Scope rings?
How important are scope rings on modern co2/pcp guns. I don’t think it matters that much since there isn’t much, if at all, recoil. Even cheap rings should be rigid enough to hold the scope in place and not move. The only thing I can think of wrong with cheap rings is that they aren’t level and may hurt the scope. What other reasons is there?
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Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 15 total)
Mr Lama Wrote:
I will have to see If I am flinching. The .25 doesn’t have much recoil.
I try to get a consistent cheek weld, maybe I am not as consistent as I thought. The eye relief, on the Hawke, is really touchy. I have to have my head positioned almost in the exact same spot each shot or I won’t get a full sight picture.
I thought that I might be getting some parallax issues but, once I get the scope focused, and without touching the gun, I can move my head up – down and side to side without having the cross hairs move on the target. If I was having parallax problems, wouldn’t the cross hairs appear to move?
For airguns I’d get BKL scope rings. They are a little pricey but worth it.
Great minds think alike! 😆
I’ll confess that I shoot @ 100yds or less, due to not having a greater distance available.
What works for me, may not work for you, trail and error + practice, and ever more practice, usually helps.
I have used the BKL dual strap 30mm high rings with good results. I also now use the Leupold QRW 30mm, weaver base, Quick Release rings also with the BKL 11mm to Weaver/picatenny adapter/riser, with good results!
I also use the 1in and 30mm Vintage Weaver top mount Detachable Rings with weaver bases and a UTG canted weaver rail on my Diana 34p. As I said your mileage will vary!
Although not as rigid as permanent mounts, I like using the quick release rings to move my scopes, between my powder burners and air rifles. My rifles are very mild recoiling, so I don’t need the strongest mounts available.
Sam 🙂
Good post!
Scope rings are extremely important. You can have a great rifle with fantastic glass, but if you strap them together with duct tape it isn’t going to work great.
And yeah, as with everything else, the more you pay, most likely the better it gets. It’s a sad sad reality. 🙁
Having said that, I never had a problem with the leapers rings on the ol’ condor. They worked fine. But I rarely shot out past 50 yards, 100 at the most, so it isn’t so obvious there. On a big rifle where you are shooting out to a half mile or more, a little off will be catastrophic.
I have had both ends of the list. I have one set that cost somewhere close to free. If I shake the gun hard, the scope will fall off. 😆 I also have the blaser’s, and I don’t want to say how much they cost. 😯 But that rifle has been knocked over several times, and it has never lost zero.
If you have a big heavy scope, get solid mounts with preferably 2 screws on each ring or a 1 piece mount. I had a big scope on a .22lr with weak rings, and the rings actually slid forwards during shooting. So I’m sure a solid bump would knock that way off. And scope rings have to be good for the rifle. I tried a 1 piece mount on my cz, and the spent shells kept jamming in the chamber because the mount wouldn’t let them out. I had good leupold rings on my old .300RUM and they literally bent off the rifle, so just because they are good doesn’t mean they will definitely work for everything.
Oldgoat, I had that same problem of groups that seemed to be shifting once before. Turned out to be a flinch. 😆 But it can also be parallax. If you aren’t consistent with your cheek weld, groups could easily move like that. I’d look at those two things as well. In other words, get someone else (who you know can shoot very well) to shoot it and see if they have the same problem. If not, you found it. 😉
And remember, put a touch of blue loctite on mount screws when you get it set up like you want. Nothing is quite as embarrassing as trying to figure out a scope problem, and realizing a few screws can be twisted by hand. 😆
Well jeeeze, Im sure not an expert , just giveing my personal experience. I never tried all the brands out there . But the BKLS are excellent air rifle mounts , they run about 30 to 65 bucks. I never had an issue with them .
I also have two pair of Leupold quick release mounts, but you need a 11mm to weaver adapter . they run about 55 bucks.
Thier nice because you can use them on your powder burners too.
So you dont need 15 scopes and mounts 😆
But everybodys needs are different , so there’s no absolutes
Cheap rings are not parallel or square to each other and or not parallel or square to the bore. That’s why rings are lapped to make them square and parallel to each other. Lapping will not center them over the bore. Expensive Precision rings will center the scope over the bore. I’m talking 50 + $. Most get good results, but also, there are a lot of horror stories.
Cheap rings will bend and scar your scope for life.
If you shoot @ one distance, say 50yds, it won’t show, but @ different distances, the POI will shift left or right of the POA. Shooting less than 100yds, it’s not so noticeable, but out past that, makes your rifle worthless.
Sam
Wow thanks for the info. I had no idea that machining rings to be parallel with the barrel was that difficult. What do you think about the BKL rings?
OK guys, what do you consider good rings to be?
I shoot 100 yard targets a lot. My Edgun Matador has a Hawke 8.5-25 X 42 Tactical scope and Leapers rings. I use a Harris bipod and an adjustable, padded butt rest. My shooting setup is solid enough that, when I shoot, the sight picture doesn’t change and I can watch the pellet fly all of the way to the target.
I have a lot of 5 shot 100 yard groups where 2-3 shots will almost touch and then I get 2-3 others that are a little off, usually left or right, and they are close together also. I sometimes get 4 close shots and then a flier, the fliers don’t bother me as much as the two mini groups.
I get all kinds of variations on the groups. It might put 1 shot in one spot, move the poi over, for a shot or two, then move back, to the first shot for 1 or 2. I thought that it might be the Hawke so, I tried another Hawke and a Bushnell 4200 Elite 6-24 X 50 Tactical. I got pretty much the same thing.
This is really starting to piss me off! I have checked everything that I can think of. I have even ordered another set of Leapers rings and still have the problem. All I have are Leapers rings and I guess they could be causing the problems.
I know that you guys like $2500 scopes and I have looked at them but none of them have 8 mill dots like the Hawke does. I really like the 20 X half mill dot reticle.
Sorry to steal this post but, I would like to try a GOOD pair of scope mounts without wasting my money on something again!
Well , I choose to invest in expensive scopes knowing that I can shoot from pcp to springer to 308 or 300 Win .
Now what quick release rings will do for you is that it will enable you to use any scope on any rifle with out a lot of hassle .
for instance I can have 10 rifles with 3 good scopes that will snap on to any one of my rifles with no hassle .It allows me to buy fewer scopes also.
Im not going to put a $300-$400 scope on a $800 rifle with $15 rings .
I remember when I first got into scopes and figured a ring is a ring and remember how my POI kept shifting between the times I shot.
pulled my hair out trying to figure it out. until I bought some good rings , problem solved.
With me, I try to eliminate all possible reasons why a shot went to the right or left , If I can do that , then I know I pulled the shot and it wasnt the rings or the scope , it was me .
But if you have cheap rings and they work, keep em. Im not knocking what works.
Im just saying I prefer solid rings . A good rifle, with good ammo, a good scope, with good rings ,means If I miss , it was probably my fault.
Then I can figure out what I did wrong and correct it , try doing that if one of the above mentioned things isnt so good ,
Just some things to think about.
Interesting PDF for FT but the fundamentals are the same : http://viriato.net/airgunning/bfta_setup_manual.pdf
Sam
2 what Condor said, as a matter of fact, he is a good one to listen to about scopes, one of the most knowledgable scope people on this forum.
Those cheap rings can really put some marks on your scope, it will devalue the scope if you ever wish to sell it.
Roachcreek
You can lay a long 1inch rod, 3 foot long into the rings and see roughly how parallel they are to the barrel. If the rod lays to the left or right, you have a big problem!
Cheap rings are not parallel or square to each other and or not parallel or square to the bore. That’s why rings are lapped to make them square and parallel to each other. Lapping will not center them over the bore. Expensive Precision rings will center the scope over the bore. I’m talking 50 + $. Most get good results, but also, there are a lot of horror stories.
Cheap rings will bend and scar your scope for life.
If you shoot @ one distance, say 50yds, it won’t show, but @ different distances, the POI will shift left or right of the POA. Shooting less than 100yds, it’s not so noticeable, but out past that, makes your rifle worthless.
Sam
The ones I got from AF for $20 work as good as the ones I spend $35 for at the gun shop. Some of the super cheap Rings look crappy and are not machined very well, so I would guess they would not be as stabil when mounted
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They do move, but sometimes it is hard to see.
For the cheek weld, put a piece of tape or velcro or something on the stock right at a spot where a part of your face sits. Put it somewhere that you can remember the exact spot of your face it touches, so every time you put your cheek on it, you can match the spot to the material the same every time.
Here is a really good article on flinching. Since it is such a small gun, you may not be, but it is a good read regardless. 😀
http://www.longrangehunting.com/articles/flinching-1.php