preventing ring marks on your scope ?

[rebs]

Burris signature zee rings instructions say to torque to 30 to 35 in lbs. That seems to be a lot of torqe isn't it ?

 

[Ledd Slinger]

I believe I had read in a post about putting electrical tape on the rings ? Can anyone confirm this ?

No I wouldn’t recommend that.

Use black fabric Hockey tape. Place it in the top and lower halves of the rings and trim with an exacto knife for a perfect fit. Hockey tape will give you an excellent durable gripping surface on the scope body while preventing ring marks.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

I torque my rings to the base with a lapping bar installed in the rings. It helps keep things well aligned during tightening process.

I would not recommend that practice at all.
If the bore of your rings is out of alignment, fastening them to a lapping bar isn’t going to help anything. They will pop right back out of alignment as soon as you remove the bar.

And on top of that, if you align crooked ring bores on a bar, you have now just made the base of your rings out of alignment.

With picatinny or weaver bases, ALWAYS mount the base of your rings separately to the scope rail by pushing them forward while tightening to ensure you have full contact on the recoil surfaces.

Proper mounting of the scope rail and ring bases to the scope rail is the most critical part of the mounting process because that is your foundation for strength and it needs to be rock solid. Any misalignment of ring bores after that is easily corrected with lapping.

 

[rijndael]

I would not recommend that practice at all.

So, if you swap scopes between guns, you'd completely disassemble and reassemble?

 

[Ledd Slinger]

So, if you swap scopes between guns, you'd completely disassemble and reassemble?

I do with two piece rings because you can’t guarantee that the scope base on another rifle has the same exact contact surfaces. And it probably won’t.

One exception to that rule is if you are using a one piece uni-mount. In that case a different base will not alter the alignment and place new torque on the rings so you can easily swap from rifle to rifle with confidence.

 

[rijndael]

Well, you're consistent.

After initial mounting, I swap scopes around without issue, and I've not had any ring marks (or slippage) since doing it this way. I don't fully disassemble before moving it around.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Well, you're consistent.

After initial mounting, I swap scopes around without issue, and I've not had any ring marks (or slippage) since doing it this way.

Preventing ring marks is just an added bonus to the methods I use. It’s not WHY I do it. I am very meticulous with scope mounting because I want to ensure the mounting of my optics is as solid as possible. Then it is never a question in my mind if something isn’t quite going my way on the target.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

The compound that I got with my lapping tool is used up. Is there a source, other than Sinclair, for this? I believe it is water based.

You can find all kinds of it on Amazon. Doesn’t have to be specified for scope lapping. Lapping compound is lapping compound.

 

[ranger0787]

I've used this method for years; Take one Nitrile exam glove, cut one of the fingers into 2 ribbon strips. Lay half on the base of the ring, the other on top of the scope, under top ring. Tighten scope to recommended torque specs. Scope never moves, never any ring marks.

 

[KY_Windage]

Burris signature zee rings instructions say to torque to 30 to 35 in lbs. That seems to be a lot of torqe isn't it ?

This has been discussed for years on the forums and nearly everyone who uses these rings a lot agrees there is no need to go that high. 25 is fine.

As Philip B. said, the inserts have to be installed just right. However, even after doing something around a hundred mounts with these rings I still find it hard to get them exactly right the first time. BUT, recoil will make them settle in to the perfect spot. So after mounting a scope I shoot 10 rounds, then re-snug the ring screws, then shoot 20 rounds, then re-snug the rings screws, then shoot 50 rounds, then re-snug the screws, then after 100, then 500. It takes only a minute and is a small price to pay for having ZERO ALLIGNMENT STRESS on your scope and never a worry about ring marks, so long as you keep the screws snug. Not to mention the greatest attribute -- the ability to position my scope so that when sighted in my windage turret is well-centered and leaving me with almost all elevation adjustment available for long-range shooting.

Once I am sure they are done settling, if I am pretty sure that scope is not coming off for a while, I will R&R the screws one at a time and coat the threads with purple (not blue) Lok-Tite, to help make sure they never move. Purple is great because you can still re-snug a month later if needed even after the Lok-Tite has dried. And you can always get your screws out without stripping the heads or your tool. I use blue (242) Lok-Tite on base-to-receiver screws and I don't dare try to remove them without some serious pre-heating.

 

[Jefferson]

EGW ring inserts boys