Is the strength of aluminum used in scope mounts and rings adequate for heavier recoiling calibers like .338 or .375? I'm talking about all aluminum designs like the Talley lightweight and others. thank you.

Weaver rings were used to mount scopes on the M2 .50 cal BMG IN Vietnam and worked well

I re-scope dozens of rifles a year. Many equipped with aluminum mounts and/or rings. Most, if not all, exhibit galling and movement of metal in the base cross slots.

I would not trust aluminum scope mounts or rings on heavy recoiling rifles. I have seen steel CZ rings on big bores take a beating on the bearing lug.

I know some specialty makers offer titanium mounts and rings, but I am surprised we have not seen major makers offer them. I would certainly buy them.

Properly installed they are as good as steel IMO..I had a set of Weavers on a 505 Gibbs IMP and they worked for years on that rifle, the problem was the scopes it ate sooner or later..that said steel holds blue better and for a big bore its a one time fit as the aluminum threads can be wallowed out pretty easy so I recommend glassing the screws and don't mess with the installation, but thats also a good idea with steel IMO...

I would assume steel bases would be tougher than aluminum but there are limits to everything and both the amount and type of recoil, as well as the weight and height of the scope are serious factors.

Rifle builder D'Arcy Echols showed me steel Weaver style bases that were badly battered from recoil with a heavy scope.

There is a much deeper question of material.

WHAT kind of Aluminum? WHAT kind of Steel?

There are some steel rings out there that have the strength and hardness of oatmeal.

There are some aluminum rings out there that handle 338L and up.

I damaged a steel part a customer sent me clamping it in my bench vise. I made indentations on both surfaces that I clamped on. My bench vise has Oak jaws.....

It comes down to Quality and fitment.

Nathaniel sums it up nicely in so far as there is aluminium and then there is aluminium, likewise for steel.
I've always found the original Weaver bases and rings are made from good quality material. An issue with many Weaver 'style' ring sets is that the rings using round cross bolts do not fit well in the square cross slots on Weaver or Picanniny bases.
Because the contact points on the round cross bolts sit high up in the square base slots recoil tends to cause the rings to ride out of the slots, battering the metal on the top of the slots.

IHmmmm maybe so as my older weavers have the square cross bolts!! Actually the proplems Ive found with Weavers are not wear or strength but the threads with steel screws and aluminum holes wallow out from too many swaps..also its hard to square up the cross hairs as tightening them up can turn them out of square especially on the last couple of turns..but once installed correctly, if left alone, they seem to last forever or until you pack them on a horse too many times, then they turn in time to varying degrees, but most rings fail on that count.

All that said and years of using them Im comfortable with Weaver mounts, just keep an eye out on them with a bore scope setting and btw thats a good idea with all mounting system..I set my bore scope with every rifle, and check it each morning of a hunt..It pays dividends..

My favorite rings and bases are talley hands down, since I can't afford claw mounts on all my guns. I wish a US firm would produce a quality claw mount at a reasonable cost in this day and time and the advent of C&C tooling it should be possible I would think??

At the shop, I place a masking tape strip on the scope body and top ring. Once the crosshairs are leveled, I make witness marks on both. Then I clamp the scope. Most times the scope will rotate as you get the screws to proper torque. I then measure the rotation and mark the movement on the tape in the opposite direction. I then loosen and re-position the scope to the off-set mark and re-tighten. That generally lines things up.

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
IHmmmm maybe so as my older weavers have the square cross bolts!! Actually the proplems Ive found with Weavers are not wear or strength but the threads with steel screws and aluminum holes wallow out from too many swaps..also its hard to square up the cross hairs as tightening them up can turn them out of square especially on the last couple of turns..but once installed correctly, if left alone, they seem to last forever or until you pack them on a horse too many times, then they turn in time to varying degrees, but most rings fail on that count.

All that said and years of using them Im comfortable with Weaver mounts, just keep an eye out on them with a bore scope setting and btw thats a good idea with all mounting system..I set my bore scope with every rifle, and check it each morning of a hunt..It pays dividends..

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
IHmmmm maybe so as my older weavers have the square cross bolts!! Actually the proplems Ive found with Weavers are not wear or strength but the threads with steel screws and aluminum holes wallow out from too many swaps..also its hard to square up the cross hairs as tightening them up can turn them out of square especially on the last couple of turns..but once installed correctly, if left alone, they seem to last forever or until you pack them on a horse too many times, then they turn in time to varying degrees, but most rings fail on that count.

All that said and years of using them Im comfortable with Weaver mounts, just keep an eye out on them with a bore scope setting and btw thats a good idea with all mounting system..I set my bore scope with every rifle, and check it each morning of a hunt..It pays dividends..

Yes Ray true Weaver rings do have square cross bolts, it is the cheaper aftermarket copies that generally use the rounded cross bolts. I should have used 'copies' instead of Weaver 'style' for clarity in my post.

I would be more skeptical of the quality of design and installation then the use of aluminum.

I’ve used aluminum rings on many rifles, the buffers being 7mm Rem mag. Never have had an issue.

I should clarify that I am speaking of heavy recoil, as in 80-100+ ft.-lbs.

Which is what I get with my .450 Rigby and .500 A-Square rifles.

I would not trust aluminum rings on these rifles. They are hard enough on steel.

I would love titanium rings (and mounts, if needed).

Lighter and stronger than steel.

Does anyone know if they are made, and if so, by whom?

I have looked, but only found specialty versions that don't work on my rifles.

I agree that one is probably better off with steel, but in many cases weaver is the only option, such as a side mounted option. also spacing is such that weaver is the only option..I have a couple of enfields with Weavwe side mounts and will only work with certain old world scopes, but they work well so far and the best according to Sambarman, and he is correct...but I am stll a Talley fan with Leupold scopes...

I use the Talley lite weight rings and bases (1 piece) on my 35 whelen. No problem 100s of rounds later.

And yet you guys use scopes made from aluminum without a thought.......

When recoil gets up to 80 to a 100 or more pounds, most scopes or bases tend to fail sooner or later, with me its time for iron sights, barrel or receiver sights, scopes become cookie cutters and most come apart at some point, and they are short range hunting guns unless you are one of those funny guys!!and who needs to be shooting DG at ridicules ranges..just opinnion btw..