Sights coming loose

On all my wadguns with an Aimpoint Micro I have Kodiak Machine bases. From time to time they loosen up. I can only assume I am not using the right tightening procedure. I have always backed off the two set screws and tightened the main bolt barely snug. then I tighten the set screws and then tighten the snot out of the main bolt. What do you Kodiak experts do?

Bill

I switched back to the Aimpoint base and have never had it come loose again. The Kodiak base did not fit my rail properly.

My Kodiak fits repeatedly on my Pardini rear rail. What gun do you have it on???

My Kodiak came with the Aimpoint that I bought from a member here, and I installed it on my wadgun. I never could get it to lock onto the rail properly, as even as tight as I could get it, with a fair amount for force, I could rock the Aimpoint up and down slightly in a vertical motion. This was causing slight vertical stringing and chasing my zero. Upon closer examination, I found that the lower surface of the Kodiak was not contacting the upper flat surface of my rail. I cut two small .015" shims and placed them on top of the rail under the front and rear of the Kodiak, and that locked it in place properly. It didn't make a whole lot of sense to me to have to do that since the Kodiak was causing the problem that it was supposed to solve. I bought a stock Aimpoint base and it locked down tight and has been good ever since then. I mentioned it to John Eulette once and he said he has had the same issue. YMMV

james r chapman wrote:My Kodiak fits repeatedly on my Pardini rear rail. What gun do you have it on???

  
A custom built Nighthawk with the KC cut. It also happens to a Springfield with a Clark rail.

Bill

I wonder if it’s a metric v. imperial problem.

That's always good for a debate...

I just wish I hadn't sold all my original mounts.

Bill

First thing is to make sure the slot you're using has  been opened up to accept the bigger screw on the Kodiak mount. That cross slot needs to be .195-.198. When tightening this is the procedure I use that I got from Kodiak. Back out the small stop screws to flush with the inside of the locking piece. Tighten the the big screw till "snug" and then do the same with the stop screws. Go back and get another 1/8-1/4 turn on the big screw and do the same on the stop screws.

kc.crawford.7 wrote:First thing is to make sure the slot you're using has  been opened up to accept the bigger screw on the Kodiak mount. That cross slot needs to be .195-.198. When tightening this is the procedure I use that I got from Kodiak. Back out the small stop screws to flush with the inside of the locking piece. Tighten the the big screw till "snug" and then do the same with the stop screws. Go back and get another 1/8-1/4 turn on the big screw and do the same on the stop screws.

I'll make sure the set screws are backed out all the way before tightening the big one.

Bill

I don't know why people can't understand the Weaver/Picatinny rail is NOT a dovetail. There's a +0-.020 tolerance on the underside of the angles to the top face. It could literally be a bandsawed surface and meet spec ... and work perfectly.

I've made a number of rails for my rifles, and comp'd them for hard anodize. The only issue I've had is with QRW rings, which didn't fit right until I scraped the paint off the bearing surfaces. And then there was the matter of the saddles for the scope not being the same height, or even centered in some cases ... That took a bit more work to correct. But it sure is nice to be able to pull the scope when I put it in the safe, and know it will go back to zero when I put it back on.

WesG wrote:I don't know why people can't understand the Weaver/Picatinny rail is NOT a dovetail. There's a +0-.020 tolerance on the underside of the angles to the top face. It could literally be a bandsawed surface and meet spec ... and work perfectly.

True, the base does not need to contact the upper side of the rail to be locked in place. Adding a shim to the upper side raised the base enough to where pressure was applied on the lower side of the bevel to stabilize the base.

If you take a look at yours, the issue is that there is a radius at the root of the V cuts in the Kodiak. Not all rails are created equal, and not all are truncated to accommodate that radius. When tightened up, mine only hac contact between the crown of the rail sides and the radius in the root, allowing slight movement. No other scope rings or bases I have seen have that radius, hence the issue with only the Kodiak. 

The Kodiak also would not fit on my Hammerli scope rail, where other scope rings and bases fit just fine.

I'm not claiming that the Kodiak is defective, just that it doesn't fit all rails. The scope rail sides should be truncated slightly, in which case the Kodiak fits fine. Not all rails are though.