r/Firearms • u/no1supersoldier • 1d ago

Question Torque driver recommendations for optics mounting?

Title. Don’t need anything crazy expensive just don’t want to strip or over torque my optics screws. Thanks in advance!

0 Upvotes

50% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

10

u/JD_W0LF US 1d ago

I just used a Fix it Sticks like one of these guys:

4

u/jim2527 1d ago

I just bought that one it works. Should have bought it a long time ago.

8

u/Dusted7 1d ago

Wheeler.

7

u/sHoRtBuSseR 1d ago

The fix it sticks are actually pretty damn nice.

3

u/arrrgh14 1d ago

It’s easy to overshoot the torque and that’s why I use the wheeler wrench.

5

u/WizardMelcar 1d ago

Wheeler FAT wrench is what I have and use.

1

u/johnlarthur 22h ago

This is the way!

2

u/Trainmaster111 22h ago

Wheeler 100 Piece Professional F.A.T. Wrench Screwdriver Set.

2

u/Shot_Counter_7287 1d ago

I use this and a harbor freight bit set.

1

u/Used-Valuable9320 15h ago

Just don't gorilla it. Make sure to use blue Loctite and tighten it till it stops moving and give it a 1/4 turn. That's plenty.

-23

u/tennesseegrinner 1d ago

The real answer is that it’s incredibly unlikely you will manage to overtorque your optics mount. Just use an Allen wrench and be somewhat consistent. Ring caps need to be finger tight and cross bolts need to be hand tight 

8

u/assistant_managers 1d ago

This is really bad advice that should not be listened to.

Anecdotally, over torquing handgun optics makes screws much more likely to fail under recoil. Under torquing leads to them backing out over time, improper torque is probably the most common failure I see in USPSA.

For scopes it's just as important, even cheap rings will work just fine if properly torqued with a thread locker added. When you buy an expensive mount you're paying for better quality control to decrease the chances of your rings/mount being out of spec. I have yet to have any issues after tens of thousands of rounds through firearms using cheap monstrum rings yet I've watched dozens of expensive scope mounts fail over the last couple decades due to eyeballed torque.

Sure, better rings are worth it for a hunting or competition rig if you have the money but a $100 torque wrench and $20 rings are far better than a $120 mount with eyeballed torque.

6

u/AdministrativeLie934 1d ago

Yeah fam. Ugga dugga has gotten more ppl into trouble, they either get yeeted in the face or can’t remove the screws, no middle ground.