John Johnston is a retired sergeant detective who served with the Austin Police Department for 25 years and was a licensed gun dealer for 25 years. He now lives in Lampasas County and can be reached via e-mail at olsingleshot@gmail.com. There is nothing more frustrating than to get to a hunting destination and find a loose scope mount -- or even worse, miss a shot because the scope is loose.

So you have a new rifle, scope, bases and rings. What next? First thing you need to decide is if you ever want to be able to remove them from the rifle. This decision may determine how they should be installed.

Remove the filler screws in the top of the action. Next, degrease these holes, the bases and their screws. Then decide if you want to use a thread sealer, such as Loctite or even clear fingernail polish.

Like most things in the hunting and shooting arena, people have varying opinions; whether to use a thread sealer is no exception.

I went to a very close friend who had worked in the retail gun market and probably mounted more scopes than most people will in a lifetime. He did not suggest using any thread sealer except on hard-recoiling rifles. His reason was too many people brought rifles to his store with ruined screw heads when they tried to remove screws put in using thread sealer.

This little repair by a gunsmith is expensive. He felt properly tightened screws would not back out.

Next, I contacted another friend who has been a professional gunsmith all his life. He said he uses red Loctite on all his rifles because he did not want the mounts to come loose, and Loctite seals up any imperfections between the base and receiver. Besides, he knew how to defeat Loctite -- or he had the equipment to deal with a stuck screw.

Then I contacted Leupold, which makes quality scope mounts. The company suggested degreasing everything but then applying a thin coat of oil on the threads of the screws. Leupold claimed this fills the air gap between the threads and the receiver, making a secure mount. A torque of 18 inch-pounds is sufficient on their bases and rings.

Loctite is a commercial thread sealer that comes in many grades. These are distinguishable by the color of the applicator. The two most commonly used in the gun world are blue and red. The blue seals the threads but is removable by hand tools. The red is a little stronger and often heat or acetone must be used to defeat it. Heat can be applied directly to the screw with a soldering iron, which causes the sealer to get soft.

You may be wondering about the rings. Consensus seems to be that rings are not as important to lock down, since the ring screws are readily available for checking and tightening. The scope base screws are covered up by the rings and cannot be tightened unless the scope and rings are removed first.

What can cause scope bases to come loose? The main reason is the vibration of the rifle when it is fired. This is especially important in the screws over the front of the action. The barrel vibrates minutely when fired. Large-caliber rifles and Magnums are the worst with their heavy recoil.

Whether or not to use thread sealer to mount the scope is a personal decision based on use and intent of the rifle. I use blue Loctite on each of my rifle scope base screws and red on the Magnums. I apply a drop of blue or red Loctite on each screw. I have never had to drill out a scope base screw, and no mounts have ever come loose.

Make sure you take the bolt out or open the action before using Loctite. Some screw holes go all the way into the action. Many years ago, I locked up a lever-action with Loctite because the bolt was closed.

If you use Loctite or any other thread sealer, follow the instructions and learn how to defeat it. Do not over-tighten the screws during installation, and when removing do not force the screws, or you will be going to see my gunsmith friend.

The final option is to purchase a rifle that has the scope bases built in, such as Ruger, Tikka and several others on the market. Some say this is the best way to secure a scope to a sporting rifle.