Rifle Scopes Anyone ever noticed re-torquing rings changing zero?

[HumbleEinstein]

I re-torqued my rings since my last time out and I have competition this Saturday. Should I be concerned about a shift in my zero? The screws seemed like they were already torqued down pretty well, but chances are they moved slightly.

 

[Graham]

Not if you have good rings.

 

[HumbleEinstein]

I have Seekins Precision rings.

 

[bp7178]

If I needed to depend on the rifle I would find out before I needed to depend on it...

 

[HumbleEinstein]

That would be my preference, but it doesn't appear I will have an opportunity to check zero.

For perspective, however, I'm shooting steel while people carefully peer through spotting scopes. I'm not going to war. Still, I would hate to be missing because of it.

I think I'll exercise a little more restrain in the future when I don't have time to re-zero.

 

[Rob01]

So you are saying the rings were on the mount and torqued down and you took the torque wrench to them to check to make sure? If so then their shouldn't be any change but I wouldn't suggest doing that all the time as you can have problems with the screws. My team mate told me a story about some military sniper comp competitors who every morning took their torque wrench out and cranked down on their action screws to make sure they were tight. That was their way of doing things all the time. Second day of match they pulled out the torque wrench and snap! The front action screw sheared off.

If you want to check torque then loosen the ring screws and retorque them but keep in mind if you do this you might have a shift in zero even if ever so light of .1 mil. Honestly unless you notice them loose I wouldn't touch them.

 

[alpine44]

Look at it from the logical viewpoint of physics. If the screws did not move much, the rings would have moved even less (if they did) and the potential zero shift would have been even smaller. The result cannot be greater than the input in your system.

If you give me the distance between your rings I can calculate how much movement in the rings you would be necessary for a 1 MOA shift. Then look at your rig and ask yourself whether that is mechanically feasible with the changes you made.

 

[samnev]

I would not retorque the screws either unless you noticed the screws were loose.

 

[alpine44]

I would not retorque the screws either unless you noticed the screws were loose.

...and the best way to check whether screws came loose is with a torque setting slightly smaller than the one used for installation. This way, you are not disturbing anything that is OK but catch the stuff that has come loose.

 

[sib1948]

You definitely have an issue.

 

[silentheart]

...and the best way to check whether screws came loose is with a torque setting slightly smaller than the one used for installation. This way, you are not disturbing anything that is OK but catch the stuff that has come loose.

Could not agree more.

 

[mark5pt56]

How about just witness marking them?

 

[CSTactical]

If your using good solid tools and rings you should not have a impact shift.

Mike @ CSTACTICAL

 

[skeeterIII]

When rebuilders of car engines torque down the heads they relieve stress by giving the bolts a rap with a hammer. Not sure you should or can do this with ring screws but I do use both Lock-Tite AND use enamel paint to show if the screws have moved. I will remember to back the screw rings out before I re-tighten them.
Again, please know I am new to rifle shooting and came from the world of 1911's but I have found the enamel paint very helpful if the screws have not stretched internally.
Do you use Lock-Tite?


As a newbie does the enamel paint really make a difference?

 

[Enough Said]

I re-torque after every range day. O.C.D. can be a good thing.

 

[mark5pt56]

The paint will show that the screw has moved. Some just don't like the paint on the screws/mount, etc. You can use red paint which is dull when dried and won't show as much. Blue loc-tite is what you want. Just a dab, otherwise it runs everywhere.

When rebuilders of car engines torque down the heads they relieve stress by giving the bolts a rap with a hammer. Not sure you should or can do this with ring screws but I do use both Lock-Tite AND use enamel paint to show if the screws have moved. I will remember to back the screw rings out before I re-tighten them.
Again, please know I am new to rifle shooting and came from the world of 1911's but I have found the enamel paint very helpful if the screws have not stretched internally.
Do you use Lock-Tite?


As a newbie does the enamel paint really make a difference?

 

[skeeterIII]

I put the small white dot on each of the screws/rings and cross bolts/mount that is possible so I doubt seeing them can be an issue as they are VERY small.

Humble Einstein - you never said if you used any Lock-Tite and what color/strength if used?