Oops! stripped scope base screw on Ruger 10/22. What to do?

[Paulyman]

Had the scope for it being serviced by bushnell on warranty. I decided to make sure everything was nice and snug since I'm going to be remounting the scope. Went a little to tight on the first screw and stripped it. I didn't realize the reciever was made of aluminum, so it stripped way easier than I expected.

My question is has this ever happened to anyone else here and how did you fix the problem?

Paul

Torque tools are my next purchase f.y.i :-)

[todbartell]

Ruger 10/22 receivers are terribly soft. You can easily mess them up. If 3/4 are holding tight it's probably going to be solid enough...but a good gunsmith can drill them out to 8/40

[Paulyman]

Thanks, looks as if i may have dodged a bullet. It's the front screw that stripped, there is room for a longer screw without hitting the bolt, i wouldn't try this with any of the three others.

[Steeleco]

It's been some time since I had my 10-22 in pieces but I don't recall the holes go all the way through. I'd simply use the 3 good holes and not worry. It's not like it's got lots of recoil. It can be fixed as Mark suggested, but at what cost?

[Drillbit]

You could drill it and tap it bigger yourself.

[Gateholio]

Real fix is to tap it bigger. Prob just as good is to use the other 3 screws with blue lock tite.

[MRP]

Get a inch lb torque wrench, even a cheep one is better nothing. At 20 inch lb for 6x48, this WILL give a clamp force of over 700 pounds per screw! If any lubricant is added you would reduce torque by 25%. Spit, oil or locktite counts as lubricant. 8x40 is 15 inch lb. I always put a little blue locktite under the scope bases too!

[Daybreak]

Get a inch lb torque wrench, even a cheep one is better nothing. At 20 inch lb for 6x48, this WILL give a clamp force of over 700 pounds per screw! If any lubricant is added you would reduce torque by 25%. Spit, oil or locktite counts as lubricant. 8x40 is 15 inch lb. I always put a little blue locktite under the scope bases too!

MRP, can you elaborate on the information in your post. I'm not familiar with either a 6 x 48 or a 8 x 40 thread pitch. Are they unique to firearms and gunsmiths. Also you mention 700 pounds per screw, can you explain what you are describing there. 700 pounds what? Just curious what you are describing.

To the op, you could drill it and tap it yourself. You need to determine hole depth and mark your drill bit to that depth with a piece of masking tape so as not to drill to deep. You can carefully "dress" the end of the bit on a belt sander to just remove a portion of the tip which will allows you to enlarge the hole without drilling deeper than you have to. When enlarging a hole the center most part of the cutting edge on the bit is not cutting anything anyways.

In a blind hole you must use a "bottoming tap". It's a delicate job however it is doable.

[Steeleco]

I'm not familiar with either a 6 x 48 or a 8 x 40 thread pitch. They are indeed thread specific to gunsmiths. Changing the pitch to something other than either of those is a bad idea. Inevitably one day someone will try their damnedest to get the larger screw in the smaller hole resulting in 2 messed up holes.

Earlier I would have suggested chasing the original thread with the correct tap, but not everyone has one of that size, and your not going to get one at Home Hardware.

3 out of 4 ain't bad!!

[Daybreak]

Good to know Steeleco. Thank you.

[MRP]

Daybreak. Clamp force in this application is the amount of presher the scope mount is been pressed against the rifle.

6x48 is most only gunsmith 7$ for a tap from the U.S. online, $80 in Canada. 8x40 a lot more common but still mostly gun stuff.

[Daybreak]

Appreciate you sharing the knowledge MRP. It's always a good day when you learn something new. All good stuff for the OP too.

[Stresd]

Bought a set like this a few years ago and they work fine. About $50

http://www.ebay.com/itm/6-48-tpi-and-8-40-tpi-6-Piece-Carbon-Tap-Set-Hard-to-Find-NEW-/121506046862?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c4a53238e

[todbartell]

20 inch lbs can strip a 10/22 receiver. Trust me I know :mrgreen:

[MRP]

20 inch lbs can strip a 10/22 receiver. Trust me I know :mrgreen:

Yup that could be. Here's what the Ruger 10/22 scope mounting instructions say....
Starting at the first screw, turn each screw part way in; then move to the nextscrew, repeating the procedure until all four screws are tightened to amaximum torque setting of 12-15 inch/lb.