Mounting a scope

[Wonderwhippet]

I've always wanted a .223 tack driver, so I bought a Remington VLS (Varmint Laminated Stock) rifle with a beautiful 4 X 16 varmint scope. It had an objective of 56 mm, so I ordered a Leupold one piece mount and a set of high 30mm rings. The internet seller said the rings would be high enough without ordering the extra high rings. Well, I was about to slap the scope on in my usual manner, the way I have been doing it for nearly 70 years, when I noticed the instructions said it was important to torque the screws to a certain tightness. This was a new one on me, so I checked around and found a torque driver would cost around $50. I hated to spend the money on a tool I would use so infrequently, so I called a buddy of mine who was a competition shooter and a master machinist, and asked him if he had a torque driver. His answer was, "Does a bear s--- in the woods?" So I asked him if I could borrow it, and he suggested I bring the rifle over to him and let him mount the scope for me. Naturally, I did just that, and here's what he did:

1. He carefully cleaned the mount and rifle surface with acetone.

2. He put Loctite on the screws and gently screwed the mount to the rifle, properly torque driving each screw.

3. Next he mounted the rings, leaving the screws slightly loose.

4. He aligned the rings using a special aligning/lapping tool.

5. Then he tightened the rings to the mount with the torque driver using Loctite.

6. After applying lapping compound to the tool, he carefully lapped the rings.

7. Next, he loosely mounted the scope, only to find that it did not fully clear the barrel. It needed to be raised about 1/64 in.

8. He cut two pieces of brass about 1 1/4 in. by 3/8 in. and contoured them to the inside curve of the ring.

9. He remounted the scope with the brass shims, adjusted the eye relief to my requirements, and made sure the reticle was perpendicular.

10. Then he properly Loctited the ring screws and torqued them correctly.

11. Lastly, he bore sighted the rifle.

All this took him about 2 1/2 hours, for which I thanked him profusely. The next day at the range I took my first shot at 75 yards, punching a hole about two inches from the aiming point. After a few very minor adjustments, I was getting one inch groups at 150 yards, using GI ammo. Just wanted to let it be known that there is a proper way to mount a scope. If you just screw it on without all these steps, no matter how much you spend on a rifle and scope you will probably never achieve MOA accuracy.

[rero360]

Or you could buy a set of proper height Badger or Seekins rings which don't need to be lapped, attach them to the rifle ensuring that the bottom halves are pushed as forward as possible in their respective rails, place the scope in, adjust for proper eye relief and then use a set of metal gap guages to place under the scope adjustment portion to ensure that it is level with the rail put the top rings on and tighen then up with a practical amount of force. (that is assuming that the scope body is flush with the reticle and that the base is parallel with the bore of the rifle) 15 inch pounds isn't a whole lot and easy to aproximate with using a normal hex key. Loctite is fine to use, although I've never had issues not using it, nail polish works just as well.

Using a brass shim inside the rings is horrible as they will reduce the inside diameter of the ring, thus putting unwanted and uneven pressure on the scope tube, which could cause issues, most noticeably, a bent scope tube.

Basically, if you use high quality materials, the ring aligning, shimming and lapping are all unneeded steps and accomplish nothing of use, just waste time. It really is a 10 minute process, tops.

[uscbigdawg]

Ditto. I run EGW rings on my bolt rifles (phenomenal machine shop that makes the rings a lot of big ticket manufacturers say that they make when actually made by EGW). Mounted the base. Torqued it down. Mounted the rings, got the spacing right, torqued them down. Leveled the scope and then checked that the crosshairs were oriented correctly (you'd be surprised how often that a level scope doesn't equal a correctly clocked reticle on a $1k and greater scope). Torqued down the ring caps. Done.

About 10 minutes and free (other than my Borka Tools torque wrench).

Rich

[Divernhunter]

Sorry to hurt your feeling but lapping any rings is a good idea. I put Badger rings on one of my 50bmg and lapping them really showed how they are not perfect. I use locktite(blue) on bases but never on rings myself and have never had them come loose. I also prefer not to shim. I also will not use 56 or even 50mm scopes on my hunting rifles as they put your head in an un-natural position and will sooner or later cause you to miss a shot just like flip-up scope caps will.

[BSlacker]

I can't believe a decent machinist would go to all the trouble to lap/check a scope mount and then put a piece of brass between the scope and mount. Are you sure he didn't put the shim between the base and rifle? I would take the scope off right now. It it stays in the bind it is surely in it will be affected in someway.
This shim between the mount and scope thing is universally not done by those in the know. Just get the correct mount.
Yes, I have a torque wrench but never use it when mounting scopes. Torque wrenches on small mild steel screws are not accurate enough to count. Just get them tight and use blue locktite if you want.

If you just screw it on without all these steps, no matter how much you spend on a rifle and scope you will probably never achieve MOA accuracy.

The scope has little to do with the accuracy or not of a rifle. The scope is the interface of the person and rifle and target, as long as it is comfortable in eye relief and such it has no effect on the rifle accuracy. I am willing to take off and put back on with just a plain allen wrench, my scope at the range, and then shoot a 1/2 MOA group at 100 yards. It might not be in the same place as before but it will still group the same as before if the shooter does their part.

[Wonderwhippet]

Many thanks for the education. These sound like great tips.

[CSTactical]

Here is how I do it and it works really well.



Mike @ CST

[rero360]

Sorry to hurt your feeling but lapping any rings is a good idea. I put Badger rings on one of my 50bmg and lapping them really showed how they are not perfect. I use locktite(blue) on bases but never on rings myself and have never had them come loose. I also prefer not to shim. I also will not use 56 or even 50mm scopes on my hunting rifles as they put your head in an un-natural position and will sooner or later cause you to miss a shot just like flip-up scope caps will.

Really now? My one scope has been on 3 different rifle with two different pairs of Badgers with hundred of rounds down range, not once did I ever have the screws back out on me or have the scope slip under recoil, no markings on the scope tube either from the rings. Now I may only have been getting 85% surface engagement between the rings and the scope, but thats plenty enough to get the job done.

Keep in mind when I first got into all this I researched this, reading what the pros think on the matter. 99% of them take them same stance as Mike does with the video he just posted.

Poorer quality rings, yeah, lapping them may be needed, but I have not seen the evidence that quality rings like Badger and Seekins need to be lapped.

Also, would you mind explaining how have a 50mm or larger objective lens on your scope makes you put your head in an unnatural position?

I'm going to go out on a limb and assume you are talking about when being used with a stock that doesn't have an adjustable cheekpiece and or doesn't have a stock pack or similar item on the stock to build up the cheekpiece. By adjusting the cheekpiece of the stock, thru whatever means, allows one to have a perfect stockweld which is of utmost importance regardless of Objective lens diameter.

Of course one runs the risk of screwing up a shot when shooting a rifle that is not properly set up for them, something that I would say is negligent when it comes to hunting.

I've personally gone hunting with a rifle topped with my USO that has a 58mm objective. It was a bit heavy of a setup to do serious stalking and hiking with, but it was just fine given the terrain and style of hunting I was doing that day.