Mounting scope yourself vs at store

Have seen long time hunters and shooters out of the blue do some beyond silly scope mountings.

Trash scopes.

Dunno why they just went stoopid and forgot the basics. But they did.
Makes some of the dipsticks behind counters look like gunsmiths LOL.

I like a clean work bench, good lighting and no BS.

DEMAND a large clean and organized work area. Or I won't do the work.
Even if a simple job.

Think the Ruger rings that smoked the VX3, were on a 77MK2.

Dude was yakkin to his buddy and went to tighten a ring half......heard the "clink" followed by a long drawn out gasp.

Dunno what heights he had or what the offending position.

I lap my own rings and mount my own scopes. I've bought several used scopes over the years, no idea who mounted them in the past, but judging from the marks on some of them, they either need a ring lapping tool, or a class in scope mounting. Or both.

I can't bring myself to install a scope into a set of rings that haven't been lapped. Most of my rings are of the $30-$60/set range, and most sets reveal post-lapping that they NEEDED lapping. Some need it pretty badly.

Burris Signatures (Posi Line).............no lapping

I do check mine w a long steel rod, for alignment of base/rings.
The rod will sit down in if things are cool.
I take a flashlight since my eyes suck anymore, and check how well the rod fits in the ring.
So far....................

Burris Signature Zees have been fine (4 sets).
My Ruger #1 (two sets- old slotted screw, new torx type- both fine).
Leupold Rifleman rings (4 sets) ..........fine.
Even my Burris alloy .22 rings (two sets- fine).

I am not happy w the Rifleman rings now made overseas, or the Burris stuff made overseas.
Am super leery of them so use the big 1" rod and flashlight.
If I go 30mm on my Steyr......am hosed LOL.
Like the plastic inserts on the Burris Signatures. PITA, you gotta fight them to make sure they're centered. They grip so well if off you might not get them to move to proper in tightening. Grippy little ^%$# they be.
Actually they're quite a bit of a pain in the butt.

Scopes don't get marks on them, helps if you move them later........if ring marks bother you.
20 in lbs clamping is the spec, and on a matte finish scope the plastic could change surface finish a bit.
Not much but a little. No scratch or compression of tube, just luster change.

Slight, so slight that I still sold my old Leupold for way more than I paid (had it a few years).
My 2-7X has been on a couple .22 rifles and a 35 rem. It has zero finish luster change.
Looks brand spanking new. Been moved around and hunted.
And with the change in models, proly could sell for what I paid for it new.

Yup, like me a Sig Zee ring just fine, even if they honk me off a bit at the setup.

I had a LGS mount a scope for me 25 years ago and they did a good job. I bought the scope from them and they offered. Since then I have done my own. I order scopes online exclusively now.

This may be off topic but concerns on mounting a personal scope. Over the years I have done bunches of gun trading. There are several drawers on a mechanics tool chest filled with scope rings and bases. How does anybody end up with two dozen Weaver top straps and no bases. Ace Hardware started selling "gun screws". Many sets of Weaver's were assembled along with Redfield's. This is good. However, in all that mess the one that's really needed, ring or base, is not there.. With the advent of 50mm scopes many of these rings utility is a thing of the past.

Garandimal said:

Line my rings w/ 3M Vinyl electrical tape.

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This is a new one on me, too. Are you mounting a 1" tube in 30mm rings, or, what's the deal here?

mainecoon said:

... In general, is it better to mount the scope yourself on a bolt gun? I generally let the store do it since I figure they will have more rings available. ...

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Hmmm. Reading the OP made me realize that I do not even think in terms of having someone else glass (or work on) a firearm for me.

I do not trust gunstore employees to be universally competent in such things (I have encountered a disturbing number of gits behind LGS counters) and I have never yet required the services of a gunsmith.

S'just me.

I suppose it just gets down to never having found myself with a job/procedure that I needed to be done on a firearm that I could not do myself. Lucky.

No, they're there to sell you the gun and whatever goes with it. Unless they're a gunsmith, don't let them work on it.

1- I've yet to see the gun sales guys have or use a FAT wrench. What do they know about torque? We don't know and that ain't good.
2- I've seen them, for an application that should be done with a rubber mallet or small brass hammer, use a steel claw hammer.
3- In my experience, they also don't tend to know anything about aperture sights either.

The art of installing aperture sighs went away when the old guys who were gunsmiths passed. That, and a lot of other stuff went away.

I don't trust any of the local shops to tighten a single screw without stripping it.

Much less install an expensive optic.

I do my own. I got a 1" steel bar from a machinist friend years ago, and recently got a 30mm bar from a lapping kit I bought on clearance. They really help ensure rings are aligned properly before dropping one's expensive scope in them.

Line my rings w/ 3M Vinyl electrical tape.

Try to get a LGS jock to understand that.

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Grandimal, like someone above said, this is new to me. So I'd appreciate it if you would explain the why's and wherefores.....

Burris used to have little peelers of paper that came w their rings.

As for torque and no Fat Wrench or other device......some folks are quite skilled without such. They have done the job enough....or other similar enough....to have ingrained the touch.

Many claim it. Some actually have it
I was one that had it. But then i did fine pitch work in a major lab and worked on stuff all the time ( before i worked in a gun shop).

Some people lack and will never have thw ability of fine pitch feel/motor skills.

Too many think since they cant do something.....that means others cant.

I heard the nonsense in the lab.....engineers are some insecure types. Lots of BS. I just let my work speak for itself and was #1 without blowing my horn. I got plenty of OT too. Got called in whenever it was $$$$ surgery time or special build.

I could see stuff others couldnt. I could feel stuff others couldnt. No training. A God given gift.

Ive seen guys put electrical tape on rings. The reasons given are too give them better grab, as well as keep the rings from dinging the scope tubes.

Its not something Ive ever felt the need to do, or of any advantage when i mount a scope.

On well fitted rings I consider it a disadvantage, possibly damaging even. On cheap rings which are offten oval rather than round I think its less so, and perhaps might even be useful.

again unless torque specs are exceeded, ive never actually seen a (correct for application) ring damage a scope. Ive never lapped a scope ring, but i do use a 1" round bar to align them before installing the scope.

Not everbody can be trained. Even if trained.....that doesnt mean those that got it are at the same level of proficiency. And training wont make somebody care.

Then theres the aspect of troubleshooting and mixing skills. Some folks even trained well are a one trick pony.

Thankfully mounting a scope is usually an eneventful deal and most accessories mesh well enough the average schmuck gets fair results.

Ive done my own stuff for decades because i saw pro shops screw up ( bow and gun )

Even if the salesman/ tech can mount a scope w proper torque settings....most dont know how to set them properly. A fat short necked saleman setting up a rifle for a guy thats part giraffe.

Most of the time i see guys set scopes too far back. Same guys that like em there ( tell salesguy to mount it that way).....haveba scar above the brow ( slow learner ?). Just kills me.....cheap scopes of big objective w a 2 inches of clearance between scope and bbl.

And the owner speaks of great accuracy.

I get sales. But there could be some effort on education. Have seen guys behind the counter recommend such setups

Working w people from around the country and world.....being on the web a lot too......it is a damn scary world out there......how so many people flat out suck at their job.

The lack of logic, skill.....or decency.

Theyd even be worse elsewhere.

Its not just getting old and cranky or hyper vigilant......if somebody trusts another to mount a scope or change the timing chain on their car......so be it.

I got tired of the BS many years ago. So used to do everything at home for myself. Sucks getting old and having to pay somebody top dollar to do a half arse job.

Nobody touches my gun stuff. Got a couple hack gunsmiths around and seen bad salesman installs.

I do know some top tier gun makers/ builders. If I am not doing my own stuff, its time to call them

Yeah, but then you get the customer who may have an arthritic situation causing reduced flexibility and range of motion. It took me a while to figure out the right bases/rings/scope to get the eye relief right... not every shop has all that handy. And this is part of what lead to me and some shops parting company over aperture sights and rifles that'll wear 'em... no real issue with eye relief there, but some of those sales people were clueless on the subject and some others didn't care whether you bought the right stuff as long as you bought stuff.

cdb1 said:

I worked the gun counter part-time at Cabela’s for two years. We had one guy other than myself I would trust to mount a scope. Since management wasn’t stupid he and I mounted all the optics. I’ve seen mounting jobs from other stores that were a travesty. Learn to do it yourself or take your gun to a qualified gunsmith.

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I’ve also seen scopes mounted at Cabela’s that were a travesty too.