New to Savage and it's scope mounting woes

[Eddie]

Please forgive me as I am new to the forum. I read the FAQ's and rules etc. I tried to search for an answer in other posts and maybe I just overlooked it. I have a Pre-Accutrigger 110; 308 L/A. I seen in a post that EGW has a single rail mount but states it is 20 M.O.A. My first question is that suitable for 100-500 yard shooting (zero at 100)? If not, is there a better solution for a single rail base that takes into account that the rear part of the receiver is flat (and lower) than the front? The reason for the need of a single rail is that my scope tube is too short for the standard mounting hardware. Thank you very much in advance.

[stangfish]

Eddie, obviously the 20MOA is used for scopes that do not have enough internal adjustments to compensate for bullet drop at extreme ranges. So to find zero your scope will need to be able to come up 20MOA to find zero with that rail. If your scope has 40+ total elevation adjustment you are probably ok. When shooting longer ranges it helps to have turrets designed to be accessable for adjustments. What brand and model scope do you have?

This is the one you want
http://www.joeboboutfitters.com/Savage_FB_Picatinny_Tactical_Rail_Scope_Mount_p/egw-flat%20back%20la.htm

[Eddie]

What brand and model scope do you have?


I have a Nikko Stirling Gameking LRX 4-16 x 44. Thank you very much by the way for your very fast response :)

[stangfish]

De nada











"It's nothing" (in Spanish)

[missed]

http://www.egwguns.com/savage/savage-flat-back-picatinny-scope-mount/

They have 0 and 20 moa for both long and short action

I run a 20 MOA on my 308 and my scope has 60 moa of adjustment and it is turned way down for 100 yard zero I think for the 100 yard zero I only have 10 moa to go down so if I only had a 40 MOA scope adjustment I probably would not be able to have a 100 yard zero.

I run a 0 MOA base on my 22-250 with the same model scope.

[Eddie]

They have 0 and 20 moa for both long and short action

Thank you for that insight. I just got an email from the service department at EGW. They will not have the 0 moa one for another 8 weeks. However, stangfish gave a link to a site that carries that EGW mount and I believe they have it in stock. Of course I have to wait for a bit to get it anyway :(

[thomae]

Before you order, please confirm that your rifle is indeed a long action (and not an intermediate action such as the "J" series) by measuring the distance between centers of the action screws on the bottom.

Also, please confirm that the rear portion of your receiver (behind the ejection port) is indeed flat on top.

[rockbox]

Weaver also carries the same style base. Most of the online large online retailers carry them.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/863438/weaver-1-piece-extended-multi-slot-tactical-picatinny-style-base-savage-110-series-long-action-matte

[Eddie]

Weaver also carries the same style base. Most of the online large online retailers carry them.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/863438/weaver-1-piece-extended-multi-slot-tactical-picatinny-style-base-savage-110-series-long-action-matte

Thank you; however from the reviews, this particular one would need some fabrication for it to work. I bought one very similar to this one; however it doesn't account for the "rise" or height difference in the rear to front of the receiver. Plus I have a flat rear receiver. The one I bought is slanted upward when mounted. To be more accurate; after mounting and looked from the side; the mount makes a slight "S" shape, being higher in the front and lower in the back. I made the mistake of not paying attention and torqued down the screws too tight. I still have to find a way to remove the current mount now that the screws are stripped :(

[Eddie]

Thomae; Thank you sir. I did not even realize there was an intermediate action size. I thought there was only long and short ( pre-accutrigger and accutrigger). The receiver is indeed flat behind the ejection port though. All I really know about the rifle (from Savage Customer Service) is that it is pre 1994? The lady I spoke with gave me a snail mail address to a gentleman that does the research on older model Savages; but I have long lost that contact info. This gentleman s supposedly able to tell exactly the model by the serial number of the rifle, (Savage could not).

[sniper15545]

I could not find a 0 moa EGW either so I spent a little more and bought the Warne single rail 0 MOA from MidwayUSA. it was around $93.00 but if you need it "you need it".

[Eddie]

I could not find a 0 moa EGW either so I spent a little more and bought the Warne single rail 0 MOA from MidwayUSA. it was around $93.00 but if you need it "you need it".

Thank you; and well said :)

[sortafast]

I bought the Warne 20moa rail for my 110 for 2 reasons. First it was the only 20moa picatinny rail that is made of steel that will work with a flat back 110 receiver. And second, they are about a 40min drive from me. I got to tour their factory one day and they were completely awesome and went out of their way for me. When ever I can I will support them. Their products are good and so is their customer service. I will always go for a more costly product if the CS is good, assuming the quality also reflects the price.

[Eddie]

I bought the Warne 20moa rail for my 110 for 2 reasons. First it was the only 20moa picatinny rail that is made of steel that will work with a flat back 110 receiver. And second, they are about a 40min drive from me. I got to tour their factory one day and they were completely awesome and went out of their way for me. When ever I can I will support them. Their products are good and so is their customer service. I will always go for a more costly product if the CS is good, assuming the quality also reflects the price.

Thanks man! Good to know there are people out there that pride themselves on Customer Service.

[Neo2savage]

I have a Nikko Stirling Gameking LRX 4-16 x 44.

Eddie,

First chance you get you'll want to buy a different scope. I had the same one on a Howa 1500 Varminter using a 0 MOA rail and it ran out of elevation at about 350 yards. If you plan on keeping that scope you will definitely need a 20 MOA rail to get out much beyond 350 yards. Better if you start saving for a better scope though. The Nikko Sterling is a rather difficult scope to work with and the turrets are terrible for feeling the adjustment clicks. So soft you can't tell how much of an adjustment you made, and the amount of adjustment per click is not a constant.

With the understanding that glass can get pretty expensive, and that many will tell you only the high end products are worth buying, there are a large number of scopes that are not ultra high priced with good quality. A couple you might find affordable are the Vortex HS and Sightron SIII products. Look for scopes that offer more than 50 or 60 minutes of adjustment. When you mount up a scope with say only 60 minutes of adjustment you may find you used up most of that in obtaining a 100 or 200 yard zero. That stated amount of adjustment is the total available, not the amount that would be available after "zero". 100 minutes is a much better choice.

Go with EGW for the rail. A rail does not have to be steel if mounted correctly. Aluminum works just fine for a well made rail. They are very good products and easy to install. If you have questions they respond very quickly to e-mail questions and provide a phone number if you need to talk with them. They also seem to have the best prices around.

As for this problem; "I still have to find a way to remove the current mount now that the screws are stripped :(" If you used a thread lock compound when you installed the screws you may end up damaging the mounting rail getting the screw out. You can take it to a gunsmith but odds are likely he would end up doing what I'm about to describe. Either way it's better to sacrifice the rail instead of the action. Obtain a Dremel tool and a "cut off wheel" bit. Get a few extra cut off wheels as well since they can be a bit fragile.

Consider practicing the following instructions on some small screws or bolts laying around before proceeding to the rail mounting screw. Carefully cut a narrow slot in the top of the stripped out screw to a size that will accept a small flat blade screw driver. Afterwards use a soldering iron to heat up the screw. This will take quite a bit of time for the heat to soak but thread lock compounds require heat to loosen up after they have set. The amount of heat is dependent on what type of compound was used. After getting the screw hot you may be able to back it out with the screw driver. Avoid cutting the top off the screw because that will require the screw be drilled out, which could (likely) damage the threads cut in the action and assure that only a gunsmith could do the work.

[sortafast]

Eddie,

First chance you get you'll want to buy a different scope. I had the same one on a Howa 1500 Varminter using a 0 MOA rail and it ran out of elevation at about 350 yards. If you plan on keeping that scope you will definitely need a 20 MOA rail to get out much beyond 350 yards. Better if you start saving for a better scope though. The Nikko Sterling is a rather difficult scope to work with and the turrets are terrible for feeling the adjustment clicks. So soft you can't tell how much of an adjustment you made, and the amount of adjustment per click is not a constant.

With the understanding that glass can get pretty expensive, and that many will tell you only the high end products are worth buying, there are a large number of scopes that are not ultra high priced with good quality. A couple you might find affordable are the Vortex HS and Sightron SIII products. Look for scopes that offer more than 50 or 60 minutes of adjustment. When you mount up a scope with say only 60 minutes of adjustment you may find you used up most of that in obtaining a 100 or 200 yard zero. That stated amount of adjustment is the total available, not the amount that would be available after "zero". 100 minutes is a much better choice.

Go with EGW for the rail. A rail does not have to be steel if mounted correctly. Aluminum works just fine for a well made rail. They are very good products and easy to install. If you have questions they respond very quickly to e-mail questions and provide a phone number if you need to talk with them. They also seem to have the best prices around.

As for this problem; "I still have to find a way to remove the current mount now that the screws are stripped :(" If you used a thread lock compound when you installed the screws you may end up damaging the mounting rail getting the screw out. You can take it to a gunsmith but odds are likely he would end up doing what I'm about to describe. Either way it's better to sacrifice the rail instead of the action. Obtain a Dremel tool and a "cut off wheel" bit. Get a few extra cut off wheels as well since they can be a bit fragile.

Consider practicing the following instructions on some small screws or bolts laying around before proceeding to the rail mounting screw. Carefully cut a narrow slot in the top of the stripped out screw to a size that will accept a small flat blade screw driver. Afterwards use a soldering iron to heat up the screw. This will take quite a bit of time for the heat to soak but thread lock compounds require heat to loosen up after they have set. The amount of heat is dependent on what type of compound was used. After getting the screw hot you may be able to back it out with the screw driver. Avoid cutting the top off the screw because that will require the screw be drilled out, which could (likely) damage the threads cut in the action and assure that only a gunsmith could do the work.

in lieu of a soldering gun use either a propane torch or get one of those cheap "crack pipe" butane torches from Harborfreight to heat up the screws. They work a lot quicker and won't mess up anything as long as you are careful. If red locktite was used, it will take all the heat you can get to get the screws out.

[Neo2savage]

Good advice.

[Wildboarem]

I wouldn't say that drilling the screws would force you too a gunsmith. I had a stripped Allen head on my rail (blue loctite). Didn't want to sacrifice anything but the screw. Drilled with a bit the diameter of the rail hole. Once the head is drilled off the rail can come off the receiver. It was amazing how easy the screw, a threaded post, was to back out Of the receiver without the tension of the rail on it. Worked for me anyhow only cost me 5 min and a screw.

[stangfish]

Wildboarem, I tried to get that point across several times in this thread. Exercise in futility. They would have to see it done to appreciate the simplicity of the fix.

[Eddie]

Neo2Savage;
Thanks for all the input. I am going to start investing in new glass soon (after this hunting season); I did find an EGW 0 M.O.A. mount for $40.00; and it fits perfect. I actually sort of tried your solution for removing the old mount before I read your post. I did try the "notching" method to no avail. What I ended up doing (very slow and gradual) was take a bigger drill bit and drilled till the mount just barely slipped off the screws; then I took a pair of pliers with VERY good teeth and unscrewed the screws from there. No damage was done to the action or the threads. Yes....I was extremely lucky :D Once again; thank all you guys for the very positive and insightful feedback! This is truly a great forum.