Removing rediculously overtightened scope screws - help plz :(

manbearpig

manbearpig

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bought a new Ruger M77 with a pre-mounted scope at a gun store a few years ago. im trying to swap the scope but i cant get the damned rings off: it appears that someone massively overtightened them (or possibly even used something like red loc-tite). i have broken three TX-10 bits so far (and not cheap keys, but quality hardened driver bits).

anyone have any ideas?

i really hope they didnt actually deform the scope tube.
 
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ok, got ONE out of 8 screws out and broke a 4th bit. there is no loc-tite, so they just really overtightened them.
anyone have any ideas other than going out and buying an economy pack of 50 TX-10 bits and praying that theyll come off before they all break?
 
You might try setting it upside down, and drip a bit of real thin penitrating oil into the bottom of the holes, and let it sit an hour or two. It worked for me once.
 
if you have a butane or electric soldering iron with a pointed tip hold it on the screw head till its hot enough to break the bond. they should come loose
 
thanks - and not sure why i didnt think of that: i used to work in a garage and WD-40 saved my @$$ hundreds of times.
of course for all the times it didnt there was always the oxy-acetylene torch or the cold chisel which unfortunately is not an option here :)
 
chappy said:
if you have a butane or electric soldering iron with a pointed tip hold it on the screw head till its hot enough to break the bond. they should come loose
Click to expand...

and i spoke too soon :)

i will try the heat if the WD-40 doesnt do the trick... although it freaks me out to apply it so close to my scope.

i will have to go buy more Torx bits: all the ones that are still 'alive' look like corkscrews, heh. the more hardened ones just broke right off.
 
I don't know if WD-40 is the right stuff to use. Try a penetrating oil, you can buy it at any hardware store. WD-40 isn't really a penetrating oil. A good penetrating oil is made just for stuck threads, and works way better than WD-40 at working its way into the threads. Good luck!
 
Ouch, sounds like a fun time. I advise that you take it to a gunsmith you trust; he can clamp it down and drill out those screws for you. Also nice to have gunsmith 'testimony' when you go back to the store and tell them about this.

Though to be fair... if it was a used rifle, how was the store supposed to know that some neanderthal horked down the rings? Probably not something they check, as a matter of course.
 
drilled it out on one side, letting me remove the other side.
holy #### - the screw was in SO TIGHT that when the head popped off from drilling the entire scope ring popped open like a spring with a loud 'snap'.

it was a new rifle with a pre-mounted scope.
 
BTW: to Leupold's credit, despite the fact that the rings were cranked down so tight that they were like loaded springs, there seems to be no damage to the scope tube.

thanks for the suggestions guys, tried the lube and the soldering iron but in the end only the drill worked. this is the last time i ever buy a rifle with a premounted scope.
 
I've bought a few rifles with pre-mounted scopes, never had the prob yet , it was prob a one in a million, "they hired an idiot" fluke . But ! I don't buy with scopes anymore only because , as you did, I always end up putting on something much better, pre-mounts are usually cheap scopes anyway.
 
Use smooth jawed Vice Grips and squeeze one side of the rings together and those screws should remove easily.
 
Bishopus said:
:eek:

Care to dish the shop that did such great work?
Click to expand...

i am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt that it was just a new employee or someone they hired. i will be contacting them privately though. its not a small shop but a very large Ontario gun dealer.

it gets better: on the upper inside of one of the scope rings there was a highly visible 2mm piece of protruding metal. regardless, they tightened it down onto the scope and 'stamped' a divot right into the tube. then they moved the front ring back about 1/2" and stamped it into the tube again - twice as deep since this is where they tightened the hell out of it.

unfortunately i just dremeled off the little piece of protruding metal before putting the rings aside and didnt take any pics. the divots in the scope are still there, however. thankfully i doubt it affects function at all, ive seen some pretty dinged up Leupolds. still, resale value on the scope will suffer horribly because of the divots and the ringmarks from hell because of the overtightening.

guntech said:
Use smooth jawed Vice Grips and squeeze one side of the rings together and those screws should remove easily.
Click to expand...

the rings were so tight there was zero gap on one side and just the tiniest little gap on the other. crazy considering i just retightened them down with sane torque settings and there is a 1/2mm gap on both sides.
they literally SPRUNG open like a trap when the bolt finally gave out, i dont think it would have been possible to tighten them any more than they already were.

but very neat trick, if i ever (hopefully never again) have to deal with it again i will give it a try :)
 
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One trick to removing seized or stuck fastners is to put the proper sized screw driver or bit into the screw, Then tap is home and give it a good wrap with a hammer straight down. The shock will often loosen the screw. Take care not to damage the screw or surounding area.

Pete
 
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