Setting up a scope on a rifle

Been working on some rifles lately and setting up some scopes and with everything out there on the internet I thought I would show my way to set up a scope on a picatinny rail from lapping to torquing the screws.

 

Before starting any gun work make sure the rifle is unloaded.  That means checking the magazine, chamber (visually and with your finger) and removing the bolt if a bolt rifle.  Gun safety is priority #1.

First off install the picatinny rail with supplied screws.  Make sure you torque to the correct in/lbs usually somewhere around 20 to 30 in/lbs.  I also used a little purple locktight but blue could be used as well.  I would avoid the red unless you want to have to call a gunsmith when you want to get that base off.

Next install the lower scope rings. After loosely fitting the bottom halves on the rail and placing the scope in the bases to look at eye relief it will be time to tighten them down.  A few comments on eye relief and how to determine if yours is correct.  Your eye relief will change depending on your shooting position.  I don't shoot much out of the prone and neither will Dad I will set his rifle up for bench eye relief.  This means that when I get into a bench rest position the scope is set perfectly in focus if I take my position with closed eyes and open them and quickly focus down range.  Though not as critical on a lighter caliber such as .308 and below you can still get in trouble if you put your scope a little too close and get a blackeye or worse if your not careful.  With big rifles eye relief is important and a scope with 3.5 inches or more of relief is probably wanted.  It comes with practice to feel comfortable with eye relief and recoil and I've even gotten comfortable now shooting with only one hand touching the rifle.  So now that you have the bases where they will most likely be mounted go ahead and secure to the rail.

When securing to the rail make sure to push the ring bases as far forward as you are tightening them down.  When the rifle recoils the rings will want to go forward so go ahead and lock them in that way. On these Millet rings the cross bolts need to be tightened to 65 in/lbs so I tightened them down using my Wheeler Fat Torque Wrench. One quick tip mount the bases where the tightening bolt is on the opposite side of the action.

Next, if your going to lap the rings this is where you would use your ring lapping set up. It's a pretty simple process but it does take a little time and patience. Lapping ensures that there is maximum coverage of the rings on the scope and reduces the chance of slippage.  On high dollar rings this may not be necessary but on the Millet Rings I found I needed to perform a little work on them.  Lapping kits come with a couple of parts and the first to start with is the two steel bars with the points on the end. Place the correct size (1inch or 30mm) into base and tighten to spec.  Hopefully they will line up but if not like Dad's rifle didn't, it might take a little work to get them a little closer to square.   

So, to start the process take the proper size lapping bar and lapping compound. Apply liberally on the rings and around the rings.  Start by tightening the top of the rings to the bases but only tighten enough to allow some movement of the lapping bar.  Start by making figure 8's with the lapping bar to start removing some of the material on the rings.  It will take some time and as the tension is eased on the bar continue to tighten up the screws on the rings.  Continue to put a little lapping paste around the rings as well.  I usually lap for a few minutes and then remove the top halves of the rings to check coverage. Your looking for upwards of 70% of the material taken off, but try to avoid taking off to much.  Less is better. 

After working for a few minutes remove the lapping bar and place the 2 pointed bars back on the rings and tighten down.  Hopefully the points will be close to aligned and then you finish mounting the scope.

Next, remove the bars and set the scope back in the rings.  Hopefully you made a mark on your scope on the proper eye relief but if not follow instructions above.  After you have the scope in place put the top ring halves back on the mounts paying attention to ring halves and orientation.  Make sure you place the correct top on the bottom and with the right orientation after lapping.  Tighten down until almost snug so there is a little play in the scope so you can make adjustments on the cross hairs.  Then you get out your bubble levels from the scope mounting kit and place one in the action and one on the top of the scope. 

Get them level and then take the rifle out of the vice and check with your own eyes against something that is near vertical.  If you don't have a fancy bubble level you can use a plumb bob (string with a weight) hanging from some where in the house and line up the Y-axis.  Yep it's that simple.  Next tighten down the scope rings.  While doing so take notice that you are tightening down the rings in a way that leaves the same gaps on each side of the ring during the tightening process (some rings actually have you tighten down one side but I believe that is a very isolated case).  This will take a little patience and once you get them mostly snug go ahead and give a final torque down to anywhere from 15-25 in/lbs depending on the recommendation from the ring manufacture.  I like to torque down screws in a criss-cross fashion.  After that check the rifle again by looking through the scope and making sure everything looks square and eye relief is perfect.  I always check the action screws as well and make sure they are tight and then it's time to head to range.
 

 
You can bore sight at this time but it only takes a minute at the range and why not bore-sight on the target you are about to shoot.  There are a few different ways to bore-sight and some require tools or gadgets.  I don't use those when sighting in bolt rifles since it's pretty easy to pull the bolt out of the rifle, secure the rifle in bags and aim the bore of the rifle at a target and adjust the scope to the center of where you think the bore is pointed.  I usually start at 50 yards and put a few on paper and then move back to 100 to get the final zero.  Should take 4 or 5 shots to get everything dialed in.  Well that's it to my public service announcement.  Enjoy.