I recently mounted scope base, rings and scope onto my Raging Bull 454 Casull and put a small amount of blue Loctite on each screw. After 20 rounds I decided to check the screws and to my surprise, a majority were loose. Do the screws need to be cleaned prior to adding Loctite or is there some other trick to this. I allowed over a week between setting the screws and shooting. Any suggestions would be helpful.

As a FYI, my Burris 2x20 scope shot craps after 40 rounds. Burris replaced the scope with one of their Fastfire III units with no issue. Good customer service but now I need to mount the new unit and would like to have it hold for more than 20 rounds. Thanks!

The screws and holes definitely need to be degreased before installation. Also, make sure the loctite is shaken up good.

Ok, thanks. I was perhaps a little anxious to get the fixtures mounted. I will redo the mount and optic again with your suggestions.

Dan

Don't worry Dew...I just learned from your mistake because I never would have thought to check for grease first.

Good. It is comforting to know that I am not alone.

Sometimes things seem way too easy!

if you have access to a torque driver that will help too but if not just try to tighten them as equal as possible and start with the inner screws and go out. If you don't get them tightened evenly it can create a slight bind and when you shoot the gun the base will settle and the screws will no longer be tight.

Good advice. I will see what I can do about tightening the screws consistently.

Thanks!

After you get all the screws tightened or torqued down on the bases, put the screwdriver back in the screw slots and give it a rap on the end with another screwdriver. Don't hit it like you are trying to drive nails but give it a firm tap,then retighten.
Each screw will have a little slack.

Since I started using a torque wrench I have had no issues with screws loosening

I'll just add a little tidbit - that blue loctite can cause you a big headache at times. When you want to disassemble the part, on occassion, you'll have to use heat to break it loose.

In my opinion, the better loctite to use on mount and rings is the purple loctite or #222 - I've never experienced a problem when disassembling and it's always held up to harsh recoil and constant shaking when used for other applications.

http://tds.loctite.com/tds5/docs/222-en.pdf

More great suggestions. Thank you!

Try fingernail polish. It seems to work as well as Loctite and sometimes a little better. Degreasing the screws and holes, as well as tapping the tightened screws works wonders.

Any particular color?

neon pink should go over well at the range ;). I've actually used clear nail polish as loctite when that was all I had and it does work. The main thing that loctite or the nail polish accomplishes is to fill in the voids between the screw threads and the female threads. The single most important factor as I was saying before is the tightening sequence. Alot of the time if you have a torque driver and properly torque everything you can get away with out anything on the threads but the loctite/nail polish is extra insurance.

and never use the lock tite primer on a scope mount... nobody can mount a scope before it sets up ... not even god ....

I guess you mean don't use it on the rings, and I agree with that.
Loctite or fingernail polish absolutely should be used on the base and allowed to set-up for at least 24 hours before shooting.

I shoot a 460 and mounted the VXIII on it. I used the blue loctite as well, but I let it set 48 hours before shooting. I had no problems at all.

I am one of those guys that believes if I can still turn the screw, its loose. So yeah, I've snapped my fair share of heads off. I started using some allen head screws from Fastenall that are stonger than grade 8, and seriously, you won't be able to snap one. I've tried to do it on purpose with a set of old rings I had that already had a snapped screw in them, and I couldn't do it. From now on, it is nothing but those fastenall screws, and blue loctite on my guns.

Oh, and if you go with nailpolish, the does come right in when they see the hot pink...