On Valentine's day I ordered a 440 refurb from Cabelas, after receiving it, I ordered a "stock" BSA AR4X32 from Natchez and GRT III trigger from Bob. My goal was to put an accurate package together for less than $200. I installed trigger without a hiccup then mounted A.O. scope using BSA rings and Gamo's scope stop. I degreased thoroughly and locked bases on rail p.d. tight, then installed scope, leveled and snugged down rings p.d. snug. After first 250 shots I was seeing zero-shift daily, sometimes sooner, and scope had moved enough that a corner of Gamo "friction" pad in rear ring was clearly visible.
I removed scope, removed pads and adhesive backing from upper ring-halves, then lapped-in scope bases to assure proper alignment, reinstalled scope, leveled and snugged down rings p.d. snug(er). This solved problem for 1-2 days then zero shift began again. I rechecked screws and rechecked again, every screw was tight but now Gamo scope-stop looked like someone drove a wedge under it from fore to aft: vertical stop-screw sits at 45-degree angle in plastic center block, orange "bumper" is distorted upward. Clearly ring base(s) is shifting now, not scope moving in rings. Time to regroup and research!
I spent untold (retirement) hours researching on web but all I saw is guys saying you need rings with 2-screw bases or one-piece mounts with 4-screw bases. I'm thinking to myself: Gamo designed this package so why should I have to replace components?
Last weekend, finally, I put a single drop of Loc-Tite super-glue on each scope-ring base where it clamps the mounting rail, and let dry for six hours. The Gamo scope-stop was wrecked so I did not reinstall. This "enhancement" appears to have stopped mount creep on mounting rail, for now anyway, and rifle has now held it's zero for four consecutive days of 100+ shots daily.
I'm not too pleased with my handiwork but at least I now blame flyers on my holding and not on scope hardware or Charlie's good GRT III trigger.
Oh by the way: can't say that I'm too pleased with up-down, left-right repeatability on this little scope but at $25 plus shipping I can't complain too much. I chose to install it instead of included BSA AR 3-12X50 for: low height and less recoil mass; hoping to avoid the very problem I had to deal with anyway.
I apologize for such a lengthy first post by a newbie, any comments or suggestions will be greatlly appreciated by your truly.
Reloader
