Should I bed my scope base to reciever?

[orygun]

I am a firm believer in dedicating an optic to a gun. I avoid any "switching back and forth" with the optic or the mounts, and take extra time, effort and sometimes expense to get all perfect at the first installation, with the goal and intent to never remove them...

Me, too. Except I really want the rings on one Model 70 on the other gun. I've been putting this task off hoping to find the rings I want so that i only have to deal with one re-zeroing.

As another way to fill the gap without causing any permanent issues, use a little Permatex Right Stuff under the base when mounting. It's similar to silicone sealer, but is much tougher (polyurethane, I believe). It'll squeeze out when screwing the base down and can be wiped off, just like using grout around a plumbing fixture. It will fill the void and can be removed later with not much more than a rag and elbow grease. On a blued gun it would hide prrety easily.

 

[Spitpatch]

Me, too. Except I really want the rings on one Model 70 on the other gun. I've been putting this task off hoping to find the rings I want so that i only have to deal with one re-zeroing.

As another way to fill the gap without causing any permanent issues, use a little Permatex Right Stuff under the base when mounting. It's similar to silicone sealer, but is much tougher (polyurethane, I believe). It'll squeeze out when screwing the base down and can be wiped off, just like using grout around a plumbing fixture. It will fill the void and can be removed later with not much more than a rag and elbow grease. On a blued gun it would hide prrety easily.

I like that idea for the cosmetic aspects. What rings are you looking for? (My OCD scope-mounting adventures have left me with a very substantial graveyard).

 

[Koda]

It sounds like the idea of something less permanent is appropriate, merely to seal the micro gaps between the two surfaces. I'm also on the side of dedicating an optic to a rifle, this is pretty much what drove this project... this scope isn't coming off unless it breaks or something.

Another snow day, although the hardware store may be closed to buy Permatex though I do have some blue loctite.
Decisions...

Its properly installed but since it hasn't been rezeroed it might be worth it....

 

[Velzey]

Allot of times the base profile doesn't match the receiver profile. If the screws are 8-40 there isn't much flexibility. Side to side wobble usually doesn't happen.,but with 6-48 those things are spaghetti. Bed them in and you don't have to worry about any base to receiver movement.

 

[Koda]

Though I didn't measure them the screws are 8-40.
Would a dab of blue loctite be a good medium to bed the bases?

 

[Velzey]

Though I didn't measure them the screws are 8-40.
Would a dab of blue loctite be a good medium to bed the bases?

Yes indeed that would be good

 

[Koda]

Appreciate all the contributions here, whither I needed to or not I remounted it today with blue loctite bedding. Appreciate everyone helping cure my OCD on this but I dont mind taking extra steps to assure a proper scope mount.

 

[orygun]

I like that idea for the cosmetic aspects. What rings are you looking for? (My OCD scope-mounting adventures have left me with a very substantial graveyard).

An old set of 1" Redfield Jrs with the flat straps, like these.

 

[Spitpatch]

oooh. I'll take a look. (Now I know why you're "looking for" them.)

 

[Spitpatch]

Appreciate all the contributions here, whither I needed to or not I remounted it today with blue loctite bedding. Appreciate everyone helping cure my OCD on this but I dont mind taking extra steps to assure a proper scope mount.

View attachment 2037390

Yes. I always use blue loctite on the base screws.

I for one, took some comfort in your admission of agonizing to get it perfect.

Gunsmith I had recently met (later we became close friends), was talking about scope mounting, we were trading techniques, etc.,
and he asked me (as a home hobbyist) how long it took me to mount a scope and rings on a gun for myself.

I answered, " 'bout half a day."

I think he liked my answer.

 

[red442joe]

Bed it using JB quick, easy peasy. Just put a small dab on each base and set them in place and torque down. Clean up is easy with qtips and acetone.

THIS^^^

(Does Velzy really know everything??)

Joe

 

[orygun]

oooh. I'll take a look. (Now I know why you're "looking for" them.)

Cuz this one really deserves them instead of the "late model" rings it here...

 

[Koda]

Yes. I always use blue loctite on the base screws.

I for one, took some comfort in your admission of agonizing to get it perfect.

Gunsmith I had recently met (later we became close friends), was talking about scope mounting, we were trading techniques, etc.,
and he asked me (as a home hobbyist) how long it took me to mount a scope and rings on a gun for myself.

I answered, " 'bout half a day."

I think he liked my answer.

Thank you, scrutinizing every detail of a scope mounting is essential. I think more people get lucky than they realize. Years ago on a deer hunt my buddy discovered his scope was loose. It ended his hunt right there and ruined the trip but heres the catch, he had hunted with that same setup for a while no issues.... it begs the question what went wrong.

I was worried that moisture (rain etc.) would seep under my ringmount bases and cause expansion if hunting in freezing conditions. Add up a few seasons (ie, years) of minor expansion and contraction and it could loosen the screws or just cause minor POI issues... I don't know. The ringmounts seemed to have a more perfect fitment upon closer examination but adding a dab of blue loctite to seal the surfaces together gives me mental assurance... The Leupold receiver screws came with a dab of blue loctite, but I also added a new dab since I removed and reinstalled. Originally the install took me 'bout half my day' last weekend but this second go was faster but I had all the nuances and torque values still in my head.

I almost didnt swap scopes because the two rifles were zeroed but Im one to want the best scope on the best rifle and really like how more streamlined it came out, much more attractive to my eye, plus I shaved just under half a pound going with the ringmounts (the rifle is still not very light so it helps).

 

[LoganLittle77]

So I swapped a scope with new ringmounts but never had a base not perfectly fit the receiver before. Its properly torqued and wont come off but its a hunting rifle that will see temp extremes from summer to winter temps. Im wondering if water (rain etc.) gets in there and freezes thus expanding and contracting will compromise the mounting job?
Or am I overthinking this? Should I bed the rings to the receiver and with what?


Photo: notice the gap all around (even the sliver of light on the farside)
View attachment 2036626

I've had this same "issue" with leupold backcountry rings. I blue locktite the screws, lightly oil the part of the receiver that will be covered with the ring base (make sure to not get any on the screw threads or tapped holes, as this may cause a loosening of the screws with repeated recoil), and then add a light layer of lithium grease surrounding the perimeter of the ring base before torquing everything to specification.
This light layer surrounding the perimeter of the base of the ring prevents water from getting in the gap, no matter how wet the climate. This was a trick taught to me by a gunsmith in Idaho.
Other rings such as Talley lightweights are engineered/designed to not have such a wide gap, however I follow the same protocol when mounting these rings. Doesn't take much of a gap/crevice for water to seep in, especially if you hunt in the rain.

 

[Koda]

I love the Remington 700 platform but realize its an old platform I just wish even back in the day they should have known to go with a 4 screw pattern like Browning Xbolts use. The 4 optic screws in line seem so weak to me.

 

[orygun]

Doesn't take much of a gap/crevice for water to seep in, especially if you hunt in the rain.

That's not unusual around here.