Scope continues to walk

You may have gone too tight & damaged the scope. I never go more than 30 inch pounds on the base & rings. Most manufacturers suggest no more than 25. I never use locktight on ring screws, but I do use a dab on the mount screws; blue only.

Did you lap the rings? They may be off a bit & might be getting very little purchase on the scope.

Do you see ring marks on the scope? If so, it is either too tight, mis-aligned, or unnevenly tightened. When I tighten rings, I alternate accross & back in 1/2 turns, and then slow to 1/4 turns as soon as the first screw bites. They should all be biting on that same 1/4 turn. I keep going in that alternating crsossing between scres until they are all snug. If the rings are true, it should not take much torque to hold that scope tight. If it does, then one of the three issues above is likely the cause.

The only other possibility is the scope being bad, but it would be the first time I heard of that in a Vortex.

As for not having a torque wrench or lap setup, I finally got to the point of having only three options. First, buy high quality 1 piece mounts that do not need to be lapped. Two, pay a gunshmith $50+ to lap & mount properly, or third, spend $70 - $90 on a scope mounting set that includes the wrench and lapping equipment. I have done all three at this point.

Sounds like you need to take it to a shop that has those "fancy" tools and let them set it up correctly with the rings aligned, lapped, and torqued to the correct inch pounds.

Sounds like you need to take it to a shop that has those "fancy" tools and let them set it up correctly with the rings aligned, lapped, and torqued to the correct inch pounds.

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A nice benefit of going this route is that your reticle will be nice & level. I have mounted dozens of scopes, and I still have trouble with that part.

I have Burris Tactical 6 screw rings on a 10/22 build & it had them. I bought DNZ DeadNuts mounts for a recent Savage purchase & it had them. The torque wrench I bought (FatWrench) had them. Most recommend 20-25 lbs on rings, 25 - 30 lbs on the bases. With an allen wrench that is a two-finger grasp, tightening to the first point of moderate resistance. It's not a white finger, painful kind of tight.

Personally, I put my gun in a vice. I set a level on top of one of the mounts and tweaked the gun until I had it level; meaning the gun was level. Then I carefully installed the rings and scope. Once the scope was sitting in the rings, I put the level on the top of the windage adjustment and rotate the scope until it shows level. May not be perfect, may not be the right way, but it sure looked pretty level to me

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Perfect. I have done that, but I really like Weaver Top Mount rings because they have a really wide steel band, and I like the way they look. Since they only tighten on one side, you have to guess how far the scope will be rolled as you tighten.

I also have some older scopes that have turret capps that are slightly domed, so they have no place for a level. As for finding a flat plane on the rifle, try that on a model 94 AE. Not one flat plane on it. Natures way of saying not to scope it. At least the bottom in front of the lever is flat, so it can be balanced and then a known verticle (like a building corner) can be used to dial it in, at least until the Top Mounts pull it sideways again.

You could also try the Burris Signature Zee rings with the polymer inserts. No lapping is needed as you will get 100% contact with the insert. And it won't scratch the scope when installing.

http://www.amazon.com/Park-Tool-TW-...CI1U/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1287061396&sr=8-4

if you've damaged the tube (i.e. made it narrowed or buckled anywhere along it) the rings will no longer grip that surface.

Aside from that its a good scope, and I haven't had problems with zee rings. If you've lapped them or they have been previously lapped, it could be a culprit.

Do your rings still have a gap between the top and bottom half when you've tightened them down on the scope?