Posted: 4/9/2016 8:02:33 PM EDT
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The LaRue scope base on my Remington 700 keeps loosening up. Today at the range I noticed I was getting very sporadic hits. I couldn't figure out what was happening until I was putting the rifle back in my case and realized the scope/rings were VERY evidently not tightly locked to the gun. Sure enough, it was a loose base. This is the third time the base screws have backed out and caused the whole setup to physically wiggle around. This is beyond frustrating.
To remedy the issue I'm once again leaning towards sending the barreled action off to have the receiver tapped for the larger 8-40 screws and also getting a Nightforce base which (I think) has a recoil lug on it. I might also go ahead and bed it too for good measure. My question, is there something else I can try before going to the trouble and expense of this extra work? Also will what I'm talking about solve the problem for the long term? The current base was torqued down to spec and Loctite was applied. I'm utilizing a Vortex Razor HD (1st gen) so it's a pretty hefty scope, but even so it's only a .308 so I wouldn't expect the recoil to have this effect. I'd appreciate any ideas/advice you guys have. 
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Did you degrease before applying loctite? ETA, how much torque are you putting on the base screws? Larue provided screws? Any visible thread damage? I have not had issues with my Larue base coming loose. My Larue rings had to be tightened past the 45 degree contact point to hold zero. My scope is a little lighter. |
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If you've already decided to go with another base, give Near a look. I use his 25 moa bases on my .308. He specs out his base to use with .338 lapua cal. so anything smaller won't be a problem. http://www.nearmfg.com/products.htm |
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Quoted:
Did you degrease before applying loctite? ETA, how much torque are you putting on the base screws? Larue provided screws? Any visible thread damage? I have not had issues with my Larue base coming loose. My Larue rings had to be tightened past the 45 degree contact point to hold zero. My scope is a little lighter. -I did degrease the top of the rifle but not the inside of the screw holes. I'll do that! -To tell you the truth I don't even remember what torque I put on it but I called LaRue to confirm with them the proper torque and applied that amount. -Yes, LaRue screws. I felt they were probably an inferior material so I called them to ask what grade screws they used and the guy couldn't tell me. If I keep this base (and I do want to) I might find and go back with grade 8 screws. When I told the gentleman I spoke to what happened he said he'd not heard of this happening either so I thought it was something I was doing. I double and triple checked everything to make sure I was mounting it and the scope properly but, in all honesty, it's hard to mess up. The ONLY thing that I can think of on my end is a nasty little habit I'd developed of picking the gun up but the scope. I never thought about exactly what that was doing until this problem arose. The fact that four small 6-48 screws are called upon to support a 12, almost 13lb gun is probably not the best thing to do. I have since ceased this habit. |