NavyChief
Member
While perusing Gunbroker for the final Kimber for the collection I ran across a Browning X-Bolt misprinted in an auction. While the X-Bolt has never appealed to me visually, the Browning A-bolt II has served me very well in a 7mm Rem, 280 Rem, 270 Win, and a light little 7mm08 Stalker, so I figured why not. It is a Stainless Synthetic in 270 Win that is New in the Box, and while I have plenty rifles in 270 I never feel like I have enough. To shorten the story, I got it for 709$ which included shipping and when it arrived everything looked great. Having had a bad experience with another gun recently, I really checked this one over. All was well until I got home and began mounting the scope.
I used Leupold dual dovetail bases and rings and the front base went right in there with all 4 screws seating well and locking up tight. The rear base was a different story. 2 of the female holes were apparently stripped (somehow) because the screws wouldn't even start. I did what I could and figured why not, I forced the screw in the base hoping to get the threads aligned but it just stripped the screw. I have a large box of Leupold base/ring screws so I just went through a few until it felt like things were getting better. Of course eventually one screw felt completely stripped and just kept turning. I pulled the Leupold screws out and had some old Redfield screws with the same thread pattern but I knew they were just a little larger. In the end I got all four screws in tight and they have enough locktite so that it will likely take a torch and a drill press to remove the base. I mounted the rings and the scope and figured what the heck, if it shoots and holds zero then who cares, right? I didn't want to send the gun back because I knew the dealer would gladly provide a cash refund which is not what I wanted. I didn't want to send the gun back to the factory because I feared that would take forever and I didn't want to tap out the base holes to larger threads because I figured I can always do that later if I have to. Should I have to remove the base, I can by drilling the screws out and tapping new larger threads in the back base and open up the holes on the Leupold base to accept the larger screws. I know this is not an ideal situation but I am just hoping to get a little reassurance from someone who has done this for themselves, or maybe a customer, and things worked out fine for years. If I get to shoot the gun for 10 or 15 years then I got my moneys worth because it is going to be a loaner/beat 'em up gun when I don't want my AA and AAA wood to take a pounding. Hopefully someone can share a little experience and make me feel a little more confident in my mounting set up. By the way, I used blue loctite and only heavily on the base screws. The rings were mounted normally so I can change scopes if I ever need to. I figured in the worst case scenario; I would just get a good welder to run a bead around both and have a good smith polish the bead and be done with it. Any help here?
I used Leupold dual dovetail bases and rings and the front base went right in there with all 4 screws seating well and locking up tight. The rear base was a different story. 2 of the female holes were apparently stripped (somehow) because the screws wouldn't even start. I did what I could and figured why not, I forced the screw in the base hoping to get the threads aligned but it just stripped the screw. I have a large box of Leupold base/ring screws so I just went through a few until it felt like things were getting better. Of course eventually one screw felt completely stripped and just kept turning. I pulled the Leupold screws out and had some old Redfield screws with the same thread pattern but I knew they were just a little larger. In the end I got all four screws in tight and they have enough locktite so that it will likely take a torch and a drill press to remove the base. I mounted the rings and the scope and figured what the heck, if it shoots and holds zero then who cares, right? I didn't want to send the gun back because I knew the dealer would gladly provide a cash refund which is not what I wanted. I didn't want to send the gun back to the factory because I feared that would take forever and I didn't want to tap out the base holes to larger threads because I figured I can always do that later if I have to. Should I have to remove the base, I can by drilling the screws out and tapping new larger threads in the back base and open up the holes on the Leupold base to accept the larger screws. I know this is not an ideal situation but I am just hoping to get a little reassurance from someone who has done this for themselves, or maybe a customer, and things worked out fine for years. If I get to shoot the gun for 10 or 15 years then I got my moneys worth because it is going to be a loaner/beat 'em up gun when I don't want my AA and AAA wood to take a pounding. Hopefully someone can share a little experience and make me feel a little more confident in my mounting set up. By the way, I used blue loctite and only heavily on the base screws. The rings were mounted normally so I can change scopes if I ever need to. I figured in the worst case scenario; I would just get a good welder to run a bead around both and have a good smith polish the bead and be done with it. Any help here?
