i suspect the scope mount holes on a rifle i just had put together may be drilled off center.(i'm going to have a smith check it out before i make a decision by just eyeballing it, but it looks crooked to me) my question...if they are drilled wrong, what's involved in fixing the problem? welding up the existing holes and redrilling and tapping? is that it? is re-heat-treating the action required(i assume it is) the action is a brno 98/22. i had real high hopes for this rifle and hope that this little screw-up(if that's the case) can be fixed without breaking the bank. thanks in advance...bud

You may or may not be in trouble, Are the front action ring holes out of sink or the rear bridge holes..the rear is a snap, just tig and redo them...the front is not so good and depends on what stage your conversion work is at if its worth the trouble...

It can be done by a sure nuff tig welder, I have seen Jack Belk do it and it seemed to work, but it would still be best IMO to take it down soft then bring it back up to specs after it is tigged up and re-drilled....There are conflicting ideas on the subject to say the least...

bud,

If the holes are off center, I'd try a nw set of bases first. A set of gunsmith bases or having a gunsmith make up a weaver base and drilling the holes slightly off center. I bought a Ruger 22 pistol was drilled slightly off center (1/16"). I took a weaver base and turned it around and drilled the holes slightly off center in the base to center it.

Bud,

I don't know how flawless you want this to be, as Ray said Tig the holes and re heat treat the action. Oh, you'll need to reblue it too.

Now if you don't want to do that, Contender has it right and just re drill the mount, or get some rail stock and fabricate your own. Or get a steel mount and fill the holes and redrill.

My suggestion is to locktite or epoxy some 6 X 48 plugs, file down smooth, then redrill. It would look obvious except it will be covered by the base so you cant see it.

However you do it, if at all possible do your drilling with a mill.

Yes the best is TIG over the holes and re drill the reciever, BUT... what I do is [skip the TIG] mill the holes and countersets in the mount into an oblong shape.



I glass bed mounts to the receiver anyway, and the mount allignment process is the same.

thanks for the help. i typed a reply to this last night but i don't know what happened to it. i haven't decided what i'm going to do about this yet. i may just live with it since they are very close anyway and i don't want to start another "project" right now. but thanks for all the suggestions....bud

I have run into this problem in the past and have cured it thus: I would not weld up the holes; too much extra work in the welding, heat-treating and re-blueing. I have made up blank bases, depending on the type of rings used, and left the holes un-drilled. Set the action up in the mill and indicate in the existing holes, set the new bases on the action and super glue them in place using the scope with the rings and bases attached and using a collimator to ensure it is pointing in the right direction. When the superglue has set, drill the hole. It really helps if you have DRO on the mill and record the location of each hole in the receiver before setting the bases in place. Make sure you only drill the holes in the bases to the tap drill size or you may run the risk of drilling out the existing threads in the receiver. It is a simple matter to open them up and counter-bore later in the drill press.

Jim