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| One of Us |
I would like to hear some opinions on likes/dislikes for scope mounting systems. What do you prefer and what do you avoid? Personally I do not like the single-dovetail/rear windage adjustable style rings and bases. The way the rear ring mounts to the base just seems weak to me. I have really come to like the Burris rings with inserts. I also like the idea of dual-dovetail leupold style rings on big-recoilers. Has anyone here experienced problems with dual-dovetail rings loosening up on the bases. For budget rings I often used the Weaver steel grand slam rings, but haven't for a while. I've had good luck with Warne quick detach rings but mounting vertically split rings seem a little trickier to mount than horizontally split rings. What about one versus two-piece bases? I know that one piece are supposed to be stronger, but I personally don't like how they encroach on a bolt-action rifle. | ||
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I don't mind windage adjustable bases on certain guns that see more target use than hunting use. I like Leupold rings and bases, both standard windage adjustable and dual dovetail. I'm not liking the big "L" that they now have stamped on the top of the rings however. Talleys LW's are another good choice. Burris on top of weavers are also fool proof but original weaver bases are a bit ugly imo | |||
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The only rings I will use are those made by Warne. These steel rings are rugged, reliable and -- installed properly -- never, ever leave a ring mark on a scope. I've mentioned this before, but a while back I sold a Conquest scope that had been in and out of Warne rings at least a dozen times. The tube STILL could have passed for brand new. While I have used them without issue in years past, I never really cared for the dual-dovetail offerings and also tend to prefer a one-piece Weaver/picatinny-style steel base for my rifles. Bobby Μολὼν λαβέ The most important thing in life is not what we do but how and why we do it. - Nana Mouskouri | |||
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Bobby, Would your choice of one piece base change if you were shooting more bolt action rifles as opposed to the Contender platform? I generally prefer two piece (usually Weaver) bases to allow better access for feeding the magazine. I do like the Warne rings though. | |||
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Joe- While I have used 2-piece bases and generally prefer how they look on a bolt rifle, the 1-piece is still my preference if it doesn't interfere with feeding/ejection, etc. Plus, a number of actions and scope combos don't work all that well unless you incorporate extended rings, which I don't care for. The extra mounting latitude of a 1-piece picatinny-style base comes in handy for just that type of situation. Bobby Μολὼν λαβέ The most important thing in life is not what we do but how and why we do it. - Nana Mouskouri | |||
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The Leupold STD-type (swing out) mounts might look weak but I had the Redfield version on my .338 for 33 years and the only time anything moved was when I used the scope as a brake on slipping down greasy rocks. They were not even a bridge mount and the front one had an extension ring. Some modern scopes might be even stronger but most don't seem to have windage adjustments. That might be fine if the barrel is lined up well with a correctly set-up receiver, not so good if you have to wind your scope turrets to the edge. | |||
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I've been using a lot of the Talley integral aluminum base/ring lightweight mounts lately. Overall I like them for the weight and compactness. Haven't had any change point of impact but I do typically bed them to the rifle when installing with an alignment rod and lightly lap them. Shoot straight, shoot often. Matt | |||
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I am a big fan of the Burris's with inserts. Mike Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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Would I be a bad person if I said I have used Weaver mounts and rings for a great many years without a single problem. They may be ugly as a mud fence but they work. Aim for the exit hole | |||
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Talley lightweight one piece rings/bases. Alaskan arms for my .375. What I really want is a set of Joe Smithson mounts. | |||
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I agree with you: they do indeed work fine. My main gripe with the traditional Weaver rings is that you can't predict just how much a scope will shift upon tightening. And I can't stand to have even the slightest of a cant. Also, while they don't leave marks per se, you can usually see the impressions from those rings after unmounting a scope. But as to reliability, they work -- and work very well, I might add. Bobby Μολὼν λαβέ The most important thing in life is not what we do but how and why we do it. - Nana Mouskouri | |||
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Ah yes, correcting the "cant" in the cross hairs can sometimes be time consuming. I use a level to draw a nice long vertical line and a nice long horizonal line on the wall. I then put the rifle in a vice and align the center of the cross hairs with the center of my wall lines. The scope in not tight at this time,merely snug. I look through the scope and adjust it right or left to align with the lines on the wall. Rarely after I get a scope set up on a rifle, do I remove it. Aim for the exit hole | |||
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Been using Leuopold or Redfield for years, never had one come loose from 223 to 300 win mags. Have used some weavers too with no issues. I do not like the Talley's but that is just personal preference. | |||
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Well that's why you haven't had one come loose yet. You are putting them on little guns  | |||
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I agree that (like almost all mounting systems) they work fine -- and are probably stronger than many. The solution to both their "ugliness" and the canting problem is to use something like Burris Z-rings on the Weaver-type bases. The aluminum bases are amply strong, but there is little added weight when using the steel ones which match the rings better. | |||
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Haha been accused of that before.  | |||
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last weekend I had the opportunity to set down and admire, and even shoot, probably the most used and famous brown bear back-up rifle ever, Morris Talifson's old Winchester M70 .375 H&H. Talifson, of course, was a partner with Bill Pinnell on the south end of Kodiak Island: the famous brown bear outfitters for over 40 years. Morris's old M70 still has the old Leupold 4x scope mounted in Weaver 2 piece tip-off mounts. The rifle was purchased in either 1949 or 1950 and likely that scope/mount system was on the rifle for most of those years. | |||
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the only rings n bases i use anymore are weavers the old cheap oneside ring wild hold a scope on a 416 without having to swage the scope all other rings ive used let scope move . and ive tried a bunch. i hate warne rings .i have an anvil and a two pound hammer that i can fix your warne rings with, just mail them to me If your gonna be dumb, you gotta be tuff. | |||
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MOstly I use Talley QD rings even on dovetail actions...You have the option of using the screws as opposed to Levers and I use them on certain guns such as my Griefelt 22 hornet and Brno mod 1 22 L.R. I use Weavers and old style Redfields on my Savage 99s and some other rifles. I like them. I also use the Leupold QDs I never have any problems with mounting scopes or their use.. I do like Custom bases groud to fit the receiver ring, especially with QD stuff.. The best rings and bases ever are the old and very expensive claw mounts IMO. Most mounts work fine, improper installation is usually the problem with any of them..I hand fit the bases to the receiver,and On larger bores I will surface grind the action and hand fit the bases to the center of the scopes focal plane, thus exact return to zero each time the scope is removed and returned to battery. Ray Atkinson Atkinson Hunting Adventures 10 Ward Lane, Filer, Idaho, 83328 208-731-4120 rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com | |||
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Ray, was that hand fitting of bases to actions commonly done by old-time gunsmiths? I have wondered if it might have been part of properly setting up reticle-movement scopes without recourse to shims. | |||
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