Hi gang-

I have one of Montana Rifle Company's Seven Continents Rifle (SCR) on the way in 416 Rigby.

As I begin the research on scope mounting options, I am less than pleased with what I have found so far. The PH action MRC uses has a CZ 550 mounting system from what I understand. This is what Larry Craven from MRC sent me regarding mounting options. (He personally prefers the Leupold mounts on the PH action):



A fellow forum member and close friend sent me the following four photos of TWO sets of failed Talley mounts he used on his 416 Rigby. This ended up costing him two lost animals in Africa. Subsequently, he went with NEAR mounts on his Winchester and Weatherby rifles.









Unfortunately, NEAR Mfg. dose not make mounts for the CZ action. However, I did contact Richard at NEAR and he is entertaining the idea of doing a set of rings for the MRC PH action.

So my question is, would anyone else be interested in this for their MRC (and possibly CZ 550) action?

Here is a sample of his work. (Photos taken by my friend, Bobby)

I have commented on the Talley rings previously as they are fatally flawed from an engineering point of view. The recesses for the heads of the twin scope clamping screws are far too large and deep and are weakening the fixed dovetail of the ring. This is clearly evident in photo 3,4 & 5.

I think we have even seen photos of failed Warne rings here showing the same engineering flaw.

Of course with vertically split rings there has to be some form of clamping arrangement to secure the scope in the rings unlike the horizontally split rings. These have a solid fixed dovetail only penetrated in the lower centre by a small headed cross bolt which also serves to strengthen the fixed dovetail as the ring is clamped to the base by this cross bolt and the opposite adjustable dovetail i.e. the crossbolt tightening action is to pull both dovetails together as opposed to the Tallys or Warnes where the action of tightening the ring to the base with levers or the single screw is actually trying to break off the fixed dovetail as evident in the photos above.

I reiterate again, poor engineering design.

I think a lot off issues with tally rings are caused by OVER TIGHTENING!!.....however I agree the vertically spit rings do have issues....

I won't get into the anti-vertically-split ring tirade, though I will say I "dislike" them myself as a matter of awkwardness, in general. Having gotten that out of the way - I don't know what I would think after careful inspection but just judging from those photos, that is some nice looking hardware. Probably the only one-piece base I have ever seen that looks like maybe it belongs on a rifle. Thanks for showing us that stuff.

Thanks for adding to my collection of "Talley Fail Photos."

I have been ranting against the vertically split rings for some time.

That NEAR one-piece mount has a great design, with recoil stop on the bottom of it abutting the front receiver ring edge.
That is a STRONG feature!
The secondary rear-of-base stop also adds rebound reinforcement for strength of attachment: double locked in place in bore axis.
Machined steel or properly heat-treated casting?



I'll take one for an MRC PH,
possible features:

2-ring and 3-ring models
for 1", 30mm, and 34mm tube diameter scopes

2-ring/1-inch
3-ring/30mm
3-ring/34mm

Yep, whatever is available.

Hey, what caliber is your friend's Bansner Safari (tan speckled stock, Bansner's trademark pattern)?

THe new BRNO quick detachable bridge type mount while expensive surely looks good. It is for 602ZKK and CZ550 Magnum. Looks solid.

Thank you very much for sharing the Talley photo's. I think I'm going to seriously rethink the Talley idea on my large bore rifles. I am running the QD set up on smaller calibers 338 Win Mag & 30-06 and I've had zero issues. The Near one piece base is one of the best bases I've seen in a long time. Considering one for my 358 STA now....

I don't have an MRC action or I might jump on board with you guys for a custom one.

quote:

Originally posted by zimbabwe:
THe new BRNO quick detachable bridge type mount while expensive surely looks good. It is for 602ZKK and CZ550 Magnum. Looks solid.

Are these readily available in the US?

Are they[Talleys]
made from sintered metal ? powdered metal ?

Any design for travel has to be detachable (I don't personally care if its quick) with a good return to zero so re-zero in camp is easy. I have had too many problems flying with a scope mounted...I have no idea why but it happens to me.

I'm in for a couple.

quote:

Originally posted by hairbol:
I'm in for a couple.

I'd be in for one for my Montana ph build. I use near gear on other rifles.....it's the best.

I would posit that if a Talley failed due to the front corner of both sides of the claw breaking, it may be due to imperfect machining of the base in that it is very slightly wider at that point than the rear. As you cranked the lever, this would put excess pressure on that front corner.

I'm not buying the shoulder idea on the NEAR unless it is hand-fit. They are nice looking setups though.

These are my non-scientific opinions.

Ive got Near mounts on my 460wby really strong one piece Billet mounts.

Why does anyone insist on putting those big azz scopes on hard hammering rifles? Don't you think that contributes to the problem?

Good afternoon, gang.

After nine months, I am resurrecting this thread. I won't get into the details here, but my MRC "seven continents rifle" (SCR) will be arriving tomorrow (4 month delay due to sloppy record keeping by my FFL dealer).

I am more than willing to move forward with thr NEAR mounts for the Montana PH action, but I would definitely want one or more of you to verify my measurements before sending them to Richard at NEAR Mfg.

Ideally, I would send him the rifle for fitting, but he states it is an arduous task to get a rifle across the border to Canada and back.

Does anyone have any further thoughts on this? Do you think it would be possible and beneficial to do a cast of the action, similar to dental moldings used by dentists? I have friends in that trade that I'm sure would be willing to help.

Thanks in advance for your comments.

You probably know my thoughts on this. You've seen my pics and countless others of successful safaris with Talley QDs.

Is it possible for them to fail? Looks that way. Is there any reasonable probability of them them failing? I'd say no. Certainly no more likely than something happening to a non-qd scope while mounted to the rifle in transit or on the actual safari.

Love being able to take the scope off for travel, to use the open sights, or to switch it out for another scope in no time with no tools. Pick your poison.

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
Hey, what caliber is your friend's Bansner Safari (tan speckled stock, Bansner's trademark pattern)?

.375 RUM look familiar??

AS for the NEAR mounts, you would think they need a hand fit... but both mounts I have bought from him were a perfect fit. The Weatherby has both front and rear recoil lugs and snapped perfectly in place.

I doubt there is a better system than NEARs for heavy recoil rifles. Big Screws, recoil lugs, and nail polish. done.

I had two failures with the talleys. I am not an advanced expert in ring torque, but I can assure you that they were tightened nice and snug by hand. this happened twice. maybe my CZ rifle notch is not properly machined, who knows. I just think its a flawed design all around. I am no engineer but I think simply having a notch on one side of the action would cause a twisting action on the rings, and putting tremendous pressure on that one area where you see the failure.

What is the deal with the Near mounts hanging out over the front edge of the action on the Winchester, and to a lesser degree on the Weatherby? Early prototype I hope?