What is a reasonable price to have holes tapped and drilled

[kd7nqb]

So I want to put a cheap red-dot on my Ruger Mark II. To do this I would need holes drilled and tapped. I called 3 gun smiths today and prices ranged from $50-$125

Now this seems very high for me, to have a few holes drilled BUT I know I cant do it myself so maybe it is worth it.

Are these somewhat competitive prices.

 

[TIMC]

Mine charges $30 per hole to drill and tap.

 

[AZ_Rebel]

You are not paying just to drill and tap some holes:

*The investment in tools that a gunsmith has made.
*Drills and taps only last so long (not to mention the initial purchase) and have to be replaced.
*No matter how careful the gunsmith is, a tap may break and have to be carefully removed without damaging the receiver. That can take time and special tools.
*Every once in a while (no matter how careful the gunsmith is) a piece of work will be damaged beyond repair and need to be replaced.

A good gunsmith will factor all these things into his quotation if he is to remain in business.

 

[remingtondude58]

I think my smith charges $10 per hole. He is a excellent smith!

 

[JoshRushing]

$20 per hole, $35 for 2, $55 for 3, and so on.......and extra for Hard recievers.....

 

[nicholst55]

Typically, this runs from about $20-25 per hole on up to $50 or so, depending largely on what's being drilled and tapped, how difficult the setup is, how hard the steel is, etc.

For something that can be slapped into a readily available jig and done quickly, around $25 per hole seems to be the norm.

 

[Jubjub]

Weigand makes a no gunsmithing mount for the MKII that uses the rear sight dovetail. I had one on my gun for a while. Kind of bulky but it works fine.

http://www.jackweigand.com/rm2fd.html

 

[Jim Watson]

Brownells says their customers charge from $20 - $45 a hole drilled and tapped.
If you had seen my gunsmith struggle with a stainless steel action, you would understand the high end.

 

[oron]

Even when i use.
The forster jig, the Sav.99 Rec.
Will have you meditating for a
wk. wile fasting to the gun gods
oron

 

[dagger dog]

As Jim pointed out Brownells price guide survey from their #58 catalog drill and tap for scope mount survey returned a range from 35$-50$.

 

[Jim K]

Extremely hard receivers may have to be spot annealed even with carbide bits, so that is often another step requiring time and care.

Jim

 

[dagger dog]

I have a MKII 6 7/8th " . I used the B square, no gunsmith mount ,it repalces the factory rear sight with a dovetailed drilled and tapped filler that locks into the dovetail slot with a locking set screw, the front portion of the mount slips over the front of the receiver and is tensioned with another set screw. It makes one solid mount for a pistol scope or a red dot. Under 40 bucks.

sorry for the out of focus pics

 

[madcratebuilder]

It really hurts the resale value of your pistol by drilling and tapping. I would recommend the Weigand no gunsmithing mount. I have three of his mounts and I'm very pleased with the quality, plus they are nice folks to deal with. They do care about their customer base.

 

[Badger Arms]

The Ruger receiver is super-easy to drill and tap. I would do it myself, but if you don't have the tooling, skill, or nerve to do it, I'd consider the Weigland Combat No-Gunsmithing mount even if I had a free "B-Square" mount laying around. For the cheap dot scopes, you don't need anything fancy.