Blue Loctite is your freind people.

[Steve morgan]

I do have a Wheeler Fat wrench and I always use it when installing my scope bases and rings. I still feel like 20 lbs of torque is a very small amount to hold the scope secure and firm under the recoil of a rifle..some scope mfgs give 18 in lbs as max for their scopes

 

[mac86951]

Yes, I know better. I put a new scope on my .222, a 6 ~ 18 Meopta.
I did not loctite the two mount bolts or the six mount screws, assuming I would
need adjustment at the range for eye relief. They were properly torqued with a torque wrench. Well, I can tell you it does not take too many rounds fired to have essentially ALL the fasteners loosen up. No adjustment was needed for eye relief but my group sizes began to get larger & I figured I was just tired. NOPE. When I got home & began cleaning the rifle & prepared to put on the loctite, I found all the screws & mount bolts varying degrees of loose. especially the two main mount bolts.
Maybe I was not so tired after all.

I was in a match and becoming befuddled with sighting in where windage was making all king of strange elevation changes. Reached up for one last windage correction and low and behold, scope rotated... I prefer purple for scope screws, but on side note; blue works great to bed an AR barrel extension to a receiver. Yes loctite is now my friend.

 

[jepp2]

I have a couple of scopes that recommend only 20 lbs of torque on the scope screws. That seems to be such a small amount that I am concerned that the scope can be very easily "bumped" off. I think loctite
becomes very important in a case like this .

If your concern is that 20 in lbs. or torque is inadequate to keep the scope from being "bumped" off, Loctite isn't going to help.

So far in this post we have red loctite, blue loctite, JB Weld, purple loctite, nail polish (without chiggers) recommended. After removing bases that someone had used Vibra tite on, I would strongly favor this product. The ability to remove and reinstall the fastener without replacing the thread locker is a nice plus. The screws came out with resistance all the way.

 

[Clancy]

Woah woah woah.... I didn't recommend JB Weld. I just said I did it once. It was just a gas gun after all.

 

[Toby Bradshaw]

I have a couple of scopes that recommend only 20 lbs of torque on the scope screws. That seems to be such a small amount that I am concerned that the scope can be very easily "bumped" off.

A 6-48 screw tightened to 20 in-lbs produces 740 pounds of clamping force. And you think that's not enough? How much IS enough, then?

I think loctite becomes very important in a case like this.

Thread lockers don't increase the clamping force, they just keep the fastener from backing out from vibration. I've never had a base or ring screw back out, but I do take care to clean the holes and threads with solvent. Loctite optional. I have used blue loctite on the base screws but nothing on the ring screws.

Have you guys had any experience with scopes using such a small amount of torque on your scope rings?

I am crazy enough to believe that the engineers/manufacturers know the correct torque to apply to their designs/products. This is far from rocket science. I use a Wheeler fat wrench and torque base and ring screws to spec, generally in the range of 18-25 in-lbs for 6-48 screws.

 

[jhn]

To loose screws will come loose
Too tight will come loose. (deforming treads)
Screws under tension, other then axle wise (bolt lenght strenght), even with right torque will come loose.

Have a .308 cz 750, piccitany rail and ior Valdada ring set, topped of with a 8.5-25-50 Leopold vx3 lr.
Lined out the rings first, then bolted the scope on.
Zits there for over 6000 shots, were of about 1000 long range(heavier loads).
No loctite used, just before every match torque the bolts for check up.

The secret is tension free mount.

For example, have a home/scratch built 93cu Harly, no loctite, just good allignmant of parts.
Have it sinds 95, and 100k Kilometers on it.

If a bolt or nut comes loose, it telling you, something is wrong.

Much regards Johan
The netherlands

 

[Papa Charlie]

I torque my ring screws to 17 inch pounds per Vortex. I do not use any loctite and have never had an issue. I also check my torque periodically on my rings as I do other fasteners on my rifle. I feel it is part of the maintenance process.

 

[velocette]

Some screws come loose, some don't. With respect to those that have never had an un loctited screw come loose. That's just the way things work. My experiences have been different. After I retired, I spent 5 years part time as a range officer at a large municipal firing range. There was a reason that there was a set of Allen bits, Torx bits, Phillips head bit and standard flat screwdriver bits on hand at all time. I've seen loose scopes, loose action screws, loose rear sights, loose front sights and loose owners. Strong possibility that many or even most of these loose items may not have been properly cleaned & torqued.
So it is true that a properly cleaned and torqued screw may not come loose. It is also true that
Murphy LIVES! If it can go wrong, it will and at the worst possible time. Like 95% of the way through the championship match with only 2 rounds to go to clean the match and you drop an 9 due to a loose screw that was not loctited.
Yes, Loctite is your friend, you may not need it, but learning that you do is the hard way to learn. (That trophy buck will laugh all the way to the feeder)

 

[TheOtherZilla]

I just ordered some Purple since it is non-existant here.. That's what the scope base manufacterer said to use..I have used blue and red.. Haven't used red on a firearm just stuff I never planned on taking apart. Ever..