Bedding scope rings?

Any of you Fellers ever bed your scope rings? Or is that just an alternative way of lapping? I ask because I'm tired of seeing dents in my scopes from overtorquing. I use a Fat wrench now and don't exceed 20 #s..but one of my rigs is a springer air rifle and 20#s won't work. Also..I recently mounted a scope on a Savage model 5..using a Weaver side mount base and rings, and can clearly see there's not 100% contact on the top rings. Lastly, I just exchanged a Center point 4-16x40 scope because it seemed to require shooting a few times after adjusting the turrets before the cross hairs moved. Lol, obviously I dented the tube on that scope by over torquing. Are the dents what causes that issue? Or is it just the scope? I really like that scope so please don't bash me for not having a $200 + piece of glass on it ;)

Burris sig. Z rings will be your best friend , or shoe goo

There are scope ring lapping kits available. Wheeler makes one.

I lap all of mine. Even the high dollar ones. When lapping it is easy to see how uneven the pressure would be on your scope. Doesn't usually take much. I find it centers the cross hairs better too.

I have the sinclair kit with 1", 30am and 34 mm lapping bars. The alignment bars will tell the tell

If you're using a single piece base it's relatively easy to bed a base. Two piece bases are a bit more involved, but possible. But the easiest fix as drybean stated is the burris rig rings, should cure all of your woes!

kiss neighbor is a champion shooter high priced scopes he always uses burris sig-z rings. no scratches dents scope rings just a great simple way to mount a scope!!

save your money for other things!!

Im fond of one piece bases and good quality rings. It costs good $$ for good rings, but its worth it to know that you wont have any problems. I dont think its really justifiable with a 200$ scope though.

Burris Zees will probably be your best friend. The other option if you want to rig up several scopes and be able to choose whatever rings you want is to buy the lapping kit. 60$ will get you going for all your rings, where as Zees will cost around 60$ as well and will only work for one setup. Just make sure you mark your rings when you lap them and have them installed properly so that if you take them off and put them back on again, everything is exactly as it was before.

Oh, and bedding DOES work, but its not really any less expensive then lapping after you put in your time and what not. I only bed when I want to add elevation to a scope. You can bed the back ring up higher so that your scope has more elevation. But Burris Zee rings will do the same thing with offset inserts

Single piece base like a Badger and American Rifle Company rings. That's what I use for expensive scopes. Bedding them seems like a pain but feasible. Lapping seems easier. If you're married to two piece bases then I guess you should be doing something. The zee rings sound like the answer unless you have a bunch.

What lrshooting said makes sense. Good luck with your project. I've been there before.

Another vote for Burris Signature rings. The plastic inserts are slippery though and the scope can move sometimes even when torqued to 20 inch pounds. The solution to that is dust the inserts with powdered rosin. Once I did that they never moved on my 338 Lapua.

The cross bolt on Burris Zee rings is another story. They are way too small and they are round giving very little contact with the front surface of the slot. There is no way I can keep them from creeping forward on an aluminum base with magnum calibers. It has to be steel. The cross screws will peen their way forward into the aluminum over time, damaging your scope rail. With steel picatinny bases I have never had any problems.

Also as geezerhood noted the 'issue' with burris on aluminum. This can also be remedied by 'bedding' the crossbolt of the ring. If you're not sure how to I believe a simple interweb search will turn up something. If not maybe I can dig out some pics and do a rundown on the process.

Cheers

Can you upsize the cross bolt? I've done this on cheaper rings. Works good enough. I'm also interested on how your rings are creeping forward on aluminum bases geezer...shouldn't your rings be impossible to move forward?

I mean when you install rings, you push them to the very front of the rail slot. Or are not using slots?

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Originally Posted by lrshooting

Can you upsize the cross bolt? I've done this on cheaper rings. Works good enough. I'm also interested on how your rings are creeping forward on aluminum bases geezer...shouldn't your rings be impossible to move forward?

I mean when you install rings, you push them to the very front of the rail slot. Or are not using slots?

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Yes, the rings are installed tightly against the front of the slot. The problem is, the Signature rings do not have enough clamping force and the screw is too small and round shaped, so it deforms the metal on the base and mashes its way forward slowly with every shot. If you torque the Signature cross screw to 65 inch pounds, which is what it takes to really hold well with a 338 Lapua or 50 BMG, it will snap in two.

As for upgrading the size of the cross screw, I suppose it could be done, but there is very little meat on the tabs to put a larger screw in there plus if you went with a round screw which is needed to work in the Signature layout since the screw has to turn to tighten, the problem of too little contact would still exist. You would have to go with a square piece of stock, threaded on both ends with nuts clamping on threaded ends to really make a difference. I doubt the Signatures would hold up to that kind of a modification.