Substituted one piece base for two piece scope base on Savage 10FP-Wow

[John_M]

Just finished installing a Weaver "Tactical" one piece base (Part #99495) on my Savage. This is a replacement for the highly regarded (manufacturer not important) two piece base I've had on the rifle since new.

I have three Sightron SIII and one Sightron SII Big Sky rifle scopes mounted on various rifles. Had a devil of a time getting all the scopes to align properly "level" and "plumb" on this Savage. They aligned properly on another Savage and one Remington 700 so I knew it wasn't the scopes.

After reading the very helpful posts by Thomae and others on this board I decided to go with the Weaver one piece Tactical base. Steven at Sightron was also most helpful with his very precise recommendations about a one piece base being a possible cure for for the alignment problems I described to him. Another member of Savage Shooters also recommended that prior to completing the installation of any front base one should first install the front screw so it is a teensy bit snug. Then try to move the base. Movement in the base will tell the installer if that screw is snug against the barrel threads and will therefore not secure the base properly. This screw could also seriously damage barrel threads if the barrel is removed with the base installed.

Installation was straight forward and I closely followed Weaver's very simple and intuitive instructions. My Warne QD rings fit the new base perfectly and the base is long enough to allow various scope positions and short enough that it does not interfere with the objective bell on the SIII scopes. In about 45 minutes I had one SIII and the SII installed level and plumb with perfect eye relief. At final installation I added a small drop of Blue LocTite to the base screws and torqued them to the 20 in/lbs recommended by Weaver.

This Weaver one piece base does not interfere with bolt lift, shell ejection, loading, or any other of the rifle's functions. This one piece base does elevate the scope about 1/16" higher than the two piece bases but that slight amount of elevation gives me a more comfortable cheek position.

My purpose in posting this thread is to give well deserved thanks to those who provided the help. Also, to suggest others with scope alignment problems might consider the one-piece base as a solution to the problem and a very worthwhile upgrade to the rifle's functionality.

Best wishes and good luck.