Which rings.??

Jake in NC

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2002
Messages
328
. Hey fellas.. What kindof rings would work best for mounting this here NightForce on the Winny with the Farrell 20min base.? Prices seem to vary a good bit.. Which ones do the job w/o "doing" my wallet.? I'm not looking for cheap just a good value..
Burris Zee's.? NightForce.? Warne.?
Any idea what height would be functional/appropriate.?? Thankks.. JiNC

[ 04-16-2003: Message edited by: Jake in NC ]
 
Jake, Ian would be a good person to get ahold of on this subject, I know he uses Nears and HS Precision, but your best value would be the Burris you talked about. Catalog says there are no moving parts and are the best fitting and most positive gripping Weaver-style rings made.
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Jay
 
Saw mention of my name and scope rings - here goes... Not sure which Nightforce you are using, if it has a 56 mm objective you will need fairly high rings. Plus Nightforce scopes are relatively heavy so you will need strong rings to hold them properly.

I believe that scope mounting systems are potentially the weak-link. Most shooters want to get their scope on the rifle with minimal cost and that is about it. Minimal cost may not mean adequate stength, for holding the scope in place without slippage and for resisting accidental drops and abuse. Abuse that bothers me in particularly are forces from the side which would tend to bend the scope over. This happens on hunts and even from a slip onto the cement floor in the basement or whatever.

Another consideration is how well the scope fits into the rings. This is determined by the quality of machining that went into making the rings and also factors like how true the centerline of the rings is to the centerline of the bore. That is why some guys lap their scope rings, to make sure that the scope is not being bent or torqued because the rings are not in a straight line. Things like how true the factory drilled the mounting holes in the receiver of the rifle come into play, and we can't do diddly about that without spending a lot of money having the holes redrilled.

Burris makes neat rings that enable some adjustment of the scope to true it to the centerline or to add some needed elevation by using plastic inserts that are in graduated degrees of thickness - plus the plastic shims prevent scratching the scope tube by poor fitting ring edges. Personally I do not feel that these rings are as strong as I want on most of my rifles. Compared to some other designs they are just not as robust - check out the size of the clamp on each side of the ring for instance. They work but they are not nearly as tough as Warnes or any of the tactical rings such as Badgers - not even close. Unless you have used Badgers/Mk4's you might not appreciate this difference.

If you wish to save some money, check out Warne Maximas - either with or without the detaching arms. Since you already spent the big bucks on a Nightforce I would want the best and would go with Badgers, Mk4's, Farrells, Nightforce, H-S or similar. Badgers come in several sizes, no sweat to get one that will fit your scope perfectly. I believe that www.badgerordnance.com will give info on optimum ring heights for your scope.
Good luck, hopefully you only buy rings once.
 
.. Hey guys.. Thanks for the input.! As I said in my original post value is of prime importance.. There always seems to be a point of diminishing returns for your investment in anything.. The Warne's have been suggested but after checking them out it is my opinion that they are just too butt ugly.. I'll check into some of the other suggested rings.. Thanks a bunch..!! Further suggestions appreciated..! JiNC
 
Talleys are a beautifully machined mount but they require a proprietory base, one that only their rings will fit on. Far as I know they do not make a set of rings that will fit onto a Weaver style base as the Warne Maximas does. Heard that they made some for Weatherby or someone but never saw any yet. They also do not come with a slope as far as I know, and sloped bases are very good for LR.

Talleys and Warnes are very similar in design and function, both do a nice job and offer detachability with good return to zero. Most incredible machining I have ever seen was on a set of Talley rings - you simply cannot see or feel the join where the two halves fit together.

Warnes and Talleys are fine mounts but I believe that the tacticals are another level of simplicity and toughness.
 
Your looking at $80 on up for a set of good rings that go on a Picatinny/Weaver rail. Badger, IOR, Leupy MArk IV, Nightforce...
(a few dollars more than the Burris Signatures)

I went through this fiasco about one or two weeks ago and a choice was made after a little research. I bought a set of Barrett adjustable rings, $180 or cheaper if you know a dealer... These rings have a 2 degree adjustment each, so a pair has 4 degree's total adjustment. This can help give you more scope adjustment depending on what distance you want to shoot. As far as I know these rings are all steel, and look pretty heavy duty. These rings are going on a 15 minute base for a 338 lapua, 26" barrel rifle. I was looking for a "tactical" type of Burris signature ring with a spherical insert, bigger, longer, heavier, but couldn't find them.
 
S1..
"..Which ones do the job w/o "doing" my wallet.? I'm not looking for cheap just a good value.."

Websters:
Cheap= inexpensive (How in hell $130+ scope rings can be referred to with this term is beyond my comprehension.)

Value= a fair return or equivalent in money,goods or services for something exchanged..

.. OK bubba.. How did my original post get misconstrued into I want CHEAP rings.??
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Despite popular belief there is a cut-off point for value for almost any product.. A point where noone can explain what makes the $200 rings better than the $150 rings.. (At this point,many popular scope rivalries come to mind..) I am prepared to invest in a nice set of rings but I'm pretty sure I don't need a barrel vise mounted on top of the action.. And if you insist on calling me cheap I'll havta say something about you and yer buddy sounding like a coupla old women fighting over who's got the biggest,baddest,longest,loudest,most expensivest shot/rifle/scope/kill/hit/talley-whacker thing-a-ma-bobber..
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JiNC

PS- Could someone please explain to me what is it that defines something as "tactical".??

BTW- I'm talking with Ken about a set of his rings.. 'Real nice fella to deal with.. That's important..

[ 04-18-2003: Message edited by: Jake in NC ]
 
Yo Jake Buddy,

I am no where near the class or intellegence of Ian or S1 but I can speak from experience.

my .02 = Badgers, and don't look back.

I did a little experiment a while back with my badgers mounted on 2 piece NF bases.. I took the scope off and then put back on between shots at 100 yards. I shot a .9" group. Not bad for rings that arn't advertised as detatchable...
Just make sure you lap them real good and everything is squared up to the reciever. If you have an inch lb. wrench make sure you mount to 65 inch. lbs. and use 15 inch lbs. on the screws.

One word of caution on the Ken Farrel bases. Although they are good, I have heard that the screws he is using are snapping under recoil with the mag. calibers. Talk to him and make sure you get the new screws!

and you thought the GGVG board would make you spend money...
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S1...Awww Mannn.. What fun are buddies if'n I can't talk trash about'em.? Heck, ya don't know any good "dirt" on total strangers.!!
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Wyo... Neat experiment.! Sounds like positive results.. I tried something similar with a couple of BR rifles that had the dovetail type rails along the top and they repeated very well, too.. It was a valuable lesson in the craftsmanship of a custom setup.. Thanks for the input..

Speedbump... Thanks for the solid input.. Sounds like you have something very similar to what I'll eventually end up with..

Thanks all ... d:^) JiNC

[ 04-18-2003: Message edited by: Jake in NC ]
 
I have been reviewing tactical style rings for awhile now but have not been able to find a set that are as low as I need.

The Smith Enterprise tacticals look promising at .250 but I have no experience with them, never even seen a set.

They come with steel inserts for 1" or 30mm scopes.

Any comments regarding these rings?
 
Holmes,
I haven't used or even seen the Smith Ent. rings but would warn you that sometimes a person can get so low with low rings and big objectives that you can't use any lens covers like Butler Creek or Scopecoats. Pain in the butt when you can't get anything between the barrel and the bottom of the scope, can't even get an oily cloth under some setups.
 
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