I always assumed steel rings and bases were better than aluminum at holding the scope and having all the screws stay tight. I mean to compare apple to apples so to speak I don't mean a 12 dollar aluminum component vs 150 dollar steel unit. After some research if I understand things correctly steel on steel has a lower coefficent of friction than aluminum on steel does . Does this mean if my scope tube is steel I should get a food set of aluminum instead of a good set of steel. Is there any advangatge to mixing steel and aluminum rings bases ?
Aluminum is less likely to mar a scope or receiver if installed improperly and if you are trying
to save weight aluminum does contribute to a lighter system, even though not very much.
I personaly don't like the standard aluminum anything. There are aluminum alloys that are
much better and these are normally the high end parts.
The best light weight material is titanium but it is more expensive than the steel accessories.
I personally Like the good steel rings and bases for price and durability and the coefficient of
expansion is the same as the reicever.
If properly installed all of the better made rings and bases will work well and not mar the
scope or reicever.
And for best results never mix different rings to different basses no mater what material they
are made of. Buy them bu the set and stick with the same brand because the are machined
as a set and work best.
I know that I'm to picky but I never turn the ring caps around because they are machined
in that position and if you turn them around they may not line up with each other perfictly.
J E CUSTOM
