How to Build Your Own Scope Mounting Jig

Many scope mounting jigs require you to remove the barrel and stock of your rifle. You then insert a specific caliber steel shaft into the chamber. This type of precision is good, but you will spend too much money just making the jig. You can make a simple drilling jig using a common doweling jig used in woodworking. All you have to do is screw a concave wooden bracket plate to the bottom of the jig to fit the bottom of the stock. This keeps the jig level when you drill it.

Things You'll Need

  • 2-inch hole saw
  • Maple blank, 1 1/4-inches-by-4 1/2-inches-by-4 1/2 inches
  • Drill press
  • Woodworking doweling jig kit
  • Cordless screw gun
  • 3/4-inch screws
  • Vice
  • Center punch
  • Hammer
  • 1/6-inch drill bit
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Instructions

    • 1

      Insert a 2-inch hole saw into a drill press. Drill through the center of the maple blank. It doesn't have to be perfect. Saw the maple block in half with a band saw. Saw directly through the center of the hole to produce two semi-circles.

    • 2

      Screw one of the semi-circles to the bottom jaw plate of the doweling jig with a cordless screw gun and 3/4-inch screws. The bottom plate is the bottom jaw of the jig. It is connected to the small arm that you turn to tighten the jig.
      There are two holes on the plate, one on either side, specifically for this purpose.
      Screw the semi-circle on so that the semi-circle is facing up. This is where the bottom of the stock will rest.

    • 3

      Unscrew the wing nut at the top of the jig with your fingers to loosen a small metal cylinder. Insert a 1/16-inch cylinder from the kit into the space where the original one came out. Tighten the wing nut.

    • 4

      Clamp the stock of the gun into a vise, horizontally so that you still have access to the gun underneath the chamber.

    • 5

      Remove the scope from the kit. There will be a small template that indicates where the screw holes are to be drilled. Using the manufacturer's instructions that came with the scope, place the template on the top of the chamber where the scope is to be installed.

    • 6

      Place a center punch in the holes one at a time. Tap on the center punch with a hammer to mark the spot where the holes are to be drilled.

    • 7

      Unscrew the doweling jig all the way and slip it over the chamber. Line up the metal cylinder with the center punch marks one at a time. Tighten the jaw on the doweling jig so that the semi-circle jaw clamps creates pressure on the bottom of the round gun stock or chamber, depending on what kind of gun you have. Tighten the jaw to secure the steel cylinder in place on top of the barrel.

    • 8

      Insert a 1/16-inch drill bit into a cordless drill and insert the bit into the sleeve to drill the holes for the scope. Check the length of your screw. Place a piece of masking tape on the bit to mark the depth you need to drill according to the screw length.