I guess I haven't figured out HP's photo hosting yet. I'll put the pic on Imagestation and try again. Sorry.

send the pic to me and I'll host it for you.
Snargfarg@aol.com
I'd love to see them.

Terry

I couldn't see them but I am familair with his claw mounts...at any rate, anything he does is the very best of the best....

ForrestB's Claw Mounts

Thank you TC1

Sweeeeet!

Lot of time & effort in that rig, first class. Did Ralf Martini make that barrel?

Outstanding!!!

They are works of Art congratulations !!

Forrest:



I was in Duane's shop the other day, and the action with rings looks even better in real-life than in the pictures.



Dave

Forrest,
Absolutely incredible work.

Forrest,



I'm just wondering why the front ring around the scope bell instead of around the scope tube with the base on the front square bridge? Is the front square bridge slightly higher than the rear one?



Also, who did the oct barrel work, if you don't mind me asking?

The objective ring is (or was) actually a very common occurrence with European claw mounts. Some rifles, e.g. the Mauser 66 or breaktop (combined) guns require the scope to be mounted on the barrel (no receiver). I guess the objective ring is then used to get the largest possible spacing between the two attachment points on the scope - as the rear attachment point has to be quite far forward. Some (older) scopes even had a small rail below the objective to avoid the objective ring. Now obviously, the issue of mount spacing was not the deciding factor on this rifle, so we'll let the owner tell us why it was done in this particular instance.



These days, where claw mounts are becoming less common, it is rare to see the objective ring anymore. On combined guns, it is much more common to see a Blaser Bridge Swing Mount (BBSM - same acronym in German). For bolt action rifles, a swing mount like the EAW is one of the more popular choices to replace the costly and tricky claw mounts.



- mike



P.S. It just occurred to me, In a claw mount you have to tip the scope up when you want to remove it. The further forward the front ring sits, the lower you can have the scope and still be able to tip it. Does that explanation make sense??

yes, it is because you must "tip up" the scope, as you put it. If the ring were on the tube, the objective bell of the scope would contact the barrel before the rear claws cleared the base

The barrel is Ralf Martini's work. The rib, ramp and sights are all very low on the barrel. It is a beautiful look, but it really necessitates having low, clean claw mounts for the scope.

You guys figured out the reason for the objective bell scope ring. I've used the EAW swing mounts on rifles. It's a good system for rifles up to 375 or so. I think they look a little clunky though. Some of that fine Germanic engineering that never made it through the artistic design department.

Dave, next time you're in Duane's shop, keep your paws off but make sure he's working exclusively on these rifles. He's running a little behind schedule. Seriously, though you might take some pics and post them here. I love seeing the work-in-progress pics.