Pre-hunting dilemma - broke a screw in the mount

[SugarCake]

Hi LRH!

I have caused myself a problem during preparations for "the hunt of the year". It was somewhat of a "it it aint broke, don't fix it". But I just bought a FAT Digital Wrench and wanted to "make sure".

I will be out in the wild for about 7 days, starting on Wednesday evening (18th of August).

As you can see, I broke a screw in the scope mount. I was using a FAT wrench digital and got it up to 43.7 lb-in when it broke. I think that the problem was that I lubricated the rail under the mount a little too much - and still tried to torque it up to 45 lb-in. I should have stayed at 40-42 or similar.

So now I would like to hear if you would trust this mount? As you can see, the recoil lug is not related to the screw - and it seems to sit like rocks.


Would you trust this mount (with 3 base-screws only) for a long range trip or use your old, heavy one?

The caliber that will be used is 308. I will only shoot one bullet with it (if I don't **** that up too, will say).


Please give me your input.

 

[WeekendWarrior]

I would not.

I had a savage 110 stealth in which I over tightened a base screw on my nikon black rings. It never tightened correctly again, and would slightly rock. I had bent the actual base attachment in a way that it never locked correctly. I was cheap at the time, and I tried lock tight and other things to remedy the situation to no avail. It would be fine for a few trips to the range, and then my groups would open up again, and I always tracked it back to the this base attachment point. I bought a new base and a new set of rings, and it shoots close to 0.3MOA all day now. Little lock tight keeps everything in place on dirt roads. The issue caused a great deal of unnecessary anxiety at the time due to the looming hunting season, and I spent far more money and wasted time going to the range to shoot bad groups than I did buying new rings and a base.

Save yourself the trouble, buy a new base, pay for fast shipping, enjoy your hunt.

 

[Vegas777]

I had something like this happen before:/ ended up tapping it out to a larger thread. Not fun

 

[SugarCake]

Sad moment here. But I listened to your advice and my gut-feeling. I had to use my old one. Weighs like 4.5 oz more. Pretty much to add to an already kind of heavy gun

Another error except the lubrication on the rail was that I cerakoted it some months ago. I didn't think that it would change the torque-levels. But I guess it did.

So be careful with the torque-levels..!

 

[The Oregonian]

Yeah I'd be nervous out in the field not knowing when or if that thing was gonna give up.

 

[26Reload]

Go shoot it.....its not a magnum caliber....but if you are shooting hot loads with heavy bullets...you will know very quickly if it holds up.....

 

[mercerbear]

I would not bring already damaged kit on an important trip.

 

[skibbyshot]

I have some Vortex rings & they're labeled for 18 in/lbs on the caps and 30 in/lbs on the base screws. I'd likely buy new rings. As a side note, the last Vortex rings I bought came with 2 spare screws. Not sure if the cap screws & base screws are the same size and where these fit.

A guy I shoot a 300 yd F class with (bench rest) had tightened cap screws too much and it interfered with his parallax adjustment. It kept changing between shots. When he called the scope company, they told him only 18 in/lb on the cap screws! This solved his issue.

 

[xsn10s]

A 308 win isn't a hard recoiling rifle so normally I wouldn't worry too much about it. But on the big hunt of the year I'd go with tested and trusted gear. The recoil probably won't be an issue. But now the question is are the other screws over torqued and compromised? So that would make me want to put on a trusted mount.

 

[Pro2A]

Hi LRH!

I have caused myself a problem during preparations for "the hunt of the year". It was somewhat of a "it it aint broke, don't fix it". But I just bought a FAT Digital Wrench and wanted to "make sure".

I will be out in the wild for about 7 days, starting on Wednesday evening (18th of August).

As you can see, I broke a screw in the scope mount. I was using a FAT wrench digital and got it up to 43.7 lb-in when it broke. I think that the problem was that I lubricated the rail under the mount a little too much - and still tried to torque it up to 45 lb-in. I should have stayed at 40-42 or similar.

So now I would like to hear if you would trust this mount? As you can see, the recoil lug is not related to the screw - and it seems to sit like rocks.


Would you trust this mount (with 3 base-screws only) for a long range trip or use your old, heavy one?

The caliber that will be used is 308. I will only shoot one bullet with it (if I don't **** that up too, will say).


Please give me your input.

Uh.....Remington 700 L.H........you are apparently left handed. There's the problem. Don't take a chance on screwing up that "hunt of the year." One never knows what the future holds. It needs to be fixed correctly at sometime. NOW is the time. Why are you wasting time on a forum trying to convince yourself that "half-***" is good enough???? Rather, you should be resolving the issue correctly. Remove the other three screws and the mount will come off. Spend the money for new mount and new screws. (Hang the broken ones on the wall as a reminder.) Confirm correct torque specifications. If you don't have the capability to do it right....quit digging, you're already in a deep hole.......pay a gunsmith or machinist. Obviously, time is of the essence, so a large premium may be required to jump to the head of the line. But, how much money and heartbeats are you spending on the trip? Seven days "in the wild" with a questionable, useless scoped rifle is a l-o-n-g waste of resources. Now is not the time to be MacGyver, Mr. Jury Rigger or Mr. Cheapskate.....you are already there. The premium is your tuition for learning what not to do and when not to do it. Also, what grade of screws were you using? You didn't specify the screw size or manufacturer.......thinking quality. 40+in-lb sounds high. Guessing 25in-lb would be closer to spec. How did you confirm the correct torque specification?? Sounds like you didn't have a clue as to the proper torque value. Optic screws aren't torque-to-yield fasteners. Guessing at torque spec and/or re-using screws rather spending a couple bucks for new screws is penny wise and pound foolish. Screws, especially lower grade screws, can yield....stretch.....at the high end of the torque range, and fail on subsequent torque applications. Also, the Fat Wrench is a "proximity" wrench. Per Wheeler Customer Service, the accuracy is:
Accuracy for 0-40 is +/- 2 in/lb for 41 to 60 it ranges from +/- 2.05 in/lb up to +/- 3 in/lb ex. for 50, 50*.05=2.5 so +/- 2.5 in/lb

You did the dance, now pay the piper. Enjoy your hunt and your life lesson.

 

[Glenn Tullius]

I ditto all that....based on one of my over torqueing days. Get a new one. Look at it this way....if YOU think 3 screws is good enough, then why did the Engineers/Designers etc. put in four? 4 more ounces won't give you a heart attack, but the heartache will last forever if something goes badly wrong on a hunt of a lifetime!

 

[epags]

^^^^^^

 

[SugarCake]

Good points from all. I went with the more cautious squad here and will not even try it. I guess it would just make me go around and worry the whole week.

I got it all packed up now. My old Spuhr ISMS-mount will be used.

For the interested: I contacted the manufacturer Spuhr today. I had read the wrong manual. I took the ISMS scope mount series manual and applied the torque settings to a hunter mount. But ISMS-screws are like 3-4 times stronger. So no wonder that it broke.

The correct mounting is up to 25 lb-in torque on the base screws, as Pro2A said. But my screws broke at 43 lb-in. So there are good margins in the production at least.

They said that I probably didn't manage to ruin the screw-holes. But I will check that at some later point.

So for people googling around:
Base screws spuhr hunter series: Correct torque is 25 lb/in. For the rings, it is 15-25 depending on scope manufacturer's guidance.

 

[Pro2A]

Good points from all. I went with the more cautious squad here and will not even try it. I guess it would just make me go around and worry the whole week.

I got it all packed up now. My old Spuhr ISMS-mount will be used.

For the interested: I contacted the manufacturer Spuhr today. I had read the wrong manual. I took the ISMS scope mount series manual and applied the torque settings to a hunter mount. But ISMS-screws are like 3-4 times stronger. So no wonder that it broke.

The correct mounting is up to 25 lb-in torque on the base screws, as Pro2A said. But my screws broke at 43 lb-in. So there are good margins in the production at least.

They said that I probably didn't manage to ruin the screw-holes. But I will check that at some later point.

So for people googling around:
Base screws spuhr hunter series: Correct torque is 25 lb/in. For the rings, it is 15-25 depending on scope manufacturer's guidance.

Congrats on getting everything resolved. ENJOY that hunt. Post pics and details upon your return. Thanks for sharing.