Burris Signature Rings

[fdshuster]

Just received 2 sets of 30mm Burris Signature Zee Rings. They are now being "Made in China". Guess we know now why they could not be bought for a long time, about a year ago.

We were told at the time that new manufacturing facilities were being set-up, and they were, in China. These will be last set I will be buying.

 

[fredhorace77]

as much stuff as china has been making lately makes me wonder if the quality may get better eventually. its been so long since Americans have made anything i often wonder if we still know how

 

[wmdron]

I am sorry to hear that Burris sig zees are now Chinese made. I won't be buying any more of them either. It seems to me that the only way we the consumer can stop the outsourcing epidemic and the job loss is to vote with our wallets and always give priority to USA made products.

 

[Judd]

What is a compariable product? That is the only ring I am aware of that will not leave your scope marred up without spending a bunch of time lapping rings and making a mess to deal with.

It sucks and I'm interested if there is a comparable product.

 

[fdshuster]

judd: As far as I know, nothing else. I'm sure Burris holds a patent on the inserts. Big disappointment for me also. I've been using them exclusively since they first became available.

The off-set inserts have saved the day for me several times when for whatever reason I could not get the point of impact adjusted without using up a lot of clicks. With them I'm able to keep the adjustments very close to center.

 

[Judd]

That was what I was afraid you were going to say. I am not aware of anything else either.

For that reason I'll stick with them...but only that reason. I will say it might be about the time they switched the bottom screw from a flat head screw to a star...that was an improvement so maybe it isn't all bad :-\

 

[fdshuster]

Judd: Outward appearance I could see no difference between the "new" ones and the many older (made in the USA) sets that I have, both 1" and 30mm. What I did notice with both pairs was that it was more difficult to get the ring screws to start threading into the bottom rings. Holes were perfectly lined up, and had the feeling several times that I was on the way to stripping the threads. Had to back-off & start again, carefully. Eventually they did tighten, but with a lot of care.

If I ever need another set, I will post a "want to buy" ad on this site for a pair "made in the USA".

 

[6BRAckley]

I did not bother to check who made the set I got 3 months ago but the set that arrived today from Midway was definitely made in China. One thing that was interesting --- there were 2 sets of plastic inserts with the rings (one inside rings and one in bottom compartment of package that was +.010 and -.010)

JP

 

[fredhorace77]

How can one tell FOR SURE difference between the usa and china models. i recently purchased some used and would like to know where they were made. no box or packaging came with them

 

[yenak]

The last set i bought had faulty inserts. Burris replaced them, but i damn here wore out a barrel until i figured out what was wrong. One other thing i discovered. It makes a difference Aas to which way you mount the rings ( screw to the right or screw to the left) as to POI.

 

[fdshuster]

JP: If the rings you bought from Midway were 30mm, every set I've ever bought is packaged with "zero" inserts in the rings, and a set of 4 more inserts are in the small compartment at the bottom of the package. Those are always 2 that are +.010 and 2 that are -.10". In other words: a total of four 0 inserts and 4 .010's. If you received some other combination, then they were incorrectly packaged.

Fred: Good point. Based on appearance, they did look identical. The only way I could tell was the very tiny round yellow sticker, and that could easily be removed by someone selling a newer set and trying to pass them off as "Made in the USA". I'll compare them dimensionally with a dial caliper to see if their are any differences there.

yenak: I was not aware that mounting the base cross-bolt screws to the left or right gave a different point of impact. Good advice to keep in mind.

I may be making too much of this. I just hate to see yet another fine product that was once Made in America, now being made by Communist China, further destroying the manufacturing base of this country.

 

[hogpatrol]

I noticed a difference in the type of plastic. The older ones were a grippy matte finish. A new pair of rings had smooth slippery finish. Don't know if it makes any difference but they definitely have a cheap plastic toy feel to them. Some of the former U.S. made Burris scopes are now made in the far east also.

 

[fdshuster]

hogpatrol: Yes to the material being used in the rings. The numbers are also different: very thin on the usa, fatter numbers on the Chinese. On the attached pics, "Made in China" is pictured on the left.

Probably a corporate decision from Blount, who owns Burris, to go with "Made in China". More profit for them, since they can be made cheaper in China with slave labor. I have to wonder how many American workers are now out of a job, from this decision alone.

I just sent them an e-mail (www.burrisoptics.com) to make my feelings known, which I'm sure will go into their round file.

 

[hogpatrol]

I'm glad I saved all my "0"s. The Chinese ones are junk. If I see any multi sized old stock inserts anywhere, I'm going to buy them. I too will email them about it but they've probably already let the contracts to manufacture them. Here's another gotcha with the inferior Chinese steel wrenches you get with them. With very little torque, I broke two of them tighting up base screws. It was like they were made of out pot metal. Pretty sad if you ask me.