Pic rail screw head stripped - help!!

[PredatorSlayer]

My son picked up this 280 AI and it came with a pic rail. He didnt want the pic rail so we were taking it off and the head stripped, bad. So I read i could drill the screw head off with a drill bit and the rail would pop off. I have been drilling and it is still on there. I worry if I go any further I will hit the action. Any thoughts? I feel like I should be through the head by now.

 

[snowymtnwolf]

Pay $20 and take to gunsmith.

I did a nut and bolt 1977 ford bronco restoration (tons of stuck / stripped bolts) and I had a prob getting a small stuck hex bolt on my rifle comb adjustment - just like your prob - I called around to gun shops and they had me bring it in to their gunsmith. $20 and it took him a few mins.

I hate small jobs that turn into worrisome big jobs.

Good luck.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[snowymtnwolf]

On second thought- can you pry the attachment off gently to pop it off (without jacking anything up) ??

 

[PredatorSlayer]

I have been prying and trying to work it back and forth with some pliers and that baby is on there.

 

[snowymtnwolf]

Ugh. Frustrating (been there). Well good luck ! And like I mentioned - best advice is to let gunsmith try - they “should” deal with that stuff all the time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Pickettpuncher]

If you’re handy it’s a dremel and chisel you could split the rail and take it off.


What screw head did it have

 

[BRTreedogs]

I would probably use a larger diameter drill bit.
Try to get the head ground off.
Pry rail off.
Hopefully have enough screw shaft left to vice grip it out.

 

[BRTreedogs]

Keep blowing the chips out as well.
You should eventually be able to see a seam.

 

[Azone]

Smack the rail with a mallet or dead blow hammer.

 

[Westernduck]

I’d take it slow and keep drilling. You could also take a hammer and chisel and push it off. If there’s not much of the screw head left it should be easy to break

 

[TaperPin]

If you have a dial caliper and something somewhat flat to span the pic rail, measuring down in the hole will probably show the receiver is farther down than it looks, but it might not be. If it shows you should be past the head, then the pic rail might be epoxied on and needs to be heated up to 200 degrees or so to release. I use water a lot as a temp indicator - if a drop of water just begins to boil, tapping the rail should break free any epoxy.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

I would probably use a larger diameter drill bit.
Try to get the head ground off.
Pry rail off.
Hopefully have enough screw shaft left to vice grip it out.

This is what I attempted - did I not go far enough maybe? I just don’t want to go to far and drill into the action.

 

[TaperPin]

If a dial caliper isn’t handy, holding a small drill bit tightly against a little block of something can be an ok way to see how deep the hole is and compare it to the open hole.

 

[PNWGATOR]

Is the pic rail bonded to the action? If so, you’ll need a heat gun too.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

Is the pic rail bonded to the action? If so, you’ll need a heat gun too.

I don’t think so because I can lift the rear of the rail off the action just enough to see a gap.

 

[TxxAgg]

Put it in a chest freezer for 24 hours and then whack it with a rubber mallet. Worked for me once

 

[wapitibob]

Drill should be just a twitch bigger than the major thread dia and you need to drill down far enough to hit the head/body junction. The wrench pocket acts like a pilot hole in the screw head. Done it too many times on fixtures that cost a lot more than a rifle.

 

[rclouse79]

I did that on my savage 220. After throwing a reasonable amount of effort at it, I decided it was above my pay grade and took it to a gunsmith. It didn’t cost much as I remember.
I am a big fan of doing things myself until I think I have decent odds of creating a more expensive problem. Sometimes swallowing your pride is the more economical decision.

 

[rclouse79]

Put it in a chest freezer for 24 hours and then whack it with a rubber mallet. Worked for me once

That trick worked for me on a stuck bolt once. I left it outside overnight when it was below zero and was able to muscle it open in the morning.

 

[Ucsdryder]

I did that on my savage 220. After throwing a reasonable amount of effort at it, I decided it was above my pay grade and took it to a gunsmith. It didn’t cost much as I remember.
I am a big fan of doing things myself until I think I have decent odds of creating a more expensive problem. Sometimes swallowing your pride is the more economical decision.

Words to live by right there! My go to method is to wing it, then think, “was that the way I was supposed to do it”…followed my a google search that proves I effed up.

My last one was mixing wheel bearing grease. Tomorrow I get to take the trailer wheel bearings apart, clean them, and grease them properly.