1100 Side-Mount Scope Questions

[garydwriter]

The 12-gauge 1100 I recently inherited from my father came with an unmounted Weaver scope that uses a metal side-mount base. Does anyone have suggestions for the best method to attach the base to the receiver? Are there special screws that should be used in place of the receiver pins to secure the base? Should I protect the receiver finish with a thin piece of plastic or some other material under the base? Sorry if this has been addressed in another post but my search of the forums didn't turn up anything. Thanks in advance for any advice provided.

[Virginian]

There are special screws that replace the receiver pins. I used to use a Weaver Quik-Point that used the same mount, and I painted the receiver and put a layer of electrical tape under the mount and suffered no damage to my receiver. You do not have much excess room with those screws at all, and only something very thin will fit under the screw heads. I do not like that mount. It is very easy to strip the threads out of the mount if you apply too much torque, and they do not specify a correct torque, and the receiver sides can also deflect causing operational problems. The screws are not a close tolerance fit with the holes, and even when it is installed correctly, on mine there was quite a bit of fore and aft, up and down movement. The B-Square saddle mount is far superior.
I eventually had some special screws that fit the holes much better made up for mine, and got some hardened half nuts to match welded onto the outside of the mount plate to hold everything together. Then of course, I quit using the Quik-Point.

[garydwriter]

Thanks for information, Virginian. It was exactly what I was looking for. I guess I'll be looking for a saddle mount.