Price Variation of Scope Rings - What do you get for your money?

Co1

Well-Known Member
As above. I'm about to fit a scope to my first rifle and the variation in the cost of rings is incredible. From £10 to £150 and I could spend even more. I'm guessing weight comes into it, but are the more expensive rings more accurately manufactured? I think I'm in the wrong business as I reckon I could CNC a set as accurate as any out there for a fraction of the cost!
 
As above. I'm about to fit a scope to my first rifle and the variation in the cost of rings is incredible. From £10 to £150 and I could spend even more. I'm guessing weight comes into it, but are the more expensive rings more accurately manufactured? I think I'm in the wrong business as I reckon I could CNC a set as accurate as any out there for a fraction of the cost!


Plenty of cheap Chinese stuff out there on the internet sites, but badly finished and sharp edges can damage your scope. I would steer clear. A good mid range is Sportsmatch in my experience. High end German stuff outrageously expensive but sometimes necessary for some rifle/scope combinations. If you are skilled with CNC you are a lucky man indeed.
 
Most of the cheaper rings are OK to an extent, things like thread stripping can be a problem with them (if you're built like a Gorilla and don't have a torque wrench!). The steel one-piece mounts re very nice but very expensive I looked at a set which were almost £400!.

I used to use Millet Angle Loc rings but have now moved to some cheap and cheerful rings from UTG, I have sets of their RG2W3226 Weaver Picatinny Mount Twist Locks on 3 rifles, all with fairly large scopes fitted (8-32x56 and 10-50x60) so far they've held perfect zero despite some rough handling by me. At under £22 a set including shipping I'm impressed, cheapest place I can find them over here in the UK is JS Ramsbottoms.

Some reviews on them here, Leapers UTG 30mm Max Strength Tactical 6-Hole Quick Detachable Twist

ps. Don't get the ones with the throw lever, they aren't as good as the twist locks
 
Last edited:
In my humble opinion Burris Zee signature rings are the best and in this country £50-£75 a set, but much cheaper if you get them from the states.

Leupold rings are very good. Sportsmatch also make excellent rings. Currently I have scopes attached by 3 sets of Burris and 2 sets of Sportsmatch, never had an issue with any of them.

D
 
As above. I'm about to fit a scope to my first rifle and the variation in the cost of rings is incredible. From £10 to £150 and I could spend even more. I'm guessing weight comes into it, but are the more expensive rings more accurately manufactured? I think I'm in the wrong business as I reckon I could CNC a set as accurate as any out there for a fraction of the cost!


I doubt weight has anything to do with the cost of scope rings and quite a few are as you also clearly think over priced. This over pricing seems to be the norm for the UK market. Some of the modern scope rings would look more in keeping with iron girders than sports optics and a fine rifle.

You as the customer pays your money and takes your choice some of the air weapon scope rings are nicely anodised but still look industrial or agricutural with little shape of style and to me the before mentioned Sportsmatch fall into this category. It is a bit like modern cars with their sharp edges and angles ................................ I prefer flowing curves especially rounded ones :norty: :thumb:.
 
I have used the rings produced by Sportsmatch for years, on an air rifle, .17HMR and .243W.
A set is typically around £14-£18.
No issues with them at all - I am rather puzzled where the value is in some 'premium branded' scope rings that sell for 5-10 times that price.

This UK company also offers prompt advice: Email them with your rifle and scope brand/model and they will advice on the best fitting rings from their product line.
 
I have tried a lot of mounts, from cheap copies through to Third Eye Tactical.

Most of the cheap ones are, as already said, rough.
I lost count of the ones that only had one mount threaded in the pair, and those that have screws with no thread on them.
In a lot of cases parts of them stretch, or the cap head just strips, as the alloy they are made of is something between compressed dog poo and recycled dinky toys.

TET are excellent, and you get what you pay for.

I more recently bought several sets of genuine weaver mounts from SGC, as I wanted the six screw cap with picatinny rail, and they have been flawless.

I recommend getting a 20MOA rail as well.
 
A lot is to do with manufacturing tolerances, material quality and general quality of engineering.. it doesn't take much misalignment between front and rear rings to permanently damage a scope by bending the tube! Hence the reason one piece mounts tend to be expensive as there is little room for error... at least with 2 separate rings you have a little wiggle room!
 
I find the quality of design is on the whole shocking.

opticocks are flawed with the stupid screw from beneath, the rings are brittle but a great idea, the screws are made of chocolate
warne are horrendous to fit
millet mangle locks are worse than by big vice in the garage, great if you want to mark a scope
eaw are over engineered but excellent quality steel
TET are a bit too black ops for my liking

why oh why can't someone come up with a simple design, made from decent materials, without the need for girders as a design source, something that bolts to rifle, allows tension free inserts with bolts that don't turn to mush
 
I find the quality of design is on the whole shocking.

opticocks are flawed with the stupid screw from beneath, the rings are brittle but a great idea, the screws are made of chocolate
warne are horrendous to fit
millet mangle locks are worse than by big vice in the garage, great if you want to mark a scope
eaw are over engineered but excellent quality steel
TET are a bit too black ops for my liking

why oh why can't someone come up with a simple design, made from decent materials, without the need for girders as a design source, something that bolts to rifle, allows tension free inserts with bolts that don't turn to mush

that'd be blaser then! :)
 
Never understood the worry about marking a scope, once on the rifle, mine live there for the rest of its days, bashed through bush, thrown in trucks, covered in mud and blood, as to rings most I paid was £90 for a one piece set for my BSA, ruger rings come with the rifle, talley son my kimber, my marlin has a cheap set never had a problem.
 
For the same reason as one already mentioned any slight misalignment between the two mounts is very likely to mark or even damage the scope. So for this reason i like the optilock idea of a circular ring insert which can align as it is tightened. However!! they are never worth the money that is asked for them - good quality feel about them but lets face it they are not made of precious metals. Not sure if there are any other makes with a similar idea but a sensible price tag.
 
Cheers guys. They are for a Steyr Pro Hunter II.
I use the Warne two piece Maxima bases, with Burris Zee rings for the fixed mounting on my .308, and Warne QR rings for the scopes on my 7x64 with iron sights. The Burris rings with the polymer insert are great for aligning a scope pretty close before using the turrets, and they really do protect the finish on the tube. The Warne can be a bit of a Chinese puzzle the first time you install them. Burris rings are deceptively simple, all out of one piece of steel, so very strong and precision.

PS: This .308 is a Steyr Prohunter and the 7x64 is a Prohunter II.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top