Scope rotating in rings

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Ian

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I tried to sight in my M1 last night, and ran into a problem. The first time I zeroed it, I discovered that after a couple dozen rounds, the scope had started to rotate inside the rings. I figured it just wasn't tightened down enough (I'm a novice when it comes to mounting scopes). So I loosened it, got it back in the proper orientation, and tightened it down as tight as I could get it with a T-handle hex wrench. I re-zeroed it (and it zeroed great, with a nice tight group). Shot another clip, and found the scope doing exactly the same thing again. It ended up canted about 20 degrees counterclockwise.

Any ideas on how to cure this? The bolts are as tight as when I mounted them, but the scope is still turning in the rings. It's a Burris 2-7 pistol scope and (IIRC) Millett rings.
 
Put a film of blue LockTight inside the rings and then install them.
Wipe off what squeezes out.

Let it cure over-night and you should have no more problems.

BTW: Sounds like the scope tube or the rings are out of spec. That is a VERY uncommon problem!

rcmodel
 
I saw this happen with a Ruger Super Redhawk in .454 with a Nikon scope. The 454 had a lot of twisting recoil and was rotating the scope. We put a small amount of epoxy in the rings and that solved his problem. Flyrodder
 
Hi Ian...

The barrel of the scope and/or the inside of your rings may have just the slightest film of oil on it (possibly from your fingers). Degrease it with a swab of alcohol, then, as others said, carefully put a film of blue Loctite or something similar on it and reinstall.
If that doesn't work - try the double-sided tape. Chances are good one of those solutions will fix it.

Good luck !

:cool:
 
Before I mounted a scope, I used to clean the bases' and rings' screws and threads with alcohol and a pointed Q-Tip to assure they were flawlessly clean. I used the blue LockTite in the threads, and sometimes inside the rings for standard caliber. For magnums, I used the red LockTite for the rings, and epoxy to mount the base to the receiver. The double-sided tape does work as well, but I don't prefer it.

A local gunsmith told me that if one uneven torques of the screws, one side tighter than the other, can cause the scope to become canted in the directon of the over-torque side during firing. Not being a gunsmith, I can't say for fact.

Of late, I have resorted to having the gunsmith mount my scopes. For a mere $30.00, the gunsmith laps the rings, cleans the threads and screws, mounts the scope, assuring flawless torquing, laser-sights it, then gives me 1 hour of range time and 2 targets. Best of all, it's done while I wait. At the bench, the POI to the POA was off by only about 4" at 100 yards.

By the way, I still do mount my own bases with epoxy. It's the rings that get me. Sorry, if I appear to have drifted, but felt it was info worth sharing. Great thread! Thanks for starting it!

Doc2005
 
were the rings lapped for you, or did you mount the scope yourself? Either way I think new rings are in order. I like to use rubber cement when I mount scopes.
 
huh

Just run some black electrical tape on the inside of the rings and trim.

I do it on all my rings. Never have had a scope move, and they keep the scope from getting scraped if you have to turn one while tightening.



steve
 
Any ideas on how to cure this? The bolts are as tight as when I mounted them, but the scope is still turning in the rings. It's a Burris 2-7 pistol scope and (IIRC) Millett rings.
Click to expand...

Are you positive that the scope BODY is rotating, and not the reticle itself? I bought a Burris 2-7 handgun, mounted it onto an M1A, and ran into the exact same problem...the crosshairs kept looking like they were crooked. So I loosened it up, rotated it back into place, and kept shooting...until I realized it had happened again. Looked at the scope, and suddenly it dawned on me that the reticle was about 10 to 15 degrees off of alignment from the windage and elevation turrets. Burris had the scope replaced inside of two weeks, and it's been perfect ever since...but you might want to make sure it's you and not the scope.
 
put some sort of shim between the scope and the rings, scotch makes those sticky things you can mount hooks to the wall with, those would probably work well, because should you decide to peel them off, they wont leave a sticky residue.
 
Are you positive that the scope BODY is rotating, and not the reticle itself?
Click to expand...

Wow, I'm glad you mentioned that. I just took a closer look, and yeah, mine is the reticle as well. Guess I'll be chatting with Burris' customer support...:eek:
 
Well, good grief!

That makes a lot more sense then loose rings when they are tight!

I guess I assumed you would notice the turret knobs turned too if the scope turned!

rcmodel
 
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