Got a new riflescope?
Great!
At a loss on how to mount it onto your rifle?
Oh, deer.
To be able to catch that deer dancing away at the thought of you being unable to use your scope with your rifle, you’re going to want to think about scope bases and rings.
Contents
So, What Exactly Are Scope Rings?
Rings are the attachments used to affix the scope onto the firearm.
While you can connect some ring mounts directly to the scope, others require a special mount to be mounted to the firearm.
In such a case, you’ll need a special attachment known as a base. Scope bases are mounted to the firearm to allow rings to be connected.
How Do Scope Rings Work?
Rings and bases work as the points through which scopes attach to the firearm.
The scope can shift with every shot or movement if the ring or base aren’t attached securely.
Types of Mounts
There are many different mounts from many different manufacturers. Here are just some of the most popular types:
Weaver
The Weaver mount is one of the ORIGINAL mounts. It is a cross-slot type mount with cross-cut slots in the base.
Rings may be attached to these slots by clamping onto the sides of the rail.
Additionally, a bolt on the bottom side of Weaver-style rings helps keep them from sliding.
Weaver bases can come in either one or two pieces. They either have evenly spaced slots throughout the rail’s length or just one or two slots at the front and back.
Weaver mounts are recommended for those who want cross slots for their hunting rifle.
Picatinny
These are basically IMPROVED Weaver mounts. As such, it works in the same way but with different dimensions.
The Picatinny rail is common for a flat top AR 15 rifle.
If you have a military or precision rifle for long-range shooting, you will likely have a Picatinny rail.
Generally, the most robust mounts use this interface. These types of rings and bases are recommended if you’re mounting a scope on a target or tactical firearm.
Additionally, this type of rail CAN accommodate Weaver rings! It is also the best scope mount for the AR 15.
Dovetail
Dovetails are a straightforward mounting system. Unlike the abovementioned systems, dovetail mounts have NO cross slots.
Instead, the rings just hold on to both sides of the rail.
For example, you can sometimes find a rifle, the Tikka bolt action rifle, with a built-in dovetail rail that allows dovetail rings to be attached without a base.
This is recommended if you have a rimfire rifle that doesn’t require a lot of strength.
While it isn’t the strongest system out there, its strength is that it allows for rings to be mounted anywhere along the rail.
This is the best scope mount for you if you have a 22LR or a plinking rifle.
Types of Mounting Options
Here are some other options and terms that may help you determine the best mounting system.
Take note that these are not specific interfaces but options available within a specific interface.
Quick Release
Quick-release rings refer to rings that can be quickly released regardless of their interface.
Take note, however, that this also refers to a specific Leupold product that allows for rings to be removed quickly with a lever on the side of a base.
This is commonly used on a safari rifle.
Off Set
As you can probably tell, this type is offset from the rifle’s center. This mount allows a second optic to be attached to the rifle.
These are commonly used for a tactical rifle that needs an LPVO working with a red dot.
One Piece
This ring or mount is typically used with an AR-style rifle. The great thing about this is that it has two rings in one unit.
This makes it easy to transfer between rifles and also makes a good platform for QR systems.
One of the best one-piece mounts is the cantilever mount.
What to Look for in Scope Rings
There are so many variables in play when selecting the best scope rings.
However, regardless of your optic or firearm, there are two very important things to look for to ensure you get the right rings: width and height.
Get either of these two wrong, and the rings will be incompatible and practically useless!
Scope Ring Width
Ensure that the rings correspond to the scope’s tube diameter.
Thus, if you’re using a 1-inch scope, you’ll need 1-inch scope rings.
If you’re using a 30mm scope, you’ll need 30mm scope rings, and so on and so forth.
While the most popular tube diameters are 1 inch and 30mm, there are a lot of other diameters available, such as the 20 mm (for a short-range scope) or the 34 mm (for a long-range scope).