I got a set of Lekupold PRW rings. The tops are tight and seem like they have to "snap" on the scope. Is this normal? Thanks

I have encountered this as well (not necessarily with Leupold rings). It mostly signals that either your rings have too small an internal diameter or your scope tube has too large an external diameter. Measure to make sure! (E.g some older European scopes had a hard time living up to the notional 1" center tube diameter...).

If you proceed to install your rings the way they are, you will end up with some pretty serious ring marks. If it was me, I'd lap the rings. The lapping itself only takes about 5 minutes, but you need to get hold of the (or a?) lapping bar and the lapping compound. Sinclair, among others, sell the lapping kits - what I have always used to lap rings (don't know what other people use?).

- mike

Without checking I seem to recall that the Leupold PRW have a 70/30 split, ie the top ring is more than a half circle. This is similar to Warne rimfire rings and I have heard that Warne makes some of the Leupold line. How true that is I don't know. Lapping obviously doesn't help in this situation. What I do with limited success is use a thin but hard plastic film, something like a shirt packet, over the scope, clip the ring in place and remove the plastic. To minimise scope damage make sure the bottom half is already attached to the rifle and the scope is placed in the bottom ring as close to final postion as possible.

Yes, the 70/30 split will require the top ring half to be forced over the scope tube for final installation.
I save the thin backing paper from target pasters (the little 1" colored dots you use to cover rifle shot holes in targets so you can re-use the target again), and from postage stamps to place over the scope tube, and "snap" the top ring half down over the thin paper, removing the paper after I've got the top ring half in place.
The paper is that thin shiny stuff, and placing it over the scope tube prevents ring marks on the tube itself.

quote:

Originally posted by DMB:
The paper is that thin shiny stuff, and placing it over the scope tube prevents ring marks on the tube itself.

I've always wondered what that stuff was good for! I frequently use paster address labels to identify various batches of components in and around the loading bench, and I've just been throwing away that valuable backing paper.

They snap on as the others have told you.

I use a little bit of case lube (imperial wax) and that helps to prevent the ring marks as well.