Rem 700 mis-drilled

[benchracer]

I have a LH Rem 700 VS that came from the factory with the scope mount screws slightly mis-drilled. I compensated for that when it was new by using standard 2-piece Leupold mounts that permitted windage adjustment on the rear scope mount.

I would like to put a Picattinny Rail setup on the rifle, but need to correct the alignment of the holes for the scope mount.

Is there an economical way to fix this?

 

[Kevin Cram]

The best fix for this problem would be having a Holland Perfect Picatinny Rail installed. Here's a link describing how it works, just scroll down to the Holland Picatinny Rail heading. Picatinny Rail
e-mail me for information on having one installed.

 

[NesikaChad]

Here's my "best way."

You clamp the action down in a mill vice, the action gets clocked off the raceways and I indicate down the side of a mandrel to ensure the action's bore center is pointed parallel with the X axis.

I then bore my holes to the correct location and punch out to 8-40. Now I KNOW the rail will be pointing "down the pipe".

Chasing the holes with a drill will only make the same problem all over again as the drill will want to follow what is already there.

Lots of ways to skin cats but I personally feel this method is the best because it resolves the problem at its source.

All the best,

Chad

 

[Tikkamike]

Send it back to remington with a letter of disgust and disappointment in how this could slip past their quality control
mikegun)

 

[benchracer]

No way am I going to send this rifle back to Remington in disgust. Right out of the box, it shot Black Hills 175 gr Match Moly into .3" groups at 100 yards. It has shot sub 1" groups at 300 yards with Hornady Light Magnum loads. I have kept this rifle for over ten years because of its phenomenal performance.

The mis-drill issue is more of an inconvenience than anything. Now that I know that it is a fairly simple matter to correct, I will be looking for a decent gunsmith/machinist to do the work.

I own two LH Remington 700's of 1990's manufacture and I am very happy with both of them.

 

[Coyboy]

Kevin and Chads solutions two the problem are good ones but FIRST you need to know the exact cause of the problem.

It could very well be that the holes are drilled off center.

You could have a reciever that when polished at the factory has the rear reciever ring cant to the right and rear.(very common on polished blue and polish SS recievers) (this problem cants the back ring to the right causing the scope to point left of center with windage zeroed.)

Or your barrel shoulder to action joint is a little cocked out of square with the bolt race way.(barrel shoulder, recoil lug, reciever face, issue)( or barrel bore curve)

Each of these problems has a multiple different solution so it is a must to find the problem before working on the thing.

The very easiest solution may be Kevins suggestion, or Burris sig. zee rings with inserts set to remove the error.

The best solution for long term would be Chads if in fact the holes are out of alignment.

If the reciever tails off on the right rear reciever ring, and the holes are straight you can shim and epoxy bed the rail stress free to remove the error.

If it's the joint or barrel bore curve, and you don't want to pull it apart to correct then go back to Kevins suggestion or the burris sig. zee rings with inserts.

 

[benchracer]

The rifle is a VS with a matte finish, so I think the problem is unlikely to have been caused by polishing at the factory.

If there were some kind of barrel to receiver mis-alignment, wouldn't I have some accuracy issues as well? This rifle is consistently accurate across a pretty broad range of factory loads and bullet weights.

Still, you are astute in observing that I have assumed that the problem is the result of the scope mount holes being misaligned. How can I determine whether or not the mount holes are straight?

I can still mount and boresight a scope using standard Leupold 2pc bases and rings, so I don't see much use in switching to Burris rings. I am only interested in correcting the misalignment because I would like to go with a Picatinny rail type mount, which would afford me with a quick-detach option for my scope.

 

[Coyboy]

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The revolutionary Signature design produces consistent accuracy, tremendous gripping power and stress-free mounting. These steel rings include a pivoting synthetic insert that increases the scope-to-ring mounting surface while protecting the scope finish. Additional ***-Align Offset Inserts can be purchased (sold separately) to correct any misalignment of receiver holes or rings or even to provide additional windage and elevation adjustment.

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[kc]

For the money you spent on a Remington, they Garantee there work if you screw up they will wash there hands of this.
Give them a call soon and don't do a thing till you talk with them.

 

[pjtruesd]

How do you know that the holes are drilled incorrectly? I ask because I can't see the rifle. You say that the rifle is very accurate and that you are able to mount a scope on it. I have a suspicion about what is going on, but am going to wait for more information.

 

[kc]

Show it to a dealer with a service department, they will send the rifle back for exchange.
If you do anything they can wash there hands of this matter and you are stuck.
By law they can get away without honering there warantee.

 

[benchracer]

pjtruesd:

I could not tell with the naked eye that the holes were misaligned. I first detected the misalignment when attempting to boresight the scope while mounting it with Leupold 2pc quick release rings and bases. The scope mounted just fine, but when I went to boresight the scope, the crosshairs were off to the right of center by several grid lines.

I then mounted the scope using standard Leupold rings and bases, which allow for windage adjustment at the rear base. This corrected the problem and my rifle shoots very well in its current configuration. But, I would like to switch to a 20 MOA picatinny rail, which would require me to fix the underlying misalignment problem.

 

[pjtruesd]

It is just as I suspected. Your problem is not in the holes for the scope bases, but rather in the timing of the barrel.

Contrary to what most might think, rifle barrels are not straight. They all tend to have some runout in them, even the expensive ones. It just so happens that the bend in your barrel is pointed to the right. To exaggerate things to the extreme, think of a banana. You want the end of the banana pointed up in this case so that you get the most elevation and don't lose windage adjustment. Rifle barrels need to be chambered concentric with the bore and crowned concentric with the bore for best accuracy. They need to be timed to avoid the problem you are having. If you are a little confused at this point, don't feel bad. I was too until I barreled my first rifle and saw the muzzle flopping around in the back of the headstock. Basically, the ends of the barrel are the most important. We want it to go in straight and come out straight. The middle of the barrel is just a pipe.

What needs to happen here is that the barrel is removed and the shoulder set back until the barrel lines up at top dead center with the centerline of the receiver. The shoulder will probably need to be set back about .045" (this part can get a little nerve wracking). Unfortunately, all of the lettering on the barrel is not going to be lined up anymore. Your gunsmith will also have to set the chamber back, but that is not a bad thing.

It sounds like you have a good barrel. Once it is timed, you will be a happy camper (other than the lettering).

Clear as mud?

 

[benchracer]

Thanks for the heads-up on the underlying cause of the mis-alignment. I gotta' tell you, though, I am afraid to have anyone mess with the barrel. It may be a banana, but it is a spooky accurate banana.

I'm not sure exactly what it is that the factory got so right, especially given the possibility of having quite a bit of runout in the barrel, but whatever it is, I'm inclined to leave well enough alone until it's time for a new barrel.