Glue or weld scope base on

[Scarface26]

Gents,

I've got a Remington model 550-1 that I want to scope. It does not have a dovetail on the receiver and the receiver isn't drilled. A google search on this topic reveals about a 50/50 split between guys who say the receiver walls are too thin to tap (They ARE on the thin side) and guys who say that's BS: Drill and tap. I'm going to present this to my plumber, but before I do, I thought I'd ask the peanut gallery for their thoughts and maybe save a buck or two.

FWIW, this rifle is NOT a collector, metal and wood are average. The only people who shoot this are me, the missus, and the oldest daughter (turns 20 in OCT) and none of our eyes are the greatest, hence the interest in scoping with a lower end 4X scope.

If I can JB weld, glue, MIG weld, etc. a base on - if the receiver is too thin to tap - I'd like to know your experiences with such "Fudd-esque" procedures.

God bless America and happy father's day.

 

[BoydAllen]

Drill, tap, verify function and then glue as well. I am told that if you want a glue to bond properly that you should mask off the area on the receiver to be bonded and remove the bluing. I would also carefully prepare the base. This kind of reminds me of a discussion at a benchrest match about gluing or screwing. After everyone else had answered, I was surprised when Lee Six said "both". It had not occurred to me.

 

[ebb]

This gun has a steel receiver and it won't take many threads in that steel tube to hold the scope on. I thought that when I first read this that it might have an aluminum receiver, I think a Ruger 10-22 has enough room to put a nut on the inside and still have bolt clearance. But as Boyd says if drilled and tapped, and glued it might give peace of mind. Welding may warp the receiver till the bolt wont move.

 

[Gary Schiefelbein]

I have a 511 that was not tapped and had no grooves.I used loctite Black Max on a N3 side mount.Year later no problems.Should I feel the need to remove all I have to do is use a heat gun.No harm no foul to a nice classic.

 

[drover]

I had a couple of 550's drilled and tapped for the aftermarket dovetail rail, bought from Brownell's, I believe).
Never an issue with them after nearly 40 years. A 6-48 screw has plenty of thread engagement even in a thin wall receiver.
I think I still have a couple of the dovetail rails in my parts drawer, if you need on let me know.

drover

 

[Scarface26]

Gents,

Thanks for your replies. This is why I'm on this forum. FWIW, this beater shot a 10-shot group at 75 yards I could cover with my palm (no fingers) with Remmy golden bullets from sitting. I'm excited to scope her.

God bless America