Originally Posted by
SoCalDep
I’d be hesitant to go nuts on torque, but the RMR, SRO, DeltaPoint Pro, Holosun 407 and 507 line, Sig Romeo 1 Pro, among others are all manufactured of aluminum and get torqued to 15 - 30 in/lbs. I don’t think 13-15 is unreasonable, but I’ll speak more to that in a sec…
As for the term “staking”, I’m not a fan of using that term. The markings do nothing to hold the screws/plate in place. They are an early-warning system for a loose screw to hopefully catch it before the optic shears or comes loose enough to completely loose zero. They are also fairly pointless on plates that are covered by the optic since you can’t check them. I don’t even apply them (indicator markings) to the plate anymore… just the optic to plate or slide screws.
As for the C&H 509T plates… I’ve had one on a Glock for probably nearly a year now with no issues and at this point I’ve installed or re-installed around seven or eight of the M&P versions. When I’ve installed them, 10 in/lbs doesn’t do it. The screw head is still proud of the surface of the plate and the optic will not sit flush. I think this may be a big reason for optics coming loose from the plate. Further, going to 13-15 in/lbs (see comment on the bottom) results in the screw turning a fair bit more which leads me to believe it’s just not tight enough at 10 to hold in place. This may be why the plates come loose so quickly when the C&H instructions for their other plates are followed.
When I installed the first plate I was a bit freaked out because whatever anodizing C&H used began to chip/flake. I pointed this out to the owner of the pistol, who gave me the go-ahead to proceed. This has occurred with every one of the M&P plates I’ve installed, but the screws sit flush, the optic mounts secure at 20 in/lbs, and those used in our red dot (pistol optic) certification class remained secure for 1,000+ rounds.
Lastly… for the love of all that is good in the world… just stop using VC3. It’s truly ridiculous that people are still trying to justify the use of a sub-standard product by using the excuse that someone “didn’t do it right” when I’ve seen it come loose done right and when there are other products that are simply better. Instead of allowing companies to set customers and users up for failure let’s keep it simple by using what works and yeeting the free crap that comes in the bag.
*** I’m not at work where I have my worksheet records but after thinking about it I can’t remember if I used 15 in/lbs or 13 in/lbs when I mounted the M&P 509T plates. Proceed at your own risk.