Fair price to mount a scope

JRLSH · June 3, 2023, 03:08 PM

Hello all, I looked through the threads but none addressed my question, which is, what is a fair price to have a scope mounted on a Browning A-bolt ? I'm having a fellow from work I know who says he can mount this Leupold Mark 4 on my rifle and I wanted to know what I might expect for a charge? Anyone have a clue what a fair price should be?

Polinese · June 3, 2023, 05:09 PM

I've always mounted my own and done any friends for free. The now defunct sporting goods chain in my area always did it for free as well.

tangolima · June 3, 2023, 05:31 PM

Drill and tap needed? If not, I'd need about an hour to mount and bore sight. An hour more if d&t is needed for normal metal, 1 -1/2 hours if the metal is super hard.

Don't know the going hourly rate now. Say $75. So $75 to $190.

If zeroing is needed, 1 hour plus ammo.

Ain't cheap. For friends, family, active military/police, and combat veterans, I charged parts only. They had paid. That's when I was doing paid gunsmithing. Sometimes we barter for services among friends.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Pahoo · June 3, 2023, 06:46 PM

I've always mounted my own and done any friends for free.
This pretty much falls in line with what I do and I don't want to take any work from "Smiths". I do charge for any associated parts. There are some "Smiths" in here that hopefully, will chime in and list a price. Keep in mind that not all scope work, is the same. .....

Quote:

I'm having a fellow from work I know who says he can mount this Leupold Mark 4 on my rifle

So, he is an associate or at best, could be a friend, as well ???

Be Safe !!!

JRLSH · June 3, 2023, 08:12 PM

Thanks for all the replies everybody. I really appreciate them. This fellow is an older gentleman who is really into firearms and has lots of equipment so I think he pretty well knows what he is doing. Not a friend, per se, but an acquaintance I work with who is really friendly, so I don't mind a charge, I just didn't want an outrageous bill. I pretty much have a ball park to rely on now. Thanks again !

tangolima · June 3, 2023, 10:13 PM

He probably will need your presence while he is doing it, to set eye relief to your likings etc.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

stagpanther · June 4, 2023, 09:29 AM

I never charge anything for working on friend's firearms--in fact I consider it borrowing their gear for personal use. i do not have FFL licenses is the main reason.

RC20 · June 5, 2023, 02:01 PM

Good question and while I have no problem him doing the work I would follow along and see how its done.

Assuming its setup for a scope with the mounting holes, its easy to do and something you may well need down the road if a question comes up on if the scope is tight (not just to the rings but the receiver) as well as possible damage and a need to remove. I dropped a gun once and knocked the scope good so in it went.

You will still need to sight it in and adjust to what you want (2 inches high at 100 is fairly common as it gets out out to 250 yards with a dead on hold)

You can start at 25 or 50 yards, bore sight the gun on a target (nice large orange dot works great) fire 3 rounds.

Keep in mind, you have to move the dial twice as much at 50 yards as much at 50 yards as you do 100. I don't worry about spot on at 50 as you will need to adjust at 100 regardless. As long as you are on paper at 100 you can adjust over. I usually use 3 rounds as sometimes one round is whacky and the other two tell me where true center is.

jmr40 · June 9, 2023, 08:38 AM

If you're using old school windage adjustable mounts with dovetails special tools can be helpful but are not required. Extra care needs to be taken to ensure both rings are aligned correctly.

There is no way I'd use that type of mount on a modern rifle though. With any other mount it's so easy a cave man can do it. No reason to pay someone else to mount your scope.

MarkCO · June 9, 2023, 11:10 AM

If I charged folks for mounting a scope, cleaning a rifle, putting in a trigger, changing a barrel, I'd just buy more guns and ammo.

Friends, always free. If I am building a customer an AR upper and they send the scope in to mount, also for free.

If any machining is needed, I refer them to a competent smith that works on their type of firearm.

June 3, 2023, 03:08 PM	#1
JRLSH Member Join Date: October 26, 2011 Posts: 35	Fair price to mount a scope Hello all, I looked through the threads but none addressed my question, which is, what is a fair price to have a scope mounted on a Browning A-bolt ? I'm having a fellow from work I know who says he can mount this Leupold Mark 4 on my rifle and I wanted to know what I might expect for a charge? Anyone have a clue what a fair price should be? __________________ JRL____________ If you heard the bang, You weren't the target.

June 3, 2023, 08:12 PM	#5
JRLSH Member Join Date: October 26, 2011 Posts: 35	Thanks for all the replies everybody. I really appreciate them. This fellow is an older gentleman who is really into firearms and has lots of equipment so I think he pretty well knows what he is doing. Not a friend, per se, but an acquaintance I work with who is really friendly, so I don't mind a charge, I just didn't want an outrageous bill. I pretty much have a ball park to rely on now. Thanks again ! __________________ JRL____________ If you heard the bang, You weren't the target.

June 4, 2023, 09:29 AM	#7
stagpanther Senior Member Join Date: March 2, 2014 Posts: 11,801	I never charge anything for working on friend's firearms--in fact I consider it borrowing their gear for personal use. i do not have FFL licenses is the main reason. __________________ "Everyone speaks gun."--Robert O'Neill *I am NOT an expert--I do not have any formal experience or certification in firearms use or testing; use any information I post at your own risk!*

June 5, 2023, 02:01 PM	#8
RC20 Senior Member Join Date: April 10, 2008 Location: Alaska Posts: 7,014	Good question and while I have no problem him doing the work I would follow along and see how its done. Assuming its setup for a scope with the mounting holes, its easy to do and something you may well need down the road if a question comes up on if the scope is tight (not just to the rings but the receiver) as well as possible damage and a need to remove. I dropped a gun once and knocked the scope good so in it went. You will still need to sight it in and adjust to what you want (2 inches high at 100 is fairly common as it gets out out to 250 yards with a dead on hold) You can start at 25 or 50 yards, bore sight the gun on a target (nice large orange dot works great) fire 3 rounds. Keep in mind, you have to move the dial twice as much at 50 yards as much at 50 yards as you do 100. I don't worry about spot on at 50 as you will need to adjust at 100 regardless. As long as you are on paper at 100 you can adjust over. I usually use 3 rounds as sometimes one round is whacky and the other two tell me where true center is. __________________ Science and Facts are True whether you believe it or not

June 9, 2023, 08:38 AM	#9
jmr40 Senior Member Join Date: June 15, 2008 Location: Georgia Posts: 10,810	If you're using old school windage adjustable mounts with dovetails special tools can be helpful but are not required. Extra care needs to be taken to ensure both rings are aligned correctly. There is no way I'd use that type of mount on a modern rifle though. With any other mount it's so easy a cave man can do it. No reason to pay someone else to mount your scope. __________________ "If you're still doing things the same way you were doing them 10 years ago, you're doing it wrong" Winston Churchill

June 3, 2023, 05:09 PM	#2
Polinese Senior Member Join Date: September 27, 2010 Posts: 950	I've always mounted my own and done any friends for free. The now defunct sporting goods chain in my area always did it for free as well.

June 3, 2023, 05:31 PM	#3
tangolima Senior Member Join Date: September 28, 2013 Posts: 3,833	Drill and tap needed? If not, I'd need about an hour to mount and bore sight. An hour more if d&t is needed for normal metal, 1 -1/2 hours if the metal is super hard. Don't know the going hourly rate now. Say $75. So $75 to $190. If zeroing is needed, 1 hour plus ammo. Ain't cheap. For friends, family, active military/police, and combat veterans, I charged parts only. They had paid. That's when I was doing paid gunsmithing. Sometimes we barter for services among friends. -TL Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

June 3, 2023, 10:13 PM	#6
tangolima Senior Member Join Date: September 28, 2013 Posts: 3,833	He probably will need your presence while he is doing it, to set eye relief to your likings etc. -TL Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

June 9, 2023, 11:10 AM	#10
MarkCO Senior Member Join Date: October 21, 1998 Location: Colorado, USA Posts: 4,308	If I charged folks for mounting a scope, cleaning a rifle, putting in a trigger, changing a barrel, I'd just buy more guns and ammo. Friends, always free. If I am building a customer an AR upper and they send the scope in to mount, also for free. If any machining is needed, I refer them to a competent smith that works on their type of firearm. __________________ Good Shooting, MarkCO www.CarbonArms.us