Lesson Learned about Scope Mounts.

Most of us like to think saving a buck on some items by mixing different manufacturer components is a conservative move as long as the components fit together. Most of the time that is true but there are some instances that may surprise you at what is actually true.

A while back I decided to have a backup scope for my 10ML-II that would allow a quick change over should one get damaged while out of town shooting or hunting. Leupold had a nice setup using QR rings that I was going to try. When I compared the price of their base mounts to a Weaver base mount I opted for the Weaver because it was cheaper. For the QR rings (Quick Release) again I found two different priced sets of QR rings and went with the cheaper set to start.

Putting it all together was no problem. Here I should also add a note of base mount screws having 2-different lengths. The longer set is for the back and the shorter set is for the front of the receiver on the 10ML-II. Mix them up and you will have a headache to deal with.
Once everything was together it was range time to see how well the components would hold up together. Also to see how much POI change would occur when removing and reattaching the scope.

About the 3^rd outing I happen to notice that the blades under the ring mounts were starting to bend out of alignment. Not knowing what to make of this I presented my problem on another board and someone picked up on it right away. The problem was combining weaver base mounts that didn’t have a continuous slot across the base mount that was needed for this type of QR mounts. For using this combination I needed the more expensive QR mounts that had a bolt across instead of just the blades for proper support.

After mulling this information over I decided to get the proper Leupold base mounts and a set of better quality QR rings. With the existing QR rings I managed to straighten the bent blades back into alignment and have them installed on my backup scope. Now everything is as it should be.

First picture below shows the difference between the 2-base mounts.

Attachment 28194


The next picture shows the difference between the 2-QR ring types.

Attachment 28197


Ed

Have you try it yet? Any difference in POI?
Thanks

I had a similar experience last year with mounting a scope on my 243. The scope I chose to install needed a rear ring offset for proper eye relief adjustment. I purchased a second set of rings from the same company and opted to only replace the rear mount. I took the gun to the range and no matter how much I tried to adjust the elevation I was always shooting a foot low at 100 yards. At first I thought I had a defective scope out of the box until I finally realized that there was now a height difference between the front and rear rings not noticeable to the naked eye.

Moral of the story. Always install rings and bases as a matched set from a manufacturer as tolerances may vary!

I used to have a rifle that had Leupold 2pc Quickdetachable bases and rings. In my testing of the system I found it returned close to zero after removal but not entirely so keep that in mind. I see them as an option to switch to iron sights more than a way to switch scopes back and forth.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by seabast

Have you try it yet? Any difference in POI?
Thanks

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Seabast

When I used the same pattern for setting the scope on the base mount with a 3-stage tightening process I am within a ½” of the original setting at 100yds.


Ed

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ET1

Seabast

When I used the same pattern for setting the scope on the base mount with a 3-stage tightening process I am within a ½” of the original setting at 100yds.
Ed

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This is not too bad. Thanks

It is human nature to try to save a buck. But I learned years ago that some things you don't skimp on. Scope mounts are one of those things. Quality gun with quality scope and cheap mounts is a recipe for failure. Buying cheap mounts and replacing them with quality mounts is more expensive than buying quality mounts in the first place. IMHO.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Roper

It is human nature to try to save a buck. But I learned years ago that some things you don't skimp on. Scope mounts are one of those things. Quality gun with quality scope and cheap mounts is a recipe for failure. Buying cheap mounts and replacing them with quality mounts is more expensive than buying quality mounts in the first place. IMHO.

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You've got that right:goodstuff:, like some buying very expensive boots to keep their feet warm and buy cotton socks for .99 cents , it just doesn't work.