How many of you lap your scope rings?

[CAM]

+1 as phorwath

I never use to lap rings, then started buying NF and custom guns.
I have a lap bar so I always check when mounting the scope the first time.
I never undo the rings from the scope, and seldom take the scope off the base.

I'm sure there is more than one way to skin this cat! I can't prove that lapping as helped, but to see some rings so far out as been an eye opener. my NF rings just needed a little bit for full contact.

MontanaRifleman
If your using NF base and rings I'd just ask NF and never think about it again. If you have a lap bar I'd check the rings the first time mounting them to the base. Also I think they have some rings just for switching scopes to different bases/guns. One piece rings? let us know what you find out.

Cam

 

[MontanaRifleman]

Cam, NF does make a one piece (Unimount) that attaches to scope and rail. However it sits a little higher than the low rings and is a little spendy.

For now I will take the base and lower rings and mount them on both my Rem and S&W (Howa) and lay the scope in and eyeball it for fit. If I cant see any noticable uneveness then I'll go with it. Dont want to buy a lap kit if I dont have to.

Thanks for the replies.

-MR

 

[CAM]

Cam, NF does make a one piece (Unimount) that attaches to scope and rail. However it sits a little higher than the low rings and is a little spendy.

For now I will take the base and lower rings and mount them on both my Rem and S&W (Howa) and lay the scope in and eyeball it for fit. If I cant see any noticable uneveness then I'll go with it. Dont want to buy a lap kit if I dont have to.

Thanks for the replies.

-MR

Ya, I've noticed that anything NF is "a little spendy"
Thats why I don't have one of the unimounts. LOL That and I'm pretty much a one gun man, as in only shoot and playing with one custom gun at a time.
Looks like thier solution to one scope and different guns, and is cheaper than another scope!
What was the differnce between the rings vs unimount?

Good luck
Cam

 

[MontanaRifleman]

Cam, The rings are $152 and the Uni-mount is $260 and it sits .40 inches higher than the rings ( I believe).

Well anyway, I wil probably report back on my findings although it might take a couple of months to get both rifles in action.

-MR

 

[RidgeTop]

Never lap.
Wash everything - rings, screws, screw holes with solvent like lighter fluid. They never move when installed properly.

 

[parshal]

I used to bed the bottom half of the ring but no longer do anything. I shoot many competitions and none of the top competitors I've spoken with lap their rings either.

 

[XLR Industries]

I want to jump in here because I think lapping rings is a discussion that goes every which way and there are so many different scenarios. I should also add in here that I hate lapping rings and avoid it at all cost!
1- Custom action with integrated rail and good rings = no lapping
2- Custom action with a good pinned rail and good rings= no lapping
3- Factory action with good base and good rings= Questionable
4- Factory action with cheap base and cheap rings= just dont...

As said before there is no way I am going to buy a $2000 scope and put it in cheap rings that could possibly be out of alignment and put stress on the tube. I think more so than the rings is the base that causes alignment issues. If a base does not mate 100% with the action then that will transfer stress into the rings which will go into the scope. So for all factory actions or customs actions that don't have pins I am going to bed them. Not only does this create a better mating surface to make sure the screws will not come loose, but it also takes up any error in the action to base fitment. Once that is done you can take a straight edge and put that on the top of the rail to see if the top is straight. I would have to assume that if the top of the picatinny slots are straight then the bottoms should be too... So then I go to the rings. As far as lapping goes, I have to assume that a $40 bar is perfectly straight and concentric along with the same diameter as my scope tube. Then I have to lap and make sure that I do not overdo it taking out the clamping force. There are a lot of questionable factors in my eyes so I don't deal with it. I buy a Spuhr mount and just assume that since it is one piece and they are $400 they are going to be cut straight. Then even if I swap that scope to a different rifle and the base isn't 100% correct, I know that none of those inconsistencies don't get transferred to my scope.

I don't know if lapping is better than my Spuhr mount but If the alignment bar is perfect and you can lap everything perfectly then in theory it should create a perfect alignment. But I feel like Spuhr/ARC machines are going to hit better tolerances than me with a bar of steel and some lapping compound in my garage. If I was going to take the time to lap the rings then I would just bed them and know I have good contact. But then once I swap it onto a different rifle, I would want to rip that bedding out and do it again. One piece mounts solve all of that IMO because then I am never worried about what the base looks like.

 

[FrogFire7]

Just a guess here, but I think you will find the answers much different than when the thread was started 13 years ago.

Curious to see how the answers come in... Personally I don't lap. I do buy high quality, matched rings (generally), or sometimes use the Talley lightweight one piece bases/rings.

I also maybe should qualify my statement with saying that I haven't really been around people who lap rings- not really the crowd I was raised in. So, right or wrong, I haven't done it.

 

[shinbone]

(Nothing wrong with bringing up an old thread.)

I am just an accuracy-minded hunter. I always lap my scope rings, which are usually Talley Lightweights. It is super easy to do, and why not eliminate easily avoided stress on the scope tube? Not to mention that lapping prevents ring marks, which preserves the value of the scope. And, with better contact between the rings and scope tube, the scope is held better with the same torque on the ring screws, which is something I appreciate when I'm hunting with a hard-kicking magnum 5 miles from the nearest road.

The Burris rings with the PosAlign plastic insert work well, too. But, due to the space taken up by the insert, the lowest rings available is a "medium." Still, the Burris rings are a good option when I am not sure what scope will be the final choice for a new rifle, and I just want to get to shooting it ASAP.

JMHO