I had a set of the old style QD Warnes on my Kimber 416 Rigby and they broke under recoil. The new Warnes have a lug under them so I had my gunsmith mill a neat little slot on the receiver and they work great.

Any body still use these. Comments? I used a set on a .375 H&H for several years. Just transfered them to my .35 Whelen. I'd like to hear some other opinions before I take em too far from the road.

Rich Elliott

Rich,

That's what I use on my .470 Capstick.


I've never had a problem with them coming loose, or losing zero.

George

They work OK as long as your not using them on a Mauser, they are not Mauser friendly as you have to mount them on the bolt side of the gun and recoil will flip them around and block bolt uplift..they won't work on the off side because the bolt release is in the way of the lever.

Guys,

Thanks for the replies and the vote of confidence in
the Kimber QD system. I guess I'll leave it on the rifle. I have an old M8-3X Leupold scope in another set of those mounts that should make a good spare. I hunt elk in a fir and spruce jungle.

Rich Elliott

Guys,
I'm in (almost) desperate need of a set of Kimber QD rings.I own a Kimber BGR (now a .416 Hoffman),which requires the use of these rings.The receiver is dovetailed.If any one knows where i can find a set of these Kimber rings, or has real knowledge of another qd ring which will slide on a Kimber BGR dovetail, please let me know.
Thanks,
Bob

Mr. Mulle,

I was told by the folks at Warne that the XS backup sight for the Warne bases would also fit on the old Kimber bases. I haven't tried one yet so I can't be certain about it. Anyway, if the back up sight for Warne fits Kimber bases perhaps the Warne Rings would fit the Kimber bases. Or maybe they would with some modification. Just a thought.

Rich Elliott

Mac,
The photos are not Kimbers btw...and apparantly they are custom fitted rings and basis that only require a one half turn to lock up...not so a regular set of rings just stuck on a rifle..I can clearly see in the photo that the lever is too long to make a complete turn as it will contact the bolt release...such fitting is more costly than the cost of the rings and basis...sure it can be done, but were talking about out of the box installation and Warnes will not work on the off side out of the box unless you cut off the end of the lever, use high bases or make some kind of custom installation...

All considered I advise the use of Talleys and they are 10 times better than Warnes and at the same price for all practical purposes....

Almost all my bolt guns are M-98 Mausers, I didn't just make that up and at one time they all had Warne rings and bases...

These Kimber mounts are now known as Warne mounts.



The Warne brothers who established "Kimber of Oregon" originally came from South Australia and there is a town called Kimber here. Of course since then the name Kimber has been sold off.



Richard, they have changed the design a couple of times so you would need to match up the right set of rings. Why not ring Warne direct and see what they can do for you?



But please tell us here as I would also like some extra rings for my old style Warne QDs so I can have a second scope for my .375.



BTW my Warne mounts sit on my Whitworth Mauser, the levers are on the non-bolt side and don't get in the way of the bolt release. So far I have not seen them flip open at any time.

I bought three sets of the double lever, old-style Warne rings with bases for my Dakota .338 and for two Pre-64 Mod. 70s in .375H&H and carefully installed them. The rings on the Dakota allowed the scope to slip under recoil and the little ring levers on my working .375 bent easily. This rifle was what I would use while working alone in Grizzly country, deep in the bush, for 3-5 months at a time, it had to be reliable.

I replaced my Warnes with Leupold QRs and Talleys and have never had a problem since. I put the Warnes on my Pre-64s in .243 and .264 and they work fine, these are "play" rifles so I am less demanding of them than of the rifle(s) I use for work.BTW, I am not a novice and know how to mount a scope properly, these rings, out of the box were not equal to the Leupy or Talley, period.

Well gentelmen, I must be the luckiest man in the world, because I have three Mauser FN pattern rifles with kimber, Warne, and Brownell rings, and bases, mounted on the left side of these rifles, and they are interchangable. One is on a 458 LOTT, and I have not had rings let my scope slip. Additionally,I have a S/S double rifle with a set of Warnes, as well, and have had zero trouble with them in any way.

The Kembers in the pictures are not custom made or fit, they are out of the box, just like mine are! Perhaps I'm not living on the same planet as the rest of you!

I can't get Talley's to mount on the left side of my Whitworth 375. The quick release levers won't clear the bolt release. I've got them mounted on the bolt side with levers pointing up. Anybody able to get their Talleys to fit on the left? Bob

Bob,

You can re-index the levers so they end up in a spot that does not interfere with the bolt-stop.

George

George, by the time the levers are engaged with the hex on the mounting screws, I need several 360 degree spins to tighten. I can't do a 360 without hitting the bolt stop. Bob

Talleys are fine on the right side as they don't have that spring that lets the Warnes bounce out and that allows the levers to reposition themselves...Talley will tell you to mount his R&Bs on the right side (bolt side) of a Mauser..

Mac, you must be using very high bases that allow that clearance...none have ever worked for me..they simply will not allow a 360 turn..Most of my many rifles are custom 98 Mausers and FNs

You cannot index Talleys or any lever to lock up and release with a 1/2 turn unless they are custom machined and indexed to do so and then I'm not sure thats a good alternative..I want them more than finger tight...so did Dave Talley..I tighten them as tight as I can by hand and then I have a little tool in my cartridge belt, a small steel cylinder about 3" long that cranks them another 1/4 turn or so to whatever it takes for stright up.....

I don't know Mac, but I cannot get them to work with a 1/4 inch turn unless machined to do so...must be something I am doing wrong, but I have no clue as to what..

I suppose I could close them a half turn, reset the lever and do it again until tight, but I never thought of that at the time...but that is with the later Kimbers that have the spring that can reset the lever position...anyway I have all Talleys now so its a moot question to me....

I also didn't like the fact that they would "slide off", as I had a scope come off a 458 Lott with them, so had Brockmon cut a set of bases that had stops fore and aft of each base, much like the new talleys.

I didn't have this trouble with the old Kimbers btw and they did as you say...but the Warnes would not work for me.
The old kimbers were pretty rings and bases, well machined but they were a bitch to set up the levers where you wanted them as I recall, very tedious business but when done they worked...

The latest Warne QDs still have ability to set the lever where you want it and still open in a quarter turn. But the base has a raised section so the rings can be positioned solidly against it so the scope can't move forward under recoil.

And before they were Warnes, Kimber, Brownells they were called Buehlers (??), weren't they?

NitroX,

No sir. The Beuhler's (which are stil being made) are more like a Redfield type mount. They have verticle split rings. The front dovetail on the base is split long wise and has a screw in the side that takes up any slack and thus there can be no movement due to wear. Good system for a hard kicker. In fact, they were the mount that Weatherby used at the factory for years. Today they are only available in a 2 piece bases. I have an old one piece base on a .270.

Rich Elliott

The scope tries to move forward thats why they slip forward in poorly set up rings, but if the whole scope and ring unit slides off it will cream your right eye and forehead.

George,

Thanks for posting that photo, those are the rings I got on the 416 I just picked up. Problem is one of them wont lock to the base when the lever is turned all the way to stop. I measured the bases and then the clamps at full tight and one is about .015 from tightening down. The guy I bought it from is going to check if he mixed up rings with another rifle. Otherwise I guess I can contact Warne now and see if they can help me out?

You're welcome, Kevin.

You can contact Warne with the dimensions of your base(s); they should be able to help you out.

George