Recently I purchased a used Marlin 444S rifle. This was a very clean rifle in excellent condition , however, this was a fairly early rifle, pre safety and micro groove barrel. I mounted a compact Leupold scope in weaver rings and base mount. At the range I found that the scope bottomed out before I could move the windage adjustment far enough to the left to reach zero. Back home I mounted another Leupold scope (this was a 2 x 7 vari X 11 compact that had been well tested) along with another set of rings and another base mount. The results were the same. The scope could not accomodate the amount of adjustment needed to bring the rifle to zero. This leaves me with the only other thought that the tap screws are out of alignment. Has anyone encountered this before with a Marlin rifle??? Thanks

Take a straight edge and just sort of eyeball the centerline of the holes and see if they line up to the center of the gun. A 12" steel ruler works well.

If you bought a 2 piece base, try reversing one of the bases.

-Spencer

You might want to try the Burris signature rings. These use plastic inserts that can correct alignment problems. The corrective inserts are sold separately. You can get a lot of correction by ordering several. You can get inserts for 5", 10", and 20" inch correction at 100 yards. By using corrective inserts in both the front and rear ring you can get up to 40" of correction.

quote:

Originally posted by 54JNoll:
You might want to try the Burris signature rings. These use plastic inserts that can correct alignment problems. The corrective inserts are sold separately. You can get a lot of correction by ordering several. You can get inserts for 5", 10", and 20" inch correction at 100 yards. By using corrective inserts in both the front and rear ring you can get up to 40" of correction.

I've tried it.....it's a great idea.

However this is the first time I've heard this problem on a Marlin...it's usually on Charles daly mausers.

Depending on how far off they are you can have them drilled out and tapped to 8x40 size by someone that can accurately align the holes to the bore with a Forster jig. Once the barreled action is set up in the jig it is next to impossible to have holes out of aligment with the bore unless the barrel is bent.

The Burris inserts are also a good idea, and allot quicker and cheaper.

One other quick check is to make sure that the mounts aren't out of square. When I first set one of mine up, it was just a bit out of whack and was just enough to screw up the alignment. Was able to loosen it and get just enough adjustment to square it up.

MontMike, I guess I do not understand what you are saying about squaring up the mount. This is a one piece mount and there is no play. The holes, screws, etc. are a tight fit and they would have to be made that way to securly hold the scope and prevent any movement??

543Noll, I guess the Burris signature rings will fit a weaver style base? Do they make a very low ring? I really want the scope mounted low. I guess you buy the inserts separately? Are they expensive? I had already been thinking about a Millett ring set since they have some windage adjuntments that can be made, but I do not belive they make a low ring set. Also do you think Marlin would make any effort to fix the problem?? It certainly seems to be a factory defect, but this is a used gun several years old. ?? Thanks.

B1878,

Take my advice and find a local gunsmith that does scope and sight mounting. Chances are he either uses a Forster jig or has one of his own design where he can accurately align the holes to the bore for you. I have done this many times with my Forster and the holes are normally not so far out of whack that they can’t be easily fixed by re-drilling and re-tapping to 8x40. Then you know that everything is lined up properly and no stress is being placed on anything due to any misalignment. You can have this done and use your existing base and rings...just have the smith drill out the holes in your base for the 8x40 screws.

Cut some shims out of beer cans and put them on the left side of the rings.

Actually, first what I would do is use a straight edge and a sharp lead pencil and draw a line through the center of the screw holes to find out where the problem is. I am a big fan of both weaver style bases and also Burris Signature rings, and I would also be inclined to go that route. It is not only the most economical way but also the rings will not mar your scope, which makes them a good choice even when everything lines up. I'm also not a big Leupold base supporter (somewhat of a hypocrite since I have one on my favorite '06), but in this situation that might also work favorably for you.

Good luck and let us know what you do and how it turns out!

Ive had good luck using the millet rings for out of alignment mounts.I have also used weaver rings and reversed one of the rings to gain some windage.
And,of course the various dovetail bases and rings like the redfield jr have all the windage adjustment you would need.

Barrel could be cocked in the receiver also.

jb, How would reversing one of the weaver rings help the situation. I would have guessed that it would have been the same eather way? I have considered the shim idea and am still keeping that as a possible option. I am not familiar with the Burris Signature ring inserts. Can these inserts be used with the weaver rings that I already have??

B1878
The Marlin already has 8-40 threads. So the solution is to try the Burris signature rings with offset inserts. They are made in low and medium heights, to go on Weaver bases.
The other solution is to put a receiver sight on. That is what is on mine.
Good luck.

I certainly appreciate the helpful suggestions many of you offered regarding the problem with my Marlin. I elected to go with the shims to put in the rings. I cut two small shims from some thin flixable plastic and placed one on the left side of the front ring and the other on the right side of the rear ring. I just returned from the range today and this worked great. It easily moved the point of impact over and now I even have several inches to spare at fifty yards. I also fired at 100yds so now I can start working up some loads. Thanks again...

Redfield bases have windage ajustment.

Scota, I am very aware of the Redfield mounts, but that is not what I happened to have and it would not exactly be cheap to start over and buy a set of redfield mounts and rings. The shims cost absolutely nothing and so far I am very satisfied. Also I was looking for a very low mount and the redfield mount seems higher than the Weaver. Just my thoughts.

I’m assuming that you also know that you can have the base screw holes plugged and redrilled so they are aligned properly?

The simple answer is to get a pair of Millet Angle-loc gings. They are windage adjustable.
Lyle