Question for Kelbly Panda owners with dovetail scope mounts

[Nature Boy]

Had an idea on the way to work this morning (got to pay for this ridiculous hobby, right?)

As an interim thing to try I’ll clean the mating surfaces real good with some brake cleaner just to make sure there’s no oil there. I imagine it wouldn’t take much to cause a lack of necessary friction

Ps. Called Kelbly’s and they suggested I call Billy Stevens who makes a dovetail locker

(edit - Billy Stevens, not Simmons)

 

[rogn]

I tink people have been known to use rosin to make varied and sundry things unslick. Does not seem to cause any surface problems.
OTH my rings dont slip.?

 

[Tim Singleton]

If I had not ran into Matts locker
I was going to drill my ring base as Mike posted pic of
That seems pretty common

 

[Nature Boy]

Here’s what I tried this morning (@Dusty Stevens idea)

Cut the top off of a scope ring I had laying around and make a crude dove tail locker.

Went to the range with 50 rounds of 6BRA and started banging away at 200 yards. As long as it stayed put I was getting groups like this

Unfortunately, after 10 or so I noticed POI shifted and sure enough so did the scope. Looks like I’m back to square one.

 

[BoydAllen]

Back when he was new in the business, before he redesigned his rings, Jerry Stiller's rings had one clamping screw and the action (Viper), including the rail was hard anodized. There was a problem with slippage, which he fixed by redesigning the rings, but to fix the original rings he suggested loosening the clamp screws one at a time, letting some thin super glue draw into the crack between the ring and the dovetail, by capillary action, and then re-tightening. Evidently it worked. For the Kelbly rings I think that you would have to remove the screw, put it in the other side to act as a pusher against something thin enough to fit in the slot and cover the hole. I find that the long pointed Exacto blades work for this.

Added later: Obviously I breezed on by the picture, and wrote my post. If I had paid more attention I would have noticed that the rings being asked about are the newer style double screw, with a separate clamp.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

That is an extreme weight scope on a heavy recoiling caliber for a dovetail. I think youre going to have to install a dowel pin in the rail

 

[Jdne5b]

Would removing the black finish from the rail and ring help?

 

[dkhunt14]

That is an extreme weight scope on a heavy recoiling caliber for a dovetail. I think youre going to have to install a dowel pin in the rail

Wow, I shot a 300 WSM with their rings and a Nightforce BR and it never slipped. Matt

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

That is an extreme weight scope on a heavy recoiling caliber for a dovetail. I think youre going to have to install a dowel pin in the rail

Plenty of Panda 30BR's out there with NF BR scopes on them. I can't tell from the pic and have not used that specific Kelbly ring before. From looking at their site, the removable part of the clamping mechanism is made where it can fit a Kelbly rail or a 11mm rail. Do you have it turned right per the pic linked below, at the bottom of the page?
https://www.kelbly.com/scope-rings/34mm-25-moa-rings-copy

 

[Nature Boy]

That is an extreme weight scope on a heavy recoiling caliber for a dovetail. I think youre going to have to install a dowel pin in the rail

That might end up being the only solution but I don’t think it’s because of the scope weight (31oz) or because the 6BRA is a heavy recoiling cartridge.

In the short therm, I’m hoping to find a fix that lets me shoot my monthly F Class match this weekend

 

[Nature Boy]

Do you have it turned right per the pic linked below, at the bottom of the page?

Yes, just like that

 

[WillyTP]

I’ve had this happen, and then on some action ring combo no problem at all. I know some will cringe at this, but this is what put it to rest. Clear epoxy! Yes some will freak out, but with a heat gun/wife’s blow dryer and a soft face mallet they come right off and clean up is not bad at all and everything is back to normal. Mount and mark where you want your front ring and slide it to the rear of the action. Then place just a little epoxy on the rail and slide the front ring from the back of the action into the epoxy and tighten it down. This will form a little bump of epoxy in front of the front ring, let it sit overnight and cure. Mount the rear ring and scope and go shoot. No more problem.

 

[LitLBoy]

short term 400 grit paper between ring clamp and rail
LitLBoy

 

[Rope2horns]

ANSWER: Go to the Kelbly web-site. Look for the Picatinney rail that slides over the dovetail. I have it on two Pandas.. No troubles whatsoever.. As Old H.Ross Perot would have said: "Problem solved Larry"!

This...I have shot the slip on picatinney rail for almost 5 years with a 284Shehane and a NF scope..zero issues.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

That might end up being the only solution but I don’t think it’s because of the scope weight (31oz) or because the 6BRA is a heavy recoiling cartridge.

In the short therm, I’m hoping to find a fix that lets me shoot my monthly F Class match this weekend

I was thinking it was a 284 for some reason. Id do the slick willy move he listed below. Maybe some rosin under em too.

 

[Nature Boy]

This...I have shot the slip on picatinney rail for almost 5 years with a 284Shehane and a NF scope..zero issues.

How much did it change the height of your scope?

 

[HTSmith]

How much did it change the height of your scope?

Use lil lower ring. I used the med height Burris Signatures. Cleared a Sightron 10x50 with a good cheek fit on a non adjustable Mcmillan stock.

 

[Nature Boy]

Update

I was able to get through the mid range match without the scope migrating by roughing up the underside of my home made dovetail locker with some sandpaper. That provided just enough friction to keep everything in place. Long term solution will likely be adding the pic rail adapter and a new set of rings.

Net result was a 593 / 31X with a 200 / 11X at 500 yards