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Broken Scope Base Screws

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Marine24 View Drop Down
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    Posted: December/06/2016 at 09:20
Here is a little background. Picked up a Remington Varmint in 220 swift that had 1" Burris scope rings/bases. Not sure what the previous owner used to mount the rings and bases, but red loctite is a very strong possibility. Front base came out, but front screw broke inside the action. Rear base was really a pain and no amount the WD40, brake cleaner or heat would loosen the screws. Went with an easy out and couldn't get the drill bit to bite into the screws. Drilling out the front screw of the rear base worked fine but not the rear screw. Rear base eventually came off, but only because the rear screw snapped and remains in the receiver below the action surface

Rifle is off to a smith to see if they can extract the two screws. The threads on the two that I was able to remove the screws from seem fine, but can't speak for the other two. Since the screws are still in there, assumption is that they still are but not sure if that will be the case after they are removed.

Is offsetting the base and drill and taping new holes in the action a possibility? There is enough real estate on the action to move them but not sure if I need to plug/seal the original holes. These holes are to the rear of the bolt face, so assume no pressure/gas issues.

Not sure what screw sizes Remington uses in their action, but assume they are 6-48. Another option may be to step up to 8-40s but that would require opening up and rethreading the Talley scopemounts.
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SVT_Tactical View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SVT_Tactical Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/06/2016 at 09:46
best option is to drill out and step up to the 8-40's.  the gunsmith will most likely do that as it is the most logical approach.  He can increase the fronts to match.  I wouldn't spend much time trying to extract those when I could simply drill it out and tap for stronger screws to begin with.  You can by bases already set up for the 8-40s or ream the talleys out, smith could do that as well.
"Most folks are about as happy as they make their minds up to be" - Abraham Lincoln
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Marine24 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Marine24 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/06/2016 at 09:49
Thanks SVT.  I've got Talley scopemounts coming in, which would also need to be adapted but a picatinny rail sounds more appropriate.
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Bigdaddy0381 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bigdaddy0381 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/06/2016 at 10:48
yeah, step up to the 8-40. There is not much different in size but will allow you to fix a screw up whiile getting the other out. opening the base up is NOT a big deal ether. If your smith wont do it or what not shoot me a PM and I'll knock it out for you.
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Marine24 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Marine24 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/06/2016 at 11:13
Thanks BigDaddy.  Appreciate the offer
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