How Tight To Make Screws On Scopes

[DICK PRIES]

On Modern Scopes How Tight Do You Make The Set Screws On The Tube Also How Tight Do You Make The Set Screws On The Barrel Of A Ruger 10-22 Can Not Find The Answer To Either Question .snug Is Not A Good Answer

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[RED]

I have a set of rings that the manufacturer recommends to tighten to 15 IN-LBS. These are premium rings and others might not take that much.

When I have my annual sight in day, I keep a set of old fashion Allen wrenches and Torx wrenches handy and generally tighten the screws as much as I can without stripping the head or twisting off the screw. I do not use the driver bits any more... I broke one off in a screw and it became a real problem and expensive at that. HTH

[Terry_B]

my technique for years has been to tighten till i feel it begin to strip, then back off 1/4 turn. Works on my motorcycle too

[Jim K]

A little tricky. Mostly when I was working as a gunsmith, the screws were slot head, and I just knew how tight to make them. I never used any kind of torque screwdriver or wrench, never broke any and never had any come loose (AFAIK). FWIW, I consider slot head better than Allen screws. Allens will strip pretty easily, easier than slots. Torx are OK.

Jim

[george r]

And no good answer. The naive answer is derived from the screw size. The screws can be of heat treated steel with excellent engaging surfaces like deep slots or Torx or allen sockets and can take an amazing amount of torque. But consider the female thread. It might be in aluminum. I tighten by feel, looking for that point when the torque starts to increase as I pass snug. I saw an article a while back where someone pointed out that at that level I could easily be crushing the scope tube or otherwize distorting the mounts. With too loose you might get a second chance. Also consider anti-slip on the scope tube. Resin (whatever that is) or loctite or maybe a dab of fingernail polish.

[Scott in Michigan]

my technique for years has been to tighten till i feel it begin to strip, then back off 1/4 turn. Works on my motorcycle too

Only works for Harleys'. Jap bikes require a torque wrench.

[JohnF]

On Modern Scopes How Tight Do You Make The Set Screws On The Tube Also How Tight Do You Make The Set Screws On The Barrel Of A Ruger 10-22 Can Not Find The Answer To Either Question .snug Is Not A Good Answer

Some scope manufacturers publish the correct torque value for rings and bases. Leupold has their recommendation listed on the website. I would contact other manufacturers and ask them if in doubt.


The Leupold Answer Guide

What amount of torque do I use for base & ring screws?
Use 15.0"inch pounds maximum on the base screws to properly secure the base to the firearm and 20.0 " inch pounds maximum on the 8/40 ring screws.

[Dollar Bill]

George R has a pretty good method. The actual torque to lock a fatener in place is calculated to actually stretch the fastener a small amount below it's elastic limit. I've found that a good technique is to clean the threads, use a small amount of blue locktite (it's removeable), tighten until you feel a sharp rise in torque, then, and this is the key (with or without locktite) is to tap the screwdriver handle a couple times lightly and snug it a hair more. This sets the fastener in place.

[JGaynor]

I saw an article a while back where someone pointed out that at that level I could easily be crushing the scope tube or otherwize distorting the mounts. part snipped.

The article was in the American Rifleman within the last few months. The author's contention was that a lot of folks over do it and, as you mention, run the risk of crushing the tube. I believe he also stated the recent wisdom of "reaming the inside of the rings" was.. well...a crock in most cases.