if it is getting out there bast 250 yds.

One of those was the old Bausch & Lomb Balvar. The idea was that you could move the scope from rifle to rifle without having to re-zero the scope.

I have done this with AR set ups as well. Simply set the upper on something secure, look down the barrel and adjust the scope or red dot accordingly. It's always got my first shot on the paper at 100 yards, just as it has bolt action rifles. Just one of the tricks my dad taught me.

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So many S&W's, so few funds!!

This is basically what I do. I use a power pole about 3/4 of a mile away. Twice out of probably 6 or 7 scope mountings, I got a 100 yd zero without re-adjusting windage, elevation always needs tweaked.