Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

Hi all,

I had this nice Zeiss scope installed for me at the firearms shop where I bought it. The owner used Leupold mounts and bases.

Question: Is there a way to tighten the 4 tiny base screws under the scope without removing the entire scope? The wrenches that came with the mounts don't quite fit the gap between the bottom of the scope and the base mounts.

Is there a torx wrench that is a bit smaller that would fit that gap?

The rifle is .308 so I know after a while those base screws may have to be tightened up a bit.

Or, just to throw this out there, is there a better mounting system to use on my Remington 700. My AR has a picatinny rail so it is a piece of cake to put the scope on and off (just loosen the clamps)

Thanks,

- andy

I'd probably cut down the wrench so that it's short enough to fit in there.

Or if you don't want to alter the original wrench, pick up a cheap chinee-made Torx wrench at Northern Tool or Harbor Freight and cut that to fit.

That mount looks like the old Redfield Jr. bases/rings. You are supposed to be able to take the screw out of the right side of the rear of the base and swivel the rear of the scope to the right 90 degrees and then lift the front ring out of the base. Reverse to reinstall, don't overtighten the right screw on the base or you may break it.

The left screw at the rear ring may be staked so it won't loosen/move (they were on the two 03A4's I bought years ago.)

That would give you access to the screws that hold the base to the receiver. I would think those screws would be loctited to insure they don't work loose. Maybe not though. If it were mine I'd put some blue loctite on the the threads.

Just my two cents, but, I've never had a scope base come loose and I have never used loctite nor excessive torque. I think folks often make the mistake of over-torqueing base (as well as ring) screws leaving someone a really crappy situation when they decide to switch bases.