By Nick Rositano 

As many of us avid hunters and shooters are aware, mounting a scope on a rifle is critical to ensure correct and accurate results from your rifle. Incorrect mounting of a rifle scope can cause damage and can see your accuracy go out the window in a heartbeat. Wheeler offers a pro scope mounting kit combo, which can mount 1” and 30mm scope tubes efficiently and accurately. The mounting kit from Wheeler contains scope ring alignment bars, scope ring lapping rod and handle, lapping compound, levels, F.A.T. wrench to ensure correct torque settings are applied to the mounts and scope bases, 10-piece gunsmithing bits, thread locking compound and a scope mounting DVD with detailed instructions on how to correctly mount a rifle scope to a firearm. 

A good friend of mine saw himself purchasing two new rifles, one being a Tikka T3x in .223 Remington and a CZ 457 Synthetic 22lr, both of which were going to be topped with ZeroTech Trace advanced 4-24 x 50mm and a ZeroTech 2.5-15x50mm Thrive HD. I thought this would be the perfect time to put the Wheeler Pro Scope Mounting Kit to the test!  

Unfortunately, I had left my gun vice at home so I had to improvise a little and ended up using a front gun rest and sandbag, which isn’t ideal but having done it previously I knew it would do the trick.  

Wheeler F.A.T wrench used to manufacturers torque settings of mounts and rifle scope to allow for effortless and efficient mounting. 

The Tikka T3x was being fitted with a 20 MOA picatinny rail. The first step after securing the gun on the sandbag was torquing up the picatinny rail to the receiver, which would then allow mounting of the scope mounts. The rings were then attached to the picatinny rail and torqued up to the recommended 25 in-lbs as per instruction manual from Leupold.  

The next step is to lap the rings to ensure correct alignment of the two; lapping the rings increases the contact area between the rings and the scope. The scope can then be placed into the rings. Note, only do the rings hand tight; this is so you can shoulder the rifle and get the correct eye relief that suits you. This is crucial to allow quick off-hand shouldering at game etc. Once the eye relief is set, the two reference levels can be placed on the receiver of the rifle and top turret of the scope, which ensures level and correct alignment of the scope.  

The last step is to ensure the torque setting follows whatever the scope manufacturer recommends; this is important, as over torquing rifle mounts can have dramatic consequences in damaging and possibly twisting the scope. I think a lot of people normally choose to get their local gun shop staff to mount their scopes; however, mounting a rifle scope yourself can limit some possible variables such as over or under torquing a scope and mounting it level. I believe if staff are busy mistakes can be made, which can impact how your rifle shoots and potentially result in a loose scope. This has happened to me once in the past. A good rule of thumb before potentially heading out is to get into a habit of checking mounts and your scope to ensure everything is tight and hasn’t come loose. The Wheeler F.A.T wrench is ideal for checking the torque setting and should be carried with you whether you are down at the range or out on a hunting trip. However, being a calibrated unit, it should be placed in a secure compartment to ensure its torquing accuracy. 

Level used in both receiver and top scope turret to allow for accurate and level mounting. 

The Wheeler Pro Scope Mounting Kit retails just shy over the $400 mark, but shopping around could land you a better deal. I think if you’re spending the money on a kit like this, it is to be an investment; not only will it eliminate any potential errors with mounting a scope, but you have the option to continuously check and make sure that nothing has come loose with checking torque settings. Wheeler has been providing gunsmithing tools and equipment for since 2004 and is well renowned for its tools, ranging from wrenches, screwdrivers, to vices, and clamps among a range of other items. It is well known in the firearms industry, and I have been using some of its components for the past few years.