Don,
Ok, here's one for the sake of discussion.
Who cares if the bubble level is level on the base as long as it is consistent?
If you put the bubble level on the rifle, level to the bubble, then level to a vertical reference, and level to the bubble when you're shooting, the reticle is still vertical. The bullet doesn't know which part of that rifled tube is the "top". As long as the level stays on the base, you're going to be good regardless.
It seems to me that consistency of hold is the most important part here.
$24 is pricey, but $70.00 for a bubble level is insane.
You are correct that consistency is the goal. However, if the bore is not fairly well in line with the reticle on a vertical line there can be some sighting issues even if you consistently hold the setup in the same spot each time per the off true bubble level with the reticle trued to it.
Unfortunately the B-Square level on some rails is WAY off. Enough to give some unacceptable problems at longer ranges. I have seen some B-Square levels that had more than a 0.050" gap on one side of the level, between the level and the base, which puts the bore too far off to one side for precision shooting. Fortunately I have not run into any Savage actions where the base when installed is so far off that it becomes an issue but I have seen it on some other guns. When that is the case then setting the reticle true to the base may not work for long stuff.
Re-Read my post and you will see the reason I want the level true to the rail. I want to be able to take any scope that has been trued to the rail and move it from one rifle to another without having to re-level it. That simply won't work if your bubble level is not true to the top of the rail or if your base is not true to the action rails, if that is what you use to level the reticle. When the reticle is true to the top of the rail and you use the same rails and rings, it works quite well.
If that doesn't matter to you then as long as your reticle is plumb with the level on your rail, you are good to go.
The only ways I have figured out how to do that is to have a level on the rail that is true to the rail or to have it on the scope that is also true to the rail. The cheapest way to get there with the least amount of work is a bubble level mounted on the scope tube rather than the rail. That is the method I recommend and use personally.
As for cost I guess we all have our thresholds. Some guys don't worry about $70 for a precision level or $140 for a slope indicator when they have spent $2800 for their scope and $5000 for their rifle and they are shooting $4-5 a round match loads in their 1K yard 50 BMG.
Although I sell the higher dollar gear, I tend to lean towards the $700 or less scope on a $500 rifle with a $24 cheesy plastic bubble level mounted on the scope tube for most of my rifles. I just don't have the $$ in my personal shooting budget to have a Nightforce, Mark 4, Swarovski or US Optics piece of glass on every rifle I own, though I do own and enjoy using the higher end stuff quite a bit. With the system I use, I can move my 8-32x Nightforce from one rifle to another with very little work when I want to.
