EAW swing-mount rings, - why are they so expensive, and do alternatives exist?

[Scipio]

An alternative is The Leupold dovetail front and rear adjustable mounts - The redfield type system. If you threadlock one of the rear screws it is then pretty repeatable.

EAW swing mounts are high quality machined steel. If you are spending good money on a rifle and optic, why then hold the two together with cheap chinesium type stuff.

EAW swing mounts are really a gunsmithing type fit. Once set up properly they work very well.

If you want simple and cheap go Piccatiny type system.

Hello heym, and thank you for the input.

Well i probably would go for a pic rail, if i was working with a bare rifle,meant for european hunting. However i am attempting to add scope capability to a rifle that is already fitted with eaw swing mounts.

My point as to the pricing of the eaw mount isnt to the cost of the total kit, but for the cost of buying a set of extra rings. The latter just seems quite high to me, when considered vs the full mount package.
Now I am admittedly no machinist or gunsmith, but 400 euro for a pair of rings, which unlike the bases doesnt need to be specifically made for paticular rifles makes, and which i assume eaw is by now able to machine pretty automatized, just seems quite high to me. Even if they are of high quality.

And Naturally i'd find it a questionable choice to go with poor and unreliable cheap mounts, and tbh i would wether i was equipping an expensive rifle or a less expensive one, as afterall we're talking about tools that need reliable precision to work as intended. And that is regardless of how expensive it was.
But desiring quality, and being willing to pay fair money for it, doesnt mean that some producers isnt perhaps also getting a little cheeky with their pricing, if they think the market will pay it.

 

[Scipio]

Have rings
Not sure we have m98 bases Will check when in

Hello Ed, and thank you for checking in, to this thread I have the bases already! I am mere trying to get some 30 mm rings which suits it, so that i can add thermal scope capability to the rifle, for hunting boar at in Sweden.

 

[Bavarianbrit]

FYI,

EAW Schwenkmontageoberteile - eGun

Key Historical Developments of EAW Mounts:

• 1919–1950s: Founded as EDW (Electro-und Dentalwerke Frankfurt) and transitioned to EAW (Ernst Apel Würzburg), later shifting toward metalworking and, post-WWII, optics mounts.
• 1955: Official start of the manufacturing of riflescope mounts.
• 1960s: Developed the 2/3 division of mounting rings, a design commonly used today.
• 1970s: Introduced the EAW pivot mount, which revolutionized the industry and set the standard for quick-detachable, reliable mounts.
• 1980s–1990s: Expanded their range to include Suhler claw mounts, focusing on high-precision, traditional, and modern rifle systems.
• 2021–2022: Became the first manufacturer to introduce 3D-printed mounts (generative manufacturing/Direct Metal Laser Melting) using aluminum and titanium, creating lightweight (30-40% lighter) and rigid, lattice-structured mounts.
• 2023: Launched a new series of German tactical mounts, featuring adjustable inclination and, in some cases, integrated bubble levels.

EAW products are known for their interchangeability, where modern parts can often be used with older systems. They continue to manufacture, test (DEVA-tested), and design their products in Germany.

The front dovetail base mount has a grubscrew/ marderschrauben to adjust the tension so not too loose or tight for taking them off.

More detail of K98 mounts showing the adjustment slits.

 

[Scipio]

Thank you for informative post, @Bavarianbrit - Luckily i already have the right eaw bases on the rifle itself, and "just" need to add some 30mm rings to it.
Whomever assembled the rifle chose some quality components, though, which is of course a good sign. .-) And i believe, (after some very interesting oberndorf m98 model insight from @HonestJohn in another thread) , that whomever commisioned the rifle, was likely mimicking a mauser oberndorf type b build, somewhat.
But in any case, i am just happy that i found it, and got it, and if i can also get the rings to make it night hunting for boar capable, it shall just make it even more suited for many future hunts to come. .-)

 

[Scipio]

a very interesting development, as i just found these:



i had been thinking of trying to 3d print this exact style of solution to my Steyr factory swingmount on my mannlicher schoenauer, but now i see someone has already had the idea for EAW mounts.


Does anyone know this brand, and if so, is it to be considered good quality? Have you ever heard about it @Bavarianbrit and what about you perhaps, @Olaf ?

 

[Klenchblaize]

a very interesting development, as i just found these:


View attachment 459147
i had been thinking of trying to 3d print this exact style of solution to my Steyr factory swingmount on my mannlicher schoenauer, but now i see someone has already had the idea for EAW mounts.


Does anyone know this brand, and if so, is it to be considered good quality? Have you ever heard about it @Bavarianbrit and what about you perhaps, @Olaf ?

I now cannot unsee this!

K

 

[HonestJohn]

Only issue I see with this is that it’s going to sit the scope really high up. Innomount is high quality indeed, but it’s not a sleek solution to say the least

 

[Scipio]

I now cannot unsee this!

K

I am unsure if this is a good thing, or a bad thing, @Klenchblaize ? Plz do elaborate ,-)

But if you are thinking about the idea for the MS, dont worry, it might not be possible at all. Not for a price that near opprtune anyways.
But i am not not sure if it would at all be such an issue, really. After all one could go iron sights as clean as before, as one simply pops out the rail, as one would the rings at current.
And overall bulk and presentation wise, if it's done well, the bulk of it is black (vs the dark color of the blueing), so i doubt it shall pop or look odd, and the main visible bulk in that area will, as now, be the scope itself, and not the rail, i'd imagine.
Well not as long as it's cut nicely in size as to not portrude ahead or behind the tube area of the scope, i suspect.

Only issue I see with this is that it’s going to sit the scope really high up. Innomount is high quality indeed, but it’s not a sleek solution to say the least

hello @HonestJohn - A very much fair point to raise! However i am unsure that it will be higher than the current solution of eaw swing mounts+ a zeiss rack/shin on the bottom of zeiss diatal 6x scope.

 

[HonestJohn]

Conetrol bases and rings would look the part on a classic Mauser too. Maybe go back to the beginning and forget about the EAW ?

 

[Klenchblaize]

I am unsure if this is a good thing, or a bad thing, @Klenchblaize ? Plz do elaborate ,-)

Substitute rail for rage and Dylan Thomas would have been spot-on had he said:
Rail, rail against the dying of the light and stick with Conetrol scope mounting systems and Zeiss optics!

K

 

[Scipio]

Conetrol bases and rings would look the part on a classic Mauser too. Maybe go back to the beginning and forget about the EAW ?

i understand where you are coming from But the eaw bases are on there, and given it is a good system, that i like the swivel capability, and that it might even cost me a fair bit of time and possibly money to get them off, only to then have to buy and mount a new system, they are staying. Personally i quite like the eaw system, and the mounting height isnt a problem for me. .-)

 

[Bavarianbrit]

I asked EAW at IWA 2 years ago (love these acronyms) if they did a picatinny rail for fitting to their swing off bases and the reply was yes. you just need to be a member of Coutts & Co bank sir.

 

[HonestJohn]

Dijelovi za nosače

mikron.hr

 

[Scipio]

Dijelovi za nosače

mikron.hr

Very nice find @HonestJohn , thank you! I was looking for their homepage yesterday, but couldnt find it.
So i can assemble new 30mm rings for the eaw swingmount for just under 200 euro via rusan, it would seem.

 

[Scipio]

I asked EAW at IWA 2 years ago (love these acronyms) if they did a picatinny rail for fitting to their swing off bases and the reply was yes. you just need to be a member of Coutts & Co bank sir.

Well Luckily innogun took a slightly more accessable approach to it

the more i think about the eaw pic rail by innogun + some good picatinny rings (for example from rusan) makes sense. It will set me back a bit more in the short term than just getting a set of used 30mm eaw rings now, but it will allow me to switch around scopes between rifles in the future, especially the thermal, and that is a quite useful trait.

But perhaps i am overestimating how often one really does this, in real life. i'll give a day more to think about it, and then act, and of course the final decision might also depend on what short of price @Edinburgh Rifles suggests for the rings, if he can find them.
But thank you all for the constructive posts so far, it has been most helpful

 

[Scipio]

Nosač skidajući (Švenk) bez baza - Picatinny šina

mikron.hr

it seems that Rusan also makes pic rails for the eaw mount, and does it for a 100 euro less than Innomount. What does the SD knowledge bank say, is one more or less equal to the other?

 

[John Gryphon]

I have a NEW set bought from or through an SD member for 200 quid circa 5-6 years ago. I cant remember any details and all I know is that they are a copy of the EAW and are still in a bag in storage. If the member is still current perhaps that can enlighten.
Made in (?) Yugoslavia

 

[John Gryphon]

I am now wondering if it was The UK's #1 Reloading Supplier

 

[Scipio]

I have a NEW set bought from or through an SD member for 200 quid circa 5-6 years ago. I cant remember any details and all I know is that they are a copy of the EAW and are still in a bag in storage. If the member is still current perhaps that can enlighten.
Made in (?) Yugoslavia

Hello John Well it could be Rusan then, as i believe he is based in Croatia, so the ex Yugoslavian republic. If you can find them, i imagine that there will be some sort of makers name visible.

 

[John Gryphon]

Hello John Well it could be Rusan then, as i believe he is based in Croatia, so the ex Yugoslavian republic

Thank you and that may well be the manufacturer but I reckon that I dealt with a Pom middleman.
The website has plenty of offerings and at half the price (circa) I have the EAWs on a rifle and they are very well made and finished the others (rusan) lack some of that finish but are nonetheless very good.
I found a ref telling a mate that i got them for $200 AUD not quid. CHEAP!