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Old September 26, 2001, 09:34 PM   #1
EQP
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Scoping a rifle

I am about to purchase a Savage 10FP in .308 and am going to scope it with one of the Leupold Vari-X III scopes and am looking for input on how to go about attaching the Leupold to the Savage. This will be the first time I have mounted a scope to a rifle and any input would be most welcome. I did a search here on optics and didn't run across this info. I apologize in advance if this has been beaten to death. What will I need to do this job properly in regards to tools? I gather that a single piece sight mount is better than two piece mounts, is this correct? Is there a certain brand of scope rings and mounts that are better (meaning sturdier) than others? I am not averse to spending the money to do the job correctly the first time. I have also heard that the rings and mount should be steel and not aluminum, is this correct? What am I missing? What are your recommendations in this area? Specifics will be very much appreciated!

Thanks in advance,
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Old September 26, 2001, 10:39 PM   #2
slickpuppy
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I usually use 2 piece instead of 1 piece.

Before you go buying "stuff" to do the job, decide what scope you are going to buy. By that I mean is it a 1 inch tube on the scope or 30mm? What scope will you be buying? What is the diameter of the front of the scope's objective - 40 or 50mm? This will determine the height of your mount to clear your barrel.

I own more expensive scope mounts, but, Leupold mounts with Leupold scopes work well together and I have a few rifles with that combination. They make good stuff. They will have a good combination for your rifle.

As for the mounting job, you will need to lap the rings to get everything trued up to eliminate any undue forces on your new optics. Brownells and Sinclair International sell the scope lapping tools. What you buy will be based upon the diameter of the scope tube - 30mm or 1 inch. I own the 2 versions from Brownells. Both companies have detailed instructions on how to use them.

Some say don't, but I always use Loctite 242 Threadlocker on my base and ring screws. They are owned by Permatex now and the adhesive number designators are different. It is no longer 242 but others know it as blue loctite.

Others will add on from here. Let it rip guys.
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Old September 27, 2001, 07:01 PM   #3
kurt IA.
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Whats to add? I think you covered it.
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Old September 29, 2001, 10:01 PM   #4
James K
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Except that lapping the rings is a nicety that even most gunsmiths skip. I have no argument with doing it but I would just check the rings to make sure there are no burrs or roughness on the inner surfaces, and go ahead and put them on.

The hardest part in installing a scope is getting the cross hairs or post perfectly straight. This is where time will be well spent. Since the rifle is a bolt action, you can boresight it simply by placing the rifle on a firm surface, removing the bolt and looking at some object through the barrel. Center the object in the barrel and adjust the scope to put the crosshairs on the "target". This adjusts the scope to line up with the barrel. A borescope is better, but not necessary in this case.

(A note - when boresighting through a window on some distant object, keep well inside and away from the window if you are in an area where someone might misunderstand and call the police about a "sniper". It happened to an acquaintance of mine years ago, and he had a lot of explaining to do.)

Then at the range, sight-in at 50 yards using a fairly big target. Once sighted in at 50, it should be easy to move to 100 and adjust as necessary. Sight in with the hunting ammo, of course.

Jim
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Old October 1, 2001, 10:53 PM   #5
Art Eatman
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"As well as", not "Instead of", okay?

If the one-piece mount has three screws holding it in place, how can it be stronger than two bases, each with two screws? It is the total diameter of the screws, in shear, which resist the impact of recoil. Four holes in a one-piece base, it may be stronger than two bases--but you still have two rings.

In the FWIW department, I've had no problems with Weaver or Weaver-style mounts and rings on my .30-'06s, for a long, long time. They may not be purty, but they work just fine.

For cartridges of no more recoil than the '06, I don't think it makes any difference (omitting Benchrest competition) what mounts are used.

But a Vari-X III deserves good-looking mounts!!!

, Art
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Old October 3, 2001, 11:30 AM   #6
slickpuppy
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Art,
Try pretty instead of "purty". If you want to nitpick, so can I Hondo. My usage indicated a preference to the two piece as a first choice.

I didn't realize this was an English examination here! Get over it Gramps.
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Old October 3, 2001, 11:51 AM   #7
James K
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(Come on guys, let's not get that stuff started on this forum!
Now say you're sorry and shake hands.)

The one-piece vs. two-piece argument is pretty old. The main one in favor of the two-piece is that it allows more room for loading the magazine and ejecting the fired cartridge case, which is why two-piece mounts are usually used on bolt rifles, with one-piece being used on solid top receivers. Some brands of mounts are made only in one piece, so if you prefer those, there is no choice.

Jim
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Old October 3, 2001, 07:26 PM   #8
EQP
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Thanks for the info! I opted for a two piece base and rings setup along with a Leupold VariX-III M1. I should get them in this Friday or next Monday. Now I just have to get the rifle which I'm waiting for my FFL to receive from PA.

Thanks again,
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Old October 3, 2001, 07:34 PM   #9
Keith J
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I had no problems installing Leopould mounts on my Savage. Just for giggles, I tried lapping with 1" drill rod and some 400 grit optical abrasive. I put a thin coat of layout blue on the bases to check progress as they are stainless finish. I found the bases and ring bottoms to be perfect after the first pass, evenly removing all the blue.

Bore sighting was done at 25 yards and confirmed with the first shot.

I had BIG problems using Weaver rings. I finally got tired of lapping (they were WAY off) and pitched these after trying to bore sight and running out of elevation.
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Old October 3, 2001, 10:24 PM   #10
Art Eatman
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slickpuppy, I didn't even know I was disagreeing with anything you said! I was just adding some ideas--at least that's what I thought I was doing. My preference is that those who are relatively "newby" have a good bit of information available to them so that they can make their own reasonably-well-informed decisions.

Dunno where "language exam" came from. I do tend to fadiddle around with the language, as a bit of fun and games...

I mostly just relate what worked for me. If I have any advice about rifles, it's in two areas:

1. Once you're sighted in, forget the benchrest. Practice offhand and from "casual" rests. The real hunting-world ain't always comfy.

2. Never be in a hurry to spend money. They ain't gonna quit making that stuff. (No matter what my wife thinks, at the mall.)

, Art
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