Scope Ring Marks

[FX Hunter 19]

I'm curious why some mounts are renowned for leaving ring marks and yet others are perfect regardless of price, Firstly I always lap the rings, I spread the rings as I fit the scope, on some rings / mounts this seems to be very necessary so I take as much care as possible and still at times end up with ring marks which seem to be design related and not linked to price, by this I mean for example (only my experience) Leupold rings seem tight to fit and require prying open the rings and very careful fitment and even after being super careful and lapping they nearly always leave ring marks which obviously devalues the scope comes time of sale. On the other hand say Talley rings have never left ring marks worth mentioning, both at least in Aussie are about the same price. Another example is say Warne again they almost always leaves ring marks no mater how carefully lapped and fitted. On the hand rings such as Opti-lock, Burris and Vortex never ever seem to mark regardless of lapping or careful fitment. I would love to hear shooters experiences and thoughts, Oh and yes I do realise that torque settings of the screws play a big part so I stick to the lower end of the manufacturers settings. I tried to stick to the medium priced rings as that is where I see a lot of issues although I have been effected by expensive QD units such as EAW or Recknagel just not as badly.

Edited October 3, 2019 by FX Hunter

[Deker 3,453]

Generally 30mm tubes are ok, but you still rely on scope and ring manufacturer tolerances.

I find issues can occur with 25mm/1" rings and scope tubes.  1" is 25.4mm so they can be mixed up.  If that isn't the issue then it goes back to manufacturing tolerances or over tightening.

 

 

[Meece 1,957]

It can only be As stated. A slight difference between an imperial and a metric size tube and rings.  Personally I dont worry about marks or stuff like that.  I buy a good quality fixed power scope either 6x or 8x fit it and that's where it stays. I don't keep changing or selling so marks don't matter. As long as it holds zero its good.