Check the dang scope mount first before you waste an hour!

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Just a rant on a not fun day...went out last week to shoot a Ruger 10/22 Takedown that's scoped with a simple Simmons 4X with Warne QD rings....usually snaps right back to zero on remount. Put the scope on, and couldn't hit anything. Finally figured out I was low and left by about 4 inches each way. Spent 20 minutes and around 15 rounds getting it sighted in again. Came inside and thought I'd check it with a laser bore sighter...perfectly right on target across a 10 yard basement! Took the scope off again and put it on again....now high and right by 4 inches!

So I resighted with the bore scope, and then again took it off and remounted. Perfect. Took it off and remounted. Perfect. Did that about 10 times, removing the scope, shaking it, and remounting....perfect. Today I went out and shot it at 50 yards. On paper first shot, just a little adjustment for the different range.

Only thing I can figure out is that last week when I first mounted the scope, I had the QD rings not quite square on the rail. Last slot on either end of the rings, so it wasn't out of position, but it must have been just a little off the rail on one end or the other.

You can bet I'm going to be more careful when I reattach the scope from now on!
 
I have Warne QD Maxima rings on three of my rifles. They are a great set up once everything is lined up but they can be a little bit of a pain to get set up.
 
I’ve set up several like this; I have a weakness for takedown rifles, particularly 22s, and so I have several with removable scopes. I watch for loose bases or for the rings to loosen. But I never thought about the possibility that I could get one a little off on the rails. They just seem to fall into place…or did.
 
A couple of rifles with QD for low light conditions and a M1A that I like to shoot iron sights and long range with a scope.The Warne rings are nice.
 
My uncle hunted deer for three years with the scope mount on his shotgun so loose that it wiggled. Those were some meatless years for him.
 
I was shooting my .308 at the 300 yd range and couldn't even get anything on the paper. I got frustrated and went home where I discovered the scope rings were loose as a goose. So I got in the habit of double checking that the scope was tight before I started firing. And then one day I was hitting the paper but the accuracy was way off from normal till I noticed that the bipod was loose. I guess I'm just a slow learner.
 
I just did that with a T/C Encore. I would have bet money I tightened the scope rails screws but I would have lost that bet. Just a little wiggle, enough to keep it hitting here and there. Being a single shot rifle I managed to give up after 12 rounds of hand loads and start on finding what was wrong. If it hadn't have been a brand new barrel I was shooting and having no idea of it's preferred load I would have started troubleshooting sooner.
 
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Having just shot a round of Running Boar with one of the club's 10/22s, something felt loose. POS scope block has stripped the thread, being aluminum. Someone hauled down on the screws, I guess.
 
Having just shot a round of Running Boar with one of the club's 10/22s, something felt loose. POS scope block has stripped the thread, being aluminum. Someone hauled down on the screws, I guess.
Something to consider. Brownell's at one time sold an oversize screw set with the tap for just such problems. Typical scope mount uses a 6-48 screw in the receiver. Damn aluminum receivers like the Ruger 10-22 always are open to being stripped. No need to even redrill just use their oversize tap in the stripped holes. Apparently they still make them.

Saves Your "Tail Feathers" If A Hole Gets Stripped

Slightly larger in diameter than the common 6-48 scope base mounting screw. Most holes "ruined" while drilling or tapping can be fixed; just retap to .146"-48 and install. No need to redrill base or gun. Thanks to Doug Knowt for his tip.

Ron
 
It amazes me how well these mounts work and come back to near zero when used correctly. I have 4 sets and a couple more to go.
I have Warne QD Maxima rings on three of my rifles. They are a great set up once everything is lined up but they can be a little bit of a pain to get set up.

A couple of rifles with QD for low light conditions and a M1A that I like to shoot iron sights and long range with a scope.The Warne rings are nice.
 
The loose rail stories remind me I once purchased a Savage 111 with an attached factory Weaver scope for a song…took only a few shots to realize it was likely sold because the owner couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn with it. And only a couple more to find the loose scope mount. After that it was very nicely accurate.
 
I owned a rifle once which drove me crazy. Shots landed 'all over'. I thought perhaps the scope itself was loose inside. After some investigation, the problem was the rear sight mount was loose and allowed the rear end of the scope to 'bounce' up and down. Very little 'bounce' but more than enough to show up at 100 yards.
I was new at the time. Had I known then, I could have saved myself some stomach acid and heartburn.
I endorse the lesson.
 
It took over 20 years but it finally happened to me earlier this year at the age of 36. Suddenly started missing a gallon water jug at the range with .308 handloads that were really accurate before.

Bottom screw on the rear scope mount had come loose. I re-installed with blue loctite.
 
Your not the first guy to run into problems sighting in a rifle. A good rest goes a long way towards saving ammunition.

This is, by far, my favorite method. If something is loose or “clicks” are not doing what they should, it’s very obvious and if that’s the case, you have only wasted one round.

 
An hour? Pfth. Amateurs. I like to mess up one small thing like not tightening a mount or action screw and then let it waste a month or two of my time, or cause me to drop out of a match at stage 3 because suddenly I am missing the targets entirely.
 
Been there. Done that 2x. Got the t-shirt.

Both times it was my own damn hubris.
I KNOW I did it right. The scope has gone bad.
Nope...
 
I admire the confidence of guys who can shoot very few rounds and feel they are good to go. I was at the club and got to talking to a guy who is going on a moose hunt next week. He brought his rifle to make sure it was ready. He fired a grand total of two rounds and packed up to go. He said the first was a little high right with a cold barrel but the second was in the bull so he was satisfied.

His was probably the right approach though. If it were me preparing for something I considered important I'd probably keep putzing around till I screwed everything up.

I'm always surprised when people come to the club and shoot just a few rounds and leave. I get that maybe they are just making sure their rifle is ready, but if I'm making a trip to the range I'm shooting more than a few rounds if only because I like to shoot. If I don't want to shoot any more from that particular rifle I'll bring some other guns just because it's fun. Our club has multiple ranges and it's never busy so I usually spend hours there each time I go.
 
I admire the confidence of guys who can shoot very few rounds and feel they are good to go.

I feel that would be better than the guys that think there rifle is always “on” and they never need to check it.

If I travel for a hunt, drive or fly, I almost always take a “confirming shot” vs just going off hope that nothing has changed.
 
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