Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Dang. Just dang. I suppose i need a torque wrench...

2 years ago I saw a Browning Medallion X-Bolt on GB for a fair price.
Six months later it was still there so on a whim I bought it.
Ordered some Hornady 180 IB from Midway and went to the range with iron sights.
First two shots at 25 yards with irons were touching. That got me excited to buy a scope
Months went by…
Bought a ZX5 off of Eurooptics for a steal, and X-Bolt 30mm rings from Midway
Finally got it to the range yesterday.
At 100 yards the first shot was not even on paper!!! Pulled the bolt and looked down the barrel to see paper and then looked at the crosshairs of the scope… I guessed the first shot was at least 15” low and probably 6” wide right…
Made some ginormous click adjustments to hit paper…
2nd shot was 4” high and 3” left.
16 clicks down and 12 clicks right and shot #3 was right where I wanted it, 1.75” above POA
Shots 4 and 5 along with #3 made a 1” group… looking good so far…
then things got weird
#6 was low opening the group to 1.5”
#7 and #8 were wide right opening the group to 2.25”
Changed targets and went to the Federal 180 TBT ammo
Shot #1 was above POA by 5.5”; shots 2 and 3 came back down to 2.75” over POA in a .75” two shot cluster.
Dang
Changed targets and went back to the Hornady IB and a three shot group went into .35” but clustered only .75” above POA. Sweet but WTFO?
Changed targets and went back to the 180 TBT and a three shot group went into a 1” group and 3” above POA
MY one hour of range time was over so I packed up and went home to ponder the weirdness…
It was then that I saw the skid marks on the scope body… the scope had been moving forward under recoil… it had moved to the point where it could no longer slide any further.
Talk about feeling like a dumb@$$!!!
I am guessing the .35” group with the 180 IB was either a fluke or a sign of great things to come once I get the scope properly battened down to not move under recoil.
I love the 300 H&H… the recoil is more of an abrupt push than a hard punch. Or course this rifle setup probably weighs 9 lb…

Did you degrease the inside of the rings?

No matter the correct torque, oil from manufacturing can/will allow the scope to slip........I know this........

as will excessive lapping.

did not do any degreasing, or lapping... this is my first experience with a "heavy" scope and 30mm rings... my other scopes are all 1" tubes and probably don't weigh more than 16 oz... never had one move...

I never thought about how a heavy scope could be affected by recoil compared to a lighter one! I recently bought a torque screwdriver for fine tuning action bolts on 22 rifles but may come in more handy than I thought. What torque settings do you guys use on scope mounts?

That is a very good point

Most manufacturers publish torque specs.

ordered up a digital torque wrench and another box of Hornady 180 IB...

TQ Wrench means ZERO. Hint. Congratulations?!?

Exactly which base and rings? Hint.

It's ALL about ring spacing and surface area of same.

Hint.............

No it isn't "all". Fuggin Wbys are real touchy about exactly the right torque on each screw to get the receiver to bend just right. I have flat bedded a couple to correct this exact problem, and it worked both times. Hint.

Personally, I would never buy a Wby for this exact reason, and a few others (over-hyped, over heavy, over priced, and some are over flashy.)

But that's just me. Old Roy saw a lot of gimmicky gun folk coming......

Fhuqking EPIC Stupidity! Hint. Congratulations?!?

Please cite the Weatherby receiver that "bent" with your mounts and the exact scope which facilitated same. Then reflect upon how an exact TQ Value mitigated same,by "unbending" said receiver. Hint. LAUGHING!

Folks who "know" and "do" as "much" as you,are ALWAYS going to be better served by asking questions...rather than giving fhuqking "answers". Hint.

I'm ASSUREDLY no Weatherby Rifle Fan(other than twin lugged Sakos of yore and Howas from inception),but David Copperfield couldn't "bend" a fhuqking receiver with (4) 6-48's and a scope. HINT.

Bless your heart for trying and PLEASE "tell" me more.

Hint.

LAUGHING!..................

Weren't my intent to spook the hole and pardon Facts being soooooo very disconcerting. It's never been difficult to savvy,who shoots...and who don't. Hint. Congratulations?!?

1000 words on a few I got,these past few weeks. The astute will savvy ring spacing and surface area,in conjunction. Hint.

Bet it don't/can't slip. Hint.



Bet it don't/can't slip. Hint.



Bet it don't/can't slip. Hint.



Bet it don't/can't slip. Hint.



Was REALLY looking forward to some more Bent Receiver Delusions,fueled by Droolers doing their absolute fhuqking BEST. Hint.

Bless your hearts.

Laughing!...................

Well that was enlightening. I ordered a digital torque wrench from Midway and set the ring screws to 17 in-lb. My "farmer tight" guessing by feel was no more than 7 or 8 in-lb.. some not even 5. No wonder the scope was sliding under recoil...

Whats the point of the tape on the scopes?

style points!

what kind of wrench did you use originally again , sir?

screwdriver with appropriate bit and cycle thru all the screws four times: tighten till loose tight, tighten til tight, then a quarter turn more... then a quarter turn more... found out this only gets me to 5 to 8 in-lbs... surprised me. from now on i will roll with the digital torque wrench on all screws on a rifle...

That's what keeps the scopes from slipping under recoil!

To help keep the scope lens covers on.

Hell, that ain't even Ant Farmer tight!

I go between 15-20 pounds on most cap screws. No slippage so far up to .30/06, even with 20-22oz scopes. Base screws vary, according to screw size, number etc. Ruger dovetails, about 35. May not be "correct", but what works works.

Stick's "horn" rings have the nice inserts and are wide. Much as it pains me to say, he's right about those. Heavy buggers, but they hold, and come in a $10 box.

I use 91% isopropyl alcohol on screws and inside rings to degrease.