Gentlemen My experience with scopes has been with benchrest calibers 6ppc,6Br,6.5-284 and the like.These create so little recoil that scope movement is not a problem if one keeps the screws tight.
I am now using a 06 and 300 win. mag and before installing my Leo.VIII 4-14, I need your procedures & tricks to secure their position with the additional recoil.I use breaks,but that should not be a factor.
I use Scotch Double Stick Tape. Clean the mounts and scope and put pieces of tape on the inside of the mount bases and rings. You can move the scope to level the crosshairs with the rings loose but the tape really holds with the rings tightened. Don't tighted the rings too much on variables. Leupold has a caution on this suggesting so many inch pounds.
Hey marshall, If you have not already purchased your Bases and Rings, take a look at the Burris Signatures.
I can highly recommend using either the Dual Dovetail "style" bases/rings or the Weaver "style" bases/rings in the Burris Signature series.
You will end up with an excellent grip on the scope tube, no need to Lap the rings and you have the availability of Eccentric Inserts if by chance the Bore and Receiver are not perfectly aligned.
Posts: 9920 | Location: Carolinas, USA | Registered: 22 April 2001
The only scope slipping problem I ever had as with some Styer mounts for a Model M back in the 70's. A set of control mounts solved that problem. Redfields in the old days were good. I like Warns and if you want really good mounts, then just have your gunsmith fit and install Talley's. Never needed to use glue. Oh if you are going to be shooting some sort of 300 mag etc. Have your smith when he dose your mounts re tap for 8 x40 screws. Talley"s and 8 x 40 screw's are the only way to fly.
Posts: 1070 | Location: East Haddam, CT | Registered: 16 July 2000
3M makes a rubbery goop for sealing electrical connections that may be exposed to moisture. It's in a can w/brush attached to the lid, available at electrical supply houses. That stuff is REALLY sticky, and a thin layer applied to the rings before the scope is set in there just about guarantees no movement The downside is, forget about ever getting the scope back out of the rings
R-WEST
Posts: 1483 | Location: Windber, PA | Registered: 24 January 2001
Well, Marshall, breaks might make a difference, particularly in the .300 Magnum with such a big, heavy scope. Breaks, because of their complicated harmonics, beat up scopes much faster than non-muzzle breaked guns. Another vote for the Dual Dovetail/Burris Signature rings. I wouldn't bother with going to bigger base mount screws. I would suggest that you dunk your new Leo in warm water before you mount it. After a few minutes, you shouldn't get any air bubbles coming out of it. If you do, have Leupold replace it. Don't get me wrong, they are a great scope, and my first choice. But any scope can leak. If they do, they can fog much more readily. You'll need to shoot it 30-40 rds. to make sure it's OK. Again, just a precaution. And you'll need to test it from time to time. Particularly if it gets bumped much. Try putting your scoped rifle in a padded vise. Rap the front bell just once, good and hard, with a rubber mallet. Like Ray says, it will probably move. I don't care how you mount it. Or what brand it is. They are all like that. It's called living with their technical limitations. The smaller, lighter scopes don't do this nearly so readily. E
Posts: 1022 | Location: Placerville,CA,USA | Registered: 28 May 2002
I would agree with some oters and the Burris rings are great but there is one better out there, the Conetrol brand!
Whatever brand you use be sure the rings are aligned, have someone with the tools check for you.
Also you can get thin electrical tape (friction tape) and put a piece in the bottom half of each ring and this will keep things from moving around. Burris by the way includes their version of yellow tape.
I use factory leupold rings and do not use any adhesive of any kind on them.I have never had a scope move in the rings and my hunting rifles are 7mm stw's,300 ultramags and a 338x8mm rem mag.
Posts: 3104 | Location: alberta,canada | Registered: 28 January 2002
Just had the same problem with a Ruger # 1 in 45/70 and fairly stiff loads. The rings/mounts that came with the rifle begin to allow the scope to slip. I purchased some Leupold mounts and used Don Martin29's trick with the double sided tape. Shot 25 rounds Saturday with no apparent slippage or change of zero.
As R-West suggested, get yourself a can of 3M Scotchkote� Electrical Coating ( A fast drying sealant and bonding compound, the coating is provided in a brush top 16 oz. can.) Thoroughly degrease your rings and apply a thin coat (on rings only). You'll have no slippage and a totally weatherproof assembly. a single can is a lifetime supply and disassembly is easy, leaving no marks on the scope tube.
The cheapest and easiest way is to use rubberized paper cement, available at any grocery or drug store. Coat the inside of the rings, let it dry and bolt it up. That's what the old Buehler rings used. It easily holds even the big kickers. I've been using it over 50 years and have never had a scope slip. Cleanup or removal is easy and a bottle costs about $1.
Posts: 1261 | Location: Placerville, CA, US of A | Registered: 07 January 2001
I was having a problem with the scope moving in the factory rings on my Ruger 7 Mag, so I switched from slotted screws in the rings to Torx head screws, which allowed me to fully tighten them. Hasn't moved at all in the last 500 or 600 shots since I changed them. Kind of spendy at about a buck a screw, but worth it.
No offense but if the scope is set up right in the first place then I don't think that cartridges in the 06' and .30 cal magnum class are to hard to keep still. I personally have never had a problem with scopes moving until I got in the .375 and up level, and then I second the motion that the Burris rings with the insert are a godsend. Don't mean to step on anyones toes.
Posts: 1259 | Location: Colusa CA U.S.A. | Registered: 27 June 2001
Instead of tape, try one very small drop of clear nail polish on each of the rings halves below the scope, then one very small drop on each of the top ring halves.
Before you use the nail polish, align the scope the way you want it, and place a couple of pencil marks on the scope and rings to give you an idea of exactly where the scope will be leveled/aligned. The nail polish will take a minute or so before it dryes, which is ample time to perform the final adjustment.
Why nail polish? It does not adhere like glue would, and it spreads thinly around the ring/scope surfaces. Tape (some times) could be thick enough to place too much pressure on the scope when the rings are tightened.
Posts: 2448 | Location: Alaska | Registered: 25 May 2002
i agree with all the posts about aligning/securing the rings properly as a first measure. Before setting the scope in the lower halfs (or assembling the rings around the scope when i mount Warne type rings) I carefully degrease the rings. Then I rub them with the stuff musicians use on viloin strings etc. It�s called harpiks in Norwegian, is it Resin in english? Anyway, I buy the "solid block" stuff and rub the rings with it, depositing a fine dust of resin. The advantage over glue etc. is that it doesn�t build in the rings, and it is very sticky once you tighten the rings. On my former .375 recoil sheared the lugs of my Warne steel mount without the scope slipping.
The scope on my current .375 is a large S & B that weighs almost 1,5 pounds mounted on 7 pound rifle, it has not moved any at all after firing 200 rounds. I like the resin also because it does not set or harden, so I can use all the time I want setting eye relief and (try) to get the reticle straight.
Powdered resin has always worked for me. I bought a can from Brownell's 20 years ago and have used it for scopes, removing barrels, and fluxing bullet metal. I don't expect my son to live to use that can up.
Posts: 1570 | Location: Base of the Blue Ridge | Registered: 04 November 2002