Riflescopes are an essential piece of hunting gear for shooting over a long distance. You can easily mount your new scope on your Henry 22 rifle yourself without any help from a professional. And rest assured, if you follow the steps suggested by us, you shouldn’t face any problems.
Mounting your scope involves a range of things you need to take care of. From measuring and comparing it to your shoulder and other things, all done for gaining that perfect customized fit.
Even though mounting a scope appears to be an easy job, if you overlook a few steps, it can easily start becoming an ordeal.
This article covers practically all the things that you are required to know about mounting your own scope on a Henry 22 rifle. After reading this, you can mount your scope yourself confidently like a professional. Whether you’re using a Henry 22 or a Golden Boy, the basic steps remain the same.
Required tools to mount a scope on a henry 22 rifle:
1. Hand tools matching the tighteners on the scope mounts and rings.
2. Quite a few small bubble-levels.
3. A torque wench- It is the most important piece of equipment for scope mounting.
4. A sturdy properly-lit table with a gun stabilizer i.e gun vice.
5. A levelling kit which can be used on .22 calibre rifles.
Steps for properly mounting the scope:
Step 1: Choose the proper scope mounting system
Nowadays, generally, all rifles have built-in holes for scope bases or installed with grooves suitable for the mounting attachments. Hence, you have to ensure that the scope rings are of the correct height and diameter for accurately installing your scope. And make sure that the mounting system that you choose is appropriate for a Henry 22 rifle.
The scope rings and bases should match since they are custom-made for each other. The scope rings are available in different heights so you must choose the proper height.
Various types of mounts are available for a riflescope. Most scope mounting is done by using the following setups:
1. A scope ring and rail arrangement:
Most long-range shooters are partial to this setup because it guarantees that your scope rings are fully oriented in a straight line and not torquing the scope at different angles.
This setup uses a single rail, i.e Picatinny rail that is mounted into the base of your scope and scope rings are fastened to the rail. This attachment is more versatile and you can also select where to place the rings so that the scope is more movable.
But you have to be careful about the weight of this attachment which tends to become heavier, but lightweight rails are also available, which solves this issue. Another benefit of this setup is that it is easier to level the rifle scope because of the rail.
2. A scope ring and base arrangement:
The most common mounting hardware for rifles, this includes a base and a scope ring that attaches to the base.
A special type of base and ring setup, the Talley base and ring lightweight alloy mount is the lightest setup available where the lower part of the scope rings and bases forms a single piece rather than forming two distinct pieces. This is favoured by backpack hunting enthusiasts as it is the lightest setup available.
While mounting your scope on the rifle, make sure that you purchase the scope rings whose size is appropriate for your scopes, like 30mm or 1 inch.
Step 2: Balance your rifle properly
To secure your Henry 22, you can place it in a bench vice, gun vice or any other stabilizing instrument that can keep your rifle steady. Whatever instrument you use, ensure that the rifle doesn’t rock while you are working on the scope. Also, while placing on the gun vice, your rifle should be roughly parallel to the ground.
Step 3: Mount the bases
Mount the scope as low as possible
It is advised to mount the scope on the rifle as low as possible without the objective bell coming in contact with the tube and ensuring space at the eyepiece for the bolt to move unhindered.
Clean the surface, join the bases, and add a rust preventive
Start joining the bases by cleaning the surface where the bases and rings are attached, and then proceed by putting on a thin coat of grease or rust preventive. After attaching, confirm that the bases are not attached backwards and are perfectly positioned.
In case you are working with a scope ring and rail arrangement, apply a thin layer of oil on the base of your rail before positioning your rail to prevent corrosion. Make sure the oil does not come in contact with the mounting screws.
In case you are working with a scope ring and base arrangement, the basic steps will be the same as in a scope ring and rail setup, but after that, only place the bottom half of the ring and base set up so that you can set the point of reference on the horizontal side of your bases.
Note: Countering torquing troubles and different angels
For people using ring and base set up, sometimes, the scope rings are mounted at marginally different angles which leads to the faulty performance of the scope due to torquing troubles.
Lap your scope to avoid torquing
To avoid this problem, a procedure known as lapping is performed, after which, the scope rings are not able to torque the scope.
You should always lap your scope rings if they are of standard quality. However, if you are using high-quality rings, it is not required to lap them since these rings are made to precise specifications.
Step 4: Secure the bases
Before torquing the screws with a torque wrench according to the company parameters, apply blue thread locker on the base screws. This is done to ensure that the scope is properly mounted.
Never use the scope as a lever to rotate the ring in position while using a rotating socket system to affix the scope rings to the front base. Rather use a wooden club or any other instrument of similar diameter. Alternately fasten the screws to guarantee a smooth adjustment.
Step 5: Level your riflescope
The riflescope is aligned so as to ensure that it is on the same horizontal plane as the functional mechanism of your rifle. Levelling your riflescope is crucial because your barrel becomes slightly tilted and affects your aiming precision while putting your crosshairs on a target if your scope is not properly aligned.
There are a number of methods and suggestions to level your riflescope making it quite difficult to choose a particular method. And some suggestions often counter each other.
Choosing the right equipment for mounting
The fact that there are also various procedures based on what equipment you use to mount your scope on your Henry 22 rifle, makes choosing a suitable method all the more confusing.
Using a plumb line to orient the crosshairs or using a good quality bubble level are the two common methods by which the scope can be levelled. Among these two, using a good quality bubble level is recommended as the better one.
The Wheeler Engineering Professional Levelling Kit is perhaps the perfect kit among the various levelling kits available. It contains a second small reference level and a barrel clamp level.
The following is the simplest way in which you can level a scope. If you follow these instructions, you don’t have to browse through all the different processes and this process works for all kinds of rifles and their scopes including the Henry 22.
- Fasten the barrel clamp level after positioning it on the barrel of your rifle and making it roughly on the same level as your rifle’s functional mechanism.
- Position the small reference level on your base or rail mounts or on the lower half of your scope rings. Ensure that the reference level is at a right angle to the barrel.
- To align the reference level, rearrange your rifle on both sides with the bubble level within the lines.
- Using the micro adjuster, alter the barrel clamp level to coincide with the smaller reference level which makes the barrel clamp level evidently indexed to your rifle.
- Place your scope on the lower part of the rings.
- Gently turn the scope ring screws after positioning the upper part of your rings on the scope.
- After securing the rifle, slide your scope back and forth and rotate it so that the reticle is exactly vertical and horizontal. This is the process of adjusting reticle focus and is done to sharpen the reticle image.
- Adjust the scope in the forward direction enough to make certain your eyes are protected from recoil injuries.
Conclusion
While learning how to mount a scope on your rifle, there are many possible hazards to both you and your shooting hardware if they are not mounted properly.
If the threads are unclean, it could get worn out which causes the loosening of the entire scope arrangement on one recoil. This in turn ruins the objective lenses, rings and the mounting hardware.
If the arrangement is not tight enough, it would come off and injure your eyes or face. If the scope is not mounted exactly on the centre, it would affect the shooting precision. You will realize that mounting scopes on your Henry 22 rifle are convenient and easy once you practice mounting few scopes.