New Hunter and I need scope mounting advice

[Mucho_MPG]

I have never hunted for deer but have been the recipient of tasty loins, lean ground meat, and some killer roasts. I think it is time I rely on myself and harvest a deer for my freezer.

I bought a Marlin XL7 in 30-06, a Nikon Prostaff 3-9X 40mm, with 1 inch Warne Maxima rings and Warne two piece base.

Now that I have the rifle, scope, rings, and base, I need to know what to do with it. I have been researching how best to mount this package and have gleaned a few things of which I am unsure.

1. I saw this instrument that laps the rings and ensures their alignment. Is it absolutely necessary to do this. I hate tools that are 1 trick ponies and I can't think of another use for this once I mount my 1 scope and 1 hunting rifle that I have.

2. Must one use some sort of Loctite to secure base screws and is it necessary to use an inch lb torque wrench to secure all hex heads on bases and rings?

3. Bore sighting: Is this best left for the professionals?

4. Leveling Crosshairs: I have seen another one purpose tool that helps you center your crosshairs. Is this necessary or is it a clever way to separate me from 25 bucks?

Finally, given all I have asked above and the fact that I am overwhelmed with all the "stuff" you have to do to set up a deer rifle, should I just pay my local gun shop to do everything outlined above?

I want to set up the rifle so the scope is perfectly set up and the recoil doesn't affect its zero later on when I sight it in.

Any ideas for a noob hunter?

 

[alreadygone]

Been years since I've mounted a scope,,but it ain't rocket science. All parts should come with insructions. Probably get more inteligent help if you can post pics of rings and mounts, or links to mfgr.

Lapping is usually reserved for extreme accuracy target shooting. While leveled X is great,it's fairly easy to get hunting close,as opposed to target, just by leaving scope loose enough to rotate after finding best eye relief distance (forward and rearward travel in scope when setting in mounted mounts).

No COMPETENT buddies who can give hands on help?

Bob

Bob

 

[moribundman]

Originally Posted By: Mucho_MPG
I have never hunted for deer


Last time I went deer hunting (and playing a round of Russian roulette with my buddies), the deer were packing binoculars. They saw me before I saw them.

 

[MarkC]

Just remember, those chubby, often brown or black and white things with short horns are not deer.

 

[punisher]

Alignment concerns are part of the reason I am not partial to Weaver style mounts, I usually go for dovetail rings/bases when I can. Lapping should be a non issue, but double check alignment so you don't ding up the tube. From the looks of it those rings it might be hard to check.

Bases (according to my very reliable gunsmith) should be installed with loctite and the screws installed as tight as you can get them with the supplied hex wrench. If a base screw breaks, then the screw was bad to begin with.

With bolt actions, I just pull the bolt, look down the bore at a target ~25yds away and see how close the crosshairs are compared to my bore. That should be close enough to get you in the ballpark to getting it set up. If there is a major mismatch, you did something wrong with your mounts/rings.

Scope leveling for standard ranges is silly. Eyeball it and adjust accordingly. There are ways to level acopes without special tools, but 99% of shooters will never notice a difference. When you start shooting 1K yd matches, then you worry about it.

The above statements are opinions, I am sure someone will differ with them.

 

[SteveD2]

Originally Posted By: Mucho_MPG
I saw this instrument that laps the rings and ensures their alignment. Is it absolutely necessary to do this. I hate tools that are 1 trick ponies and I can't think of another use for this once I mount my 1 scope and 1 hunting rifle that I have.


Just use Burris Signature Rings. They come in both standard, Weaver, and dual dovetail type applications. They have free floating plastic inserts that eliminate the need for lapping, won't mar a scope, and have superior holding power. They also have offset inserts available so you don't have to shim if your base screw holes are off. They are the only rings I use. Bill T.

 

[1sttruck]

I Like Redfield style mounts. I had a badly fogged old scope that I disassembled to the tube use for aliging the front and rear mounts and as wrench, and it worked great. For crosshair alignment I took the bolt out, suspended the rifle upside down on top of a couple chairs and used a weighted string as a plumb for adjusting the scope.

In the military we zeroed the M16s at 25 yds and if you did a careful zero you drop popups at 300 yds.

 

[Steve S]

Originally Posted By: MarkC
Just remember, those chubby, often brown or black and white things with short horns are not deer.
During deer season they could be!