Checking straightness of scope mount holes?

M

Major PITA

Inactive
I just received my new Savage Model 10FP-LE2.

A local gunsmith has suggested that I use windage-adjustable rings since sometimes the scope mount screws are drilled a little off, making a scope use up a lot of its windage adjustment to compensate for off-center mounts.

I really would like to use the rigid military type scope mount (non-adjustable), not only for rigidness but for "authenticity" on this police "sniper" rifle as well.

Is there a way for me, as an end-user, to check the "trueness" of the drilled and tapped holes for the scope mounts, so that I'll know before I buy mounts and rings whether or not I'm going to need windage-adjustable rings/bases? Or are we talking about variations so minute that I literally will not know until I or my gunsmith try boresighting the scope?

Thanks.
 
Mind you, this is only one guys opinion: I've never seen any factory drilled rifle that needed windage adjustable bases to keep the scope within its limits. Sounds to me like a gun shop owner trying to pawn off some high tech answer to a problem that doesn't exist.
I would buy the solid bases and a real good scope and go to work getting it sighted in. The odds are reallllllllllllllll long in your favor that you will not need those "windage adjustable bases". Besides that, . . . I would never allow myself to fully trust them, simply because if they can be adjusted, . . . they can drift. Bad enough having to worry about protecting your scope, . . . have to protect the bases too???
May God bless,
Dwight
 
Actually, this is a fairly common problem. I get it from gun owners, and gunsmiths, not to mention magazine articles. The April 2001 issue of GUN TESTS (a mail-order only rag) mentions that on their Savage 110 that the screw holes were out of alignment just enough that they had to use Millett windage-adjustable rings in order to have enough windage adjustment to not run out of windage on the scope.

You are right about windage-adjustable rings/bases maybe not being rigid enough. Several articles have mentioned that Millett adjustable rings are not rugged enough for hard use. The Fall 2003 issue of Special Weapons for Military & Police (magazine) mentions in an article titled "Maximum M-700" by Chuck Taylor that Leupold windage-adjustable bases are not prone to going out of adjustment if Loctite is used.
 
If your factory drilled and tapped holes are off, send it back to Savage and get a new rifle. My friend bought a .223 heavy barrel from them and mounted a 6.5-20x scope. He took his first shot and it was over 5 ft to the right at 100 yards! I took the bolt out of the gun and looked down the barrel and centered the target in the bore. Sure enough, the scope was aimed about 5 ft off. I looked at the front of the scope that was over the barrel and you could see it was WAY off.

He sent it back to Savage and they sent him back a new rifle. This one is dead on.
 
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