Hi all. So, while looking at me new-to-me Thompson Center New Englander, I noticed a broken screw in one of the scope mounting base holes. Unfortunately the screw was broken below the top of the barrel. Anyways, I was not to bothered about it as I want a fun shooter and was going to keep it open sights. But it started to bother me, so I took matter in my own hands. After a quick search online, I saw one post somewhere that mentioned drilling it then use a small torx bit to remove the screw. So, I carefully center punched the remainder of the screw, drilled it out with a 1/16" drill bit, followed by a 5/64" drill bit, I would also like to mention freehand with a 12V cordless drill. I then took a torx bit slightly larger than the hole drilled and carefully and lightly tapped the bit into the hole. It took a few, somewhere around 10 very light taps to where I felt comfortable and put my handle on the bit. And like butter, the screw came right out! I just wanted to share this little tip in case anyone else has this problem and needs to try something. I cannot guarantee this will always work, but it may be worth a try.
Broken Scope Mounting Screw Removal
- Thread starter neos
- Start date
I bought a set of micro thread-outs at CT some years back and they work like a dream. I had a foresight retention screw on a No.4 Lee Enfield that some idiot had buggered up and I had to remove and replace it. That tool did a great job and though it's something you need rarely, it's good to have in the inventory.
Yeah I've gone through this with my savage Axis. Stripped one of the screws on my mount when changing from two-piece mounts to a one piece mount. I didn't use a torx bit though. I used a stripped screw remover that went into a tap handle. Picked it up at Rona for like $5. Same idea as your method though, drill a hole, tap in extractor with a hammer, unscrew the screw. Worked like a charm!
