How To Mount A Scope In 7 Easy Steps

The process by which you mount your scope to your rifle is incredibly important. If you do it incorrectly, your scope can shift or worse, and your accuracy can degrade.

Therefore, taking the time to learn how to properly mount your scope can make a difference. Therefore in this article, I’ll take you step-by-step through this process and ensure your scope is secure and gives you the best chance of hitting your shot.

Step 1: Have the Ring Tools

The first step is to ensure you have the right tools. Now there are some tools that are required and some that are recommendations. To help understand the two, here is a list:

Required:

• Allen wrenches hex keys: https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Hex-Allen-Wrench-Ball/dp/B0776C2D6H

• Threadlock: https://www.amazon.com/Loctite-Heavy-Duty-Threadlocker-Single/dp/B000I1RSNS

Recommended:

• Torque wrench instead of allen/hex: https://www.amazon.com/Vortex-Optics-Torque-Wrench-Mounting/dp/B07XPFPNMP

• Leveler: https://www.brownells.com/search/index.htm?k=Arisaka+Optic+Leveler+Combo&ksubmit=y

Step 2: Get the Right Rings and Base

Now that you have the tools, you’ll also need the right base and rings to attach to your scope. Finding these used to be very difficult because there are many different types of scope rings.

Furthermore, you’d need bases that fit your rifle, and work with your rings. Plus, you’d need rings that were tall enough, fit your base, and had the perfect diameter to tightly wrap around your scope.

However, just recently, Gun University developed a free online tool that makes this step easy. All you need to do is go to the Scope Ring Finder, select your scope, then your rifle and tell it how you want the ring and base to connect or interface. Then the Scope Ring Finder finds every base, ring and cap that will work with your rifle/scope combo. It also finds the cheapest online price as well.

Using this tool, you’ll be able to find the perfect rings and base at the cheapest online price.

Step 3: Attach the Base to the Rifle

Now that you have the rings and base, it is time to attach the base to your rifle. If your rifle already has a base on it, or was manufactured with one on it (think AR15 and their picatinny rails), then you can skip this step.

If not, then first make sure to clean the surface of the rifle before attaching the base. Once you’ve done that, go ahead and screw in the screws making sure the base properly attaches and all screws go in efficiently.

Once this is done, go ahead and remove one screw, add some Loctite (if you purchased this), and then re-screw it in. Repeat for the remaining screws.

Step 4: Attach the Scope Rings to the Base

Now that you have the base attached, it’s time to attach the rings to the base. First place the bottom part of the ring on the base. Then make sure to push forward on the ring section, and tighten them to the base (A). This is because rings will have a bit of ‘slop’ and when you fire your rifle, the inertia will push them back. Therefore, tightening them in this method will make them more secure.

Next, place the scope on top of the rings, ensuring that the scope sits nicely on them (B). Finally, place the top part of the rings over the scope (C). Make sure not to fully tighten the screws, because as you’ll see in the next step, we will make some adjustments to the scope.

NOTE: If your rings have an adjustment mechanism sticking out – like a knob or screw – it is best to have the on the opposite side of ejection

Step 5: Adjust the Scopes Position

One that the scope is somewhat attached by the rings, it’s time to make sure the scope is in the right position. To verify this, place your cheek to the stock of the rifle as if you are going to fire. Once in position, move the scope forward or backwards until you no longer see any scope shadow or a fuzzy dark outer ring.

Step 6: Level Your Rifle Scope

Now that you have your scope into position, you need to ensure it is level. If your scope is flat bottomed, then using a scope leveling tool, put the base of the tool on the rail and use one of the wedges to alter the flat bottom of the scope to the rail.

If your scope is round bottomed, you can either use a series of levels to level it or place a level o n the top scope cap and eye it.

Step 7: Secure the Rings

Now that your scope has been positioned, it is time to tighten the screws. First, make sure you tighten them down in an x pattern. This will make sure that the entirety of the top ring is flush with the bottom.

Also, if you have a torque wrench, it is recommended that you use the following torque (unless your ring or base have something else listed for them):

Scope Mounting Component	Preferred Torque	Maximum Torque
Rifle Base	20-22 in/lbs	25 in/lbs
Tactical rings to base	65 in/lbs	65 in/lbs
Hunting rings to base	20 in/lbs	25 in/lbs
Scope rings around scope	15 in/lbs	20 in/lbs

What Next?

Now that you have your scope properly mounted, you’ll need to first zero your scope. This will make sure your scope is sighted and ready to go. After that, you should be ready.