Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Scope came loose on new rifle--what to do?

Slightly off topic - Do any of you know a good book on gun maintenance? I have a few gun books (The Complete Book of Shooting by Jack O'Connor, Roy Dunlap, Jeff Cooper and The Rifleman's Bible by Sam Fadala). I got those more for hunting advice, shooting tips, techniques, stance, etc.

One that covers reloading, basic assembly/disassembly, tools required, etc. would be nice. Or maybe a website with all of this information conveniently organized?

Go to Brownells site. Try their on line videos. There they have the tools as well as the experienced people to help you out.
You just had one of the best (Redneck) respond to your initial post..
There is also a gunsmithing forum here at the Campfire.. don't be afraid to ask and if you feel squeemish about asking, PM works

Don't forget to add scope mounting to your list....

C'mon, you had to smile on that one!!

I'd combine a google search with a perusal of Cabela's or Midway online catalog for goods pertaining to basic gun maintenance, etc. You'll even come across some really nice youtube video's on the subject of gun maintenance, etc.

I like and use KG Bore Cleaning products for carbon and copper build up, but there are many others that work well.

At the end of hunting season I'll pull the action from the stock and break down the bolt as well. You can google M70 bolt break down and see how it's done. OR, find someone who knows how and have them show you.

Tools? mainly and assortment of screw drivers, hex heads, wrenches, dental picks, files etc. Take a look at Brownells when you get a chance. You can never have too many tools IMHO!! I don't know of any M70 specific tools, but you can ask Redneck.

I Don't anything about you, but it sounds like pulling the trigger and screwing around with that might be a bit much right now.

What are you shooting? 30-06? I might have missed that earlier. But as far as reloading, there are too many sources to list here. Try to get familiar with the search function here and learn a bit. you can also buy a couple of books such as those published by Nolser and Hornady.

There is a basline of knowledge required for reloading, but you can also go as deep as you want to. Read some of mathman's posts. That guy measures everything!!

There are many good sources of info right here on the fire. Put up another post, what do you have to loose?

Stuff happens. Buck up and bring a spare next time.

Don't mean to pile on but it does sound like you shot your ownself in the foot. Through incompetence or depending on someone else to do a simple task for you.
And you want compensation?? Why don't you get in line behind the lady with the coffee stains on her crotch.

I would degrease the screws and the screw holes but not use loc tite. The reason why is the possibility of loctite getting into the action.

The coffee lady got millions$$$$$$$$$$$. and now all coffee containers from fast food are labeled " Caution, contents may be hot or cause burns". When paying for a service the service should be done right, that is what they are getting paid to do, that is why they are called a professional, but there are profesional hacks out there in all business.

I guess all of you guys did all things perfect from day one and knew how to mount a scope right from your momma's birth canal. Wow, no way all of you never learned anything by experience as a newbie to some sport or activity. To the OP, don't let these know it all turds ruin your experience here. We all learn as wel go. Some of us had or have great mentors to help us out along the way, some of us not so much and learn harder as a result. You will get there, keep at it and keep learning.

i don't let ANYONE mount my scopes. when i get a factory rifle i take off the factory bases, if it came with them, and do it again MY way.

i failed to do this on a rifle i bought this month. the one time i forgot- i got home from shooting and thought to check them and they were a tiny bit loose, the screws had started backing out.

that will teach me.

A problem with a Gander Gunsmith, gee that's rare !

Here Gander does not even want to give cash back for returns only store credit when you paid originally with cash.

I know it may be a hard pill to swallow but you probably are going to learn a couple things from this experience that will help you for many years to come.

i will never let anyone mount a scope for me,just last week a friend bought a brand tc icon 243 and took it to the gunshop to get ring and bases for it. the guy behind the counter told to bring his scope in and he'd mount it and bore sight it free for him. he did ,when he got his gun back 20min later it had a huge scratch along side the reciever where the guy let the screw driver slip. ofcourse the guy said it was already there .

buy a good set of gun screwdrivers and do your own,most bore sighters are useless anyway.

when I went deer hunting last weekend,I took THREE rifles.Two never made it out of the cabin,but if I needed them,they would have performed perfectly.
And,I brought y gunsmith tool set.never needed that ,either,but had it just in case.

Do you guys think a real, live gun smith mounted the scope?? Or did some shop monkey or general clerk do it?? I kinda felt sorry for the guy until he started talking about compensation. Then he lost my vote.

Two points: First, torx screws seem to get much tighter than slot head screws. Really tight! Hard to remove. I had to buy a whole set of really good torx wrenches/drivers with long handles to release some of the torx screws in scope mounts. And that's with NO Loctite.
Second, one good reason for using detachable mounts rather than fixed mounts is because you can check the base screws without removing the scope and losing zero.

My thoughts exactly... and it is not like one can't find a hardware store in MN or WI to get the few items one would need to tighten the scope...

after hunting both states for about 15 years, 'up north' in either state, you could have brought the rifle in the case into the local hardware stores and they would have tightened those loose screws for you probably for no charge...

guess this is the mentality difference between city boys and those that don't live in the city...

example of the "its always the job of the government or someone else to take care of my stuff" mentality.. ( Obama Voter)

Okay, I retract my above statement being aimed at you... however I am going to leave it posted as their are other nimrods that need to learn from your experiences....hopefully you did them a service...

I left MN in 1995, and I wouldn't trust Gander Mountain back then... and as I understand, they haven't gotten better over the last 16 yrs, they have gotten worse...

You need a new one torn from the sounds of it. CLB is correct. On a side note, a scope and rings is not going to come loose by just carrying it around like you said. Where were you at when you had these dipchits installing your stuff??? Sounds like they didn't even tighten the chit up. Wondering whether or not your scope and rings/mounts are tight should never even be a consideration while out in the field. Many many more important things to be thinking about while out hunting...trust me.

+1

I'm willing to bet WIMN is fairly young and still in the learning process about these things, Do we really need to be so condescending?

As far as Gander, I'm also willing to bet no "gunsmith" was involved, just a young counter monkey making 8 bucks an hour.

I've hunted with enough of those astute "country boys" (both guides and locals)to know that the issues of prepping a rifle for the field are just as lost on some of them,as those from more urban settings...

Wish I had a buck for every rifle I have "fixed" or zeroed among locals out in the sticks.

I have seen more "rifle stupid" out in the country than among guys prepping for hunts at my local range,10 miles from downtown Boston...I just love these vague generalizations that "lump" people based on where they live...LOL!

Inexperience does not understand geographic boundaries...I'm sure the OP learned from his experiences here.Walking around will not loosen scope mounts properly installed in the first place.Suggestions to "do it yourself" are worth listening to.

Shoot....verify.Learn to deal with your own rifle.