How to put on a scope?

thenuge15 · 07-29-2003, 12:57 PM

I just bought a simmons .22 mag scope from cabelas and want to put it on my 10/22. I was wondering if it matters if you attach the rings to the base first or the rings to the scope and then the whole thing to the base. How tight should i tighten them? Any step by step instructions or guidelines would be greatly appriciated. Thanks-Sam

frizzellr · 07-29-2003, 01:10 PM

Make sure your rifle is unloaded. Attach the base to the top of the receiver making sure the screws are tight. If you have the kind of rings that split in half, open them and attach the bottom half to the base. If not them attach the rings to the scope but don' t tighten them then put the scope on the base. Level the reticle and set your eye relief and tighten everything down.

thenuge15 · 07-29-2003, 01:16 PM

Is it bad for the scope if you tighten the rings around the scope b4 attaching it to the gun? Or do you just to this so you can adjust the eye relief. The instructions say not to over tighten but i don' t want them to lose either. So I guess really the only help i need is to now how tight to put them. Thanks-sam

RedAllison · 07-29-2003, 02:42 PM

Yes nuge, it is bad to mount the rings on the scope first. That torques the scope and can lead to misalignment that will bend the tube, on two piece tubes like your Simmons it will compromise the seals where the tubes fit into the crosshair mechanism. The scope is the LAST thing to ever mount!
Properly mount the bottom half of the rings to the mounts on the gun. If they are screw on (like a Weaver clamp on configuration) this is easy. If it is a dovetail (like Leupold bases/rings) that must be turned into the base, NEVER use the scope as a prybar. A piece of wooden dowel or metal tube that is of equal diameter as your scope is proper. Use that as well to " size/fit" the rear screw on mount. A properly seated set of rings will allow a tube/scope to drop cleanly into the rings without hanging up or scratching anything. If they dont fit cleanly, something is off, remove and start over.
Once they are set, then lay the scope in the rings and place the top half of the rings over the scope and turn them only enough to hold them in place (a thread or two is all you need). Setup the scope for proper eye relief for you (or whoever is going to be shooting the gun the most), then align the crosshairs and THEN tighten up the tophalf rings. A properly adjusted ring/mount setup will NOT mar or scratch the scopetube if you were to remove that scope and look at it.

Good luck,
RA

thenuge15 · 07-29-2003, 08:54 PM

Thanks For your help RedAllison but i am confused about why to use the wooden dowel? Also i still need to know how much to tighten the rings.

uncle matt · 07-29-2003, 09:32 PM

The " wooden dowel" is used to align the bases. You do not want to use the scope tube to align the mounts, as you could easily torque (kinda bend) the scope.

I personally don' t like wooden dowels for alignment use cause alot of the dowels in the hardware store are sold in loke 3 ft. lengths and you see that they are far from true by rolling them on the floor (like you do a pool cue to see how straight it is). I can' t ever recalling a smith using wood. I have a few pieces of stainless steel shaft in the popular scope tube sizes that I use. ( But I need my 1" shaft right now and can' t find it! ) I had a machinist buddy turn them for me to spec on a lathe. They are NICE! ( Atleast the ones I have that I CAN find! LOL )

Before you mount the base to the receiver, take out the mounting screws and make sure that ALL the oil is cleaned out of the threads on the screws AND the receiver. Allow all the degreaser you have used to COMPLETELY evaporate and when you mount your base to the receiver, apply a slight bit of medium bonding Lok-Tite (thread locker). Always use nice, clean, properly sized & well-machined tools to do this stuff. There are different sizes and types of even screwdrivers.
Using an improperly sized tool will usually lead to marring or distortion of the hardware ( i.e. ulgliness ). Most of the bases really don' t need any Lok-Tite but a slight dab of light (low or sometimes called " serviceable" ) bond won' t hurt.

Scopes like to loosen up on ALL guns and they WILL if given the chance.

Uncle Matt (in IL)

" If ya got time to do it two times............................then you darm sure had time to do it right the FIRST TIME!"

thenuge15 · 07-29-2003, 09:46 PM

So well tightening your rings on the base you have something in there so you tighten them evenly? Will they be crooked (sp?) if you tighten them unevenly? How tight do i tighten teh rings over the scope?

bigbulls · 07-29-2003, 11:06 PM

If your rings are Leupold or Redfield then the front ring will need to be put in the slot sidewaws and then twisted 1/4 turn to get it facing the proper direction. You need to place the 1" wooden dowel or steel rod in the front ring and install the top part of the ring just like you would the scope. You now use this rod to twist the front ring into place.

Next you want to have two pieces of 1" steel rod aproxomately 4 inches long each. If they are machined to a point on one end then even better. Install one of these rods in each of the rings so that they are very close to touching each other between the rings. Then allign these bars of steel by making adjustments to the rings by twisting the front ring and by adjusting the windage screws on your base for the back ring. When these are alligned with each other then you can remove them and install your scope with out fear of the rings being misaligned and bending your scope.

thenuge15 · 07-29-2003, 11:31 PM

I don' t think my rings can twist. They are simmons rings and they came w/the scope. So if i tighten them to the base will they be straight or do i have to make sure they are evenly tightened. Does anybody know how tight to put the rings on?

diyj98 · 07-30-2003, 07:08 AM

nuge,

I' d just tighten them to " firm" . It' s hard to discribe without stating " tighten to XYZ foot pounds" . Many folks over tighten their rings and end up damaging their scope or stripping the holes out if they are using aluminum rings. I like to apply a little Locktite to keep them from backing out and just tighten all screws up to where they stop with medium pressure.