What to do now? Ring and base issue.

[fish2xs]

I need some help from the collective wisdom on this board. Forgive
any misuse of terminology.

Weeks ago I picked up a Savage 10, 26", .308 like this (without
scope/mounts/bipod, etc):

http://www.savagearms.com/centerfire/lawEnf/10fpxp.htm

I picked up a Leupold mount and rings last week.

The base is a single piece that was made for the Savage 10 with
a dovetail ring front and windage screws for the rear ring. There
are 3 screws to mount the base to the rifle. Two mounting screws
are placed just in front of and behind the dovetail (front) ring,
and one screw is 'aft' near the adjustments for the rear ring.

The Savage has 4 mounting holes, two to the front and two to the rear
of the action.

Last night I get around to mounting the base to the rifle. The front
two screws go in solid and tight, but the rear screw partially strips.
It is still in there, but I figure every removal and reinsertion will
cost me. I think the screw is OK, but the stripping probably happened
on the rifle.

One other thing I noticed was that the bottom of the base (the surface
that actually comes into contact with the barrel) is concave to fit
snug in front, but it is flat in the rear - and does not 'fit' the
curved surface of the barrel in the rear.

I followed the install instructions which told me to put some high
quality gun oil on the screws - and not to use Locktite.

--- So that is where I'm at now. What are my options at this point? ---

Will the 2 secure and one partially secure screw hold the base well
enough to the Savage? Should I not worry about this?

Should I remove the 'partial' (rear mounting) screw and buy some
Locktite? If so, what kind?

If I go down the Locktite path, what would be the best way to remove the
gun oil?

If at all possible, I'd prefer not to go back to the shop for something
I can fix at home.

If it matters, I'm planning on picking up a Leupold VariX III 3.5-10X40
for the scope.

Thanks!
Phil

 

[Mike Irwin]

I'd say that your best bet would be to try replacing the screw that's stripping. It could be the screw.

If the replacement strips, then it's time to try chasing the threads in the screw hole with the same sized tap, and try the screw again. If it still strips, then it's time to take the hole up to the next larger size screw.

 

[Dave P]

"One other thing I noticed was that the bottom of the base (the surface
that actually comes into contact with the barrel) is concave to fit
snug in front, but it is flat in the rear - and does not 'fit' the
curved surface of the barrel in the rear."

This is wrong; should fit snuggly - call leupold to figure out why (don't hesitate to ask them for a replacement mount; they often send out replacements, gratis)



"Will the 2 secure and one partially secure screw hold the base well
enough to the Savage? Should I not worry about this?"

This is very weak - get it fixed! See Mikes post.

 

[Art Eatman]

It bothers me that the rear of your base is not concave to match the curve of the receiver. I'd think it's possibly meant for an earlier or later model of the rifle. (I've never messed with any of the Savages.) Lemme put it this way: In over 50 years of meddling with all kinds of rifles, scope mounts always fit the curvature or they're the wrong mounts for that rifle.

Any competent gunsmith can re-drill and tap for the next size larger screw, if need be.

Art

 

[mark mcj]

You need to get the stripped screw staightened out before you can continue. You will waste ammo trying to zero in a wandering point of aim.
I also agree with Art, the base should mate perfectly [by eye] with the reciever.
The wrong base could've contributed to the poor fit of the one screw.

 

[yzguy]

you have an old style base and a new style rifle... I also just got a Savage FP10 in 308, so I just had to go through this. I got a Weaver 2 pice base for mine. For that you should get 2 of what they list for the front base (46 IIRC), even though they list different pieces for the front and the back, just get 2 fronts. Now the front and the back are both curved the same, the old ones had a flat rear portion.

Bottom line, you have the wrong base....

also when you end up getting the correct one, make sure that your rear screws are not to long so that they hit the bolt (it is no big deal, you can just shorten them, just something else to check for).

 

[Mike Irwin]

I missed the fact that the base wasn't fitting flush!

Wrong base.

That could also explain the screw stripping problem.

 

[fish2xs]

thanks!

looks like I have to go back to the store afterall then... bummer.

thanks for the sage advice.
-p

 

[bogie]

Suggest that you swap for Leopold QRW rings (IMHO, the best weaver style rings), and Weaver-style bases. A one piece scope base DOES NOT appreciably stiffen an action when compared to a two-piece mounting system... unless you believe that those little bitty screws can handle a lot more than their size...

If the screw is toast, that's good. If it isn't, you may need to tap the receiver for a larger screw.

 

[ocabj]

I have a similar problem. I just picked up my Savage 10FP-LE2 today and I got the Leupold STD Mounts (Savage 10/110 Round Receiver #55742 Matte) and the Leupold STD Medium Rings (#49901, Matte). It's a two piece deal, except when I dropped the front base in, the front screw stripped. We got it out and the receiver looks ok, but now I don't know what to do. I just filled out the customer service form at leupold.com to see if I could get some more screws for the front base because we're pretty sure it's the screw and not the receiver.

Also, the windage screws on the rear base, when mounted with the windage screws farthest to the rear, prevent the bolt from being opened. The windage screw hits the bolt handle so it can't make it that last few degrees up so the bolt can be pulled back. So I had to mount it with the windage screws above the ejection port. This is no big deal since shells extract fine and don't hit the rear base.

Sigh, guess I'm waiting on a response from Leupold.

 

[ocabj]

Well, it looks like the thread in the receiver is actually stripped on my rifle. We took a closer look at it and the 3rd thread from the top seems to be doubled up. Looks like we're going to have to retap it to see if we can clean the thread and if not, I'm going to have to go oversize.

What the hell? Cheap threading on Savage receiver? The only thing I was able to find on google about this subject is some guy who stripped a two Remington receivers with Leupold bases and Torx screws.

 

[308win]

The only thing I was able to find on google about this subject is some guy who stripped a two Remington receivers with Leupold bases and Torx screws.

The mounting hole closest to the bolt on the front of the Rem action is slightly shallower and it isn't readily apparent to the eye (at least not to mine). I didn't strip the hole I twisted off the torx screw. Gunsmith drilled out and cleaned up for me - no problems.

 

[fish2xs]

Update:

earlier this week I took the Savage with the base and rings back to the store I purchased
everything from. They are very good about service. I gave them everything, told them
I would buy the scope from him and I wanted to come back on friday (today) and have
everything fixed (including a retap on the receiver if necc.) and ready to zero in at the
range on saturday.

The store went thru every base they had and none fit the new Savage. I guess this should
be a warning to anyone getting a new 10FP. They had to order the base.

I'll be calling them later today to see if it's ready to pick up this afternoon.

FYI, I ordered a Leupold VariX-III 4.5-14X40. I expect to post a few questions on this board
related to that as this is the first scoped rifle I've bought.

-P