When choosing a scope ring, there are several key points to consider. Firstly, how many rails does the mount need to cover? Generally speaking, bigger mounts will cover more rail space than smaller mounts. If you have an odd-shaped rifle or want an amount that covers multiple rails in different places then this may affect your choice.
Talley scope rings Next up is the distance from the centerline of your lens to where your actual sight sits. This distance can vary depending on things like field caps and other addons that may push the back end of the scope further from the mount. In most cases, this range is between 1 and 2 inches, but it really only matters if you’re planning on making some sort of optic magnification system.
Finally, we have ring height. Generally speaking, we recommend a higher ring than a lower ring as your first choice for your eyepiece mount, as it will give you more clearance and allow for greater movement.
What do the numbers on rifle scopes mean?
With modern technology, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by market jargon. Many are familiar with terms like ‘magnification’, ‘objective diameter’ and ‘tube size.’ While these play an important role in understanding what makes a scope unique, there is one other number that carries about as much significance as any: the scope power or magnification setting. What do the numbers on scopes mean though? Let’s take a closer look.
What does “4x” mean?
Before we can begin talking about magnification settings, you first need to understand how they work. If you were looking through binoculars at something far away, for example, your handheld out at arm’s length, you would need to hold your eyes still or ‘freeze’ them until you could bring everything into focus. Holding your head steady with your eyes is hard work, so binoculars have a built-in mechanism for holding both the lenses and the observer’s head stationary. The drawback of this, however, is that it limits how closely two objects can be brought together.
We have no problem bringing our hands together when they are far apart, of course, since we don’t need to keep them perfectly still. Binoculars on the other hand do require us to maintain immobile heads in order to keep two different images of an object close enough together that our brain can combine them into one image. This is why binoculars have magnification settings.
The numbers on rifle scopes mean setting the magnification is simply a matter of taking the current distance between your eyes and the object you are looking at, dividing it by the scope’s magnification power, and making sure that the image size obtained with the scope is equal to or smaller than that number. The result will be something like 5 feet divided by 4x = 1.25 – meaning that you can handhold objects as close as 1.25 feet away from your eyes while they are magnified 4 times. Unlike expensive variable-power binoculars, small fixed-power rifle scopes make use of only one magnification power, which they use for everything from varmint hunting to long-range competition shooting.
Does Talley make good scope rings?
I was wondering if the Talley Lightweight Alloy Scope Mounts (Model #: 5151) make good scope rings for high caliber bolt action rifles? I am not sure what height I want. What do you guys think is the best height for these types of guns?
I like to go as low as possible without touching the barrel (1″, 11mm, 2cm). This set-up allows me to use a standard length barrel and still have a low mount that will clear all scopes. My option would be a 1 piece base that goes on first. If it has an integral recoil lug then you can use a Picatinny ring set on a standard cross-slot rail with no top strap section. If it doesn’t have a recoil lug then I would buy a separate base from Talley.
I use this set-up on my 7mm RUM, 30-378 Weatherby, and other heavy recoiling cartridges. So far the only scope that has been damaged was an older version of a Bushnell Elite 4200 6x24x50AO Mil-Dot with a large objective bell housing. That particular scope ended up going to the dark side despite using Picatinny rail protectors under the ring tops. My bad for not having seen the design flaw until after I had used it several times and caused some cosmetic damage to that expensive piece of glass.
What is the main purpose of a rifle scope ring?
The most important function is to secure the scope and the rifle together. This ensures that when your weapon is fired, it doesn’t come loose and become useless or even dangerous. Another important feature of good quality mounts is their absolute co-position with the objective of the scope: they should enclose around it completely and not leave any part of its surface exposed. There are also some ‘bonus’ features such as adjustable knobs (for fine adjustments in windage and elevation), fixed or quick release mounting systems, etc.