Do you always lap your scope rings?

I don't know about a lot better. Different way of accomplishing the same thing. Take away material to make it perfectly aligned and concentric or add material to make it perfectly aligned and concentric.
I've lapped rings before were there were no way
What does that mean..."been around them"...?
I've used them on scopes I've mounted for other people.
 
I have had a gun shop for over 45 years. Was and still am a big fan of Rugers. Had many 77's and sold many. When the Leupold old 3x9 was a popular scope, they did not have enough windage adjustment many times to be zeroed properly. Was a real pain to get zeroed by changing different ring clamps on the bases to get them zeroed. When
Burris came out with the Signature rings they were a Godsend. As far as holding ability, in the 80's I had a 8 lb. 458 M700 with a 3x Leupold that would not stay in place until I used the Signature rings. A friend and I shot it 75 times in one day and the scope never moved. Never thought about bedding it.
 
Teesquare how can you possible know you're getting 100% contact with a production ring? It is impossible. Is it just because the manufacturer says so? Lapping rings as mentioned is not even recommended by a few manufacturers. Bedding rings takes a lot less time than lapping (not counting curing time) and better contact is guaranteed.
When done properly and when re-installing the scope after cleaning up the excess bedding the scope is remarkably secure just setting in the lower half of the rings.
 
It is actually pretty easy to see what the contact area is when lapping. Usually the finish is removed by the process and there is a color difference between what has made contact with the lap and what has not.

That said, the next set that needs this sort of attention I plan to bed. If only to have done it both ways and get a feel for which is the better process to choose for a particular instance.

Same question, asked again: How much is good enough? I've no idea if an estimated 70% contact is good enough, or it needs to be some other (greater or lessor) number, or if it needs to always be 100% Some guys will want 100% regardless, and that's fine. Others will be OK with XX% if that is enough to keep the scope in place while not marring it.
 
Not the Z rings..."Signature Zee". may be different from what you are referencing. If you go to the Burris site,( or really read my previous post...) and read the downloadable information, you can see that it honestly dos not matter if your base/pic rail is not aligned in true fashion. The inserts can be rotated to off set lateral misalignment as well as elevation....and even diagonal. Theses rings are NOT just to prevent marring the scope finish, as I said in my previous post. They are to compensate for and correct the 3 reasons that scopes and barrels do not "co-witness" if you are critical in checking.

For novelty, and I enjoy playing with guns and scopes, I sighted a rifle in using Signature insert rings. Never moved the reticle, just used the correct marked insert.
 
Teesquare...I recant my reply to your post. I just took a good look at those Burris Signature Zee rings and see what you mean. They look like pretty good rings. Not super stout like those of some other manufacturers but great for Mr. Average Shooter.
 
Teesquare...I recant my reply to your post. I just took a good look at those Burris Signature Zee rings and see what you mean. They look like pretty good rings. Not super stout like those of some other manufacturers but great for Mr. Average Shooter.
Thanks Clem...just trying to help where I can. One of the issues I have with the design of the "heavy duty" rings is that I believe they are un-neccessarily heavy. Yes....their potential grip area is slightly larger. But at the cost of a lot more weight. Even the 34mm Signature Zee rings are too big and thick for my liking. I have never seen an actual benefit even with large magnums for such big and bulky rings. Sure if you shoot benchrest....extra weight is no problem..... actually a benefit. But for all other purposes....they make those big honkers to sell to the "tacti-cool" crowd.....
 
....they make those big honkers to sell to the "tacti-cool" crowd.....
And they aren't tacti-cool unless they've been beat on with a fugly stick for days.....
They don't look Engineered, they look like the designer stuck his wet thumb in the wind and said " ...about like..... that! The machinists will like them because they're fewer ops and the Finance dept will like them because with less metal cut off the block they're faster & cheaper to make!"
Retch!
 
And they aren't tacti-cool unless they've been beat on with a fugly stick for days.....
They don't look Engineered, they look like the designer stuck his wet thumb in the wind and said " ...about like..... that! The machinists will like them because they're fewer ops and the Finance dept will like them because with less metal cut off the block they're faster & cheaper to make!"
Retch!
AGREED.....! :D:D:D:D:D:D:D
 
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