Rings and Bases

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joed

joed

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Spent the week looking for Rings and bases for a new
Featherweight. What a pain! I have always tried to use
Leupold 2 piece bases with the adjustments for windage on
the sides.

No one has them. I finally called Leupold to purchase
them. The company told me they only sell to retailers
and not individuals. Gave me the number of optics planet
and told me to go there as that is one of their dealers.

A quick call to Optics Planet revealed the bases were out
of stock but I was assured they would be in stock by
Xmas. Xmas? Give me a break?

Why is it so difficult to buy something you need? I
came to the conclusion this morning this rifle is not
going to have Leupold bases and rings or a Leupold scope.
After 36 years my guns have seen their last Leupold
anything.

So, with that in mind whos bases and rings do you use?
And any recommendations for a new scope besides Leupold?
 
Boxhead said:
So you are no longer going to use Leupold because the one place you looked did not have the mounts in stock? Silly stuff. Give Midway, Graf's or Natchez a peek perhaps.
Click to expand...
No, you missed the part where I have looked all week. Midway, Grafs and Natchez, Gander Mtn, Cabelas were all tried this week as well as many others that I couldn't even name.

Every call takes about 10 minutes while they check if the bases are in stock. It shouldn't be this difficult to buy rings and bases.
 
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The world is becoming an increasingly difficult to live. The ever-growing abundance of bs is becoming boot worthy. I would wager the huge Chinese suppliers and distributors haven't stolen that patent yet, and the store managers aren't experienced enough to know the real technical difference in parts, just the SKU numbers and their sales frequency. This has happened to me, when a store dunce told me that the widget I wanted was considered a "slow mover" and never seen again. Never offered to order it either because the paperwork was too much trouble and he didn't want to waste time checking out the delivery date.

Personally, I am letting go of the ease with which we used to be able to get and do things, and expect to do more work for the same sustenance/ reward. We just need to hang in there and rise above.

Start carrying a micrometer and your rings will find you.
 
Wow it takes that little for you to change a 36 year (seemingly) positive experience with one of the biggest scope manufatures in the US?!? I'm finding many things out of stock on a regular basis which I would expect given the current "gun boom". Also to make any responsible scope recommendations it would help to know your budget, intended purpose, range, magnification preferences etc.
 
Wow, bases and rings found! I posted on another forum as well. Someone posted a link to SWFA which I went to. Rings and bases were in stock and have been ordered.

Never heard of SWFA before but they have been bookmarked in my supplier folder.

Lex Luthier is right. Leupold gave me the part numbers but 60% of the places I called couldn't look anything up using part numbers, they wanted an sku #. A lot of the online places would make you go through the trouble of ordering before the message 'Out of Stock' showed up.

I'd bet I spent 3 hours of phone time this week looking for these parts. Doesn't sound like a lot of time but I'm in that percentage of people that have jobs. That 3 hours was 3 days of my lunch hour, and at night I shopped the internet.
 
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Maybe I'm missing something here? The gist of this thread is OP is mad enough to totally quit Leopold after 36 years because he is mad that he spent so much time on the PHONE looking for rings and bases? They end up being out of stock most places during a gun buying frenzy and we are suprised?

It really boggles me how OP can get around on the Internet well enough to be on multiple forums but can't navigate websites enough to find if they have items in stock. Then come on and tell everyone he is quitting Leopold until someone else finds what he needs for him.

This just doesn't add up.
 
I wouldn't use those mounts as a gift. Those are designed only to be used on rifles where the mounting holes are drilled incorrectly and you need to adjust the mounts to correct for improperly drilled holes. This used to be a comon problem years ago, but rarely seen today.

Buy some Talley Lightweights, They are 1/4 lb lighter than the Leupolds, stronger, and much, much, much easier to mount correctly. Cheaper and better looking too.

guns1005.jpg
 
jmr40 said:
I wouldn't use those mounts as a gift.
Click to expand...

:D

I agree that Talley makes some of the best rings and bases today. I particularly like their stainless steel ring/base sets. They're not at all heavy and the integral recoil lug on the base is genius.

kimber_talkeetna_02.jpg
 
I find the bases and rings like the OP mentions Leupold (Redfield style) too heavy to suit me on a lightweight rifle.

I've gone back to the time proven standard for light rings & bases that still work. That would be the old style Weaver bases and Weaver detachable rings. I also haven't found any that mount the scope lower.

Remington Seven .308
400977564.gif


Not on a lightweight rifle but the DNZ mounts are very solid and light.
400967693.gif


Lots of good scope mounting options available, without a doubt.
 
Jmr40, those are some nice mounts. Couldn't tell you why I like those mounts, but I've used them on quite a few guns.

Why am I disgruntled with Leupold? When I called them to purchase the mounts they treated me quite well. The rep gave me the part #'s for the mounts and rings and then told me they could not sell them to me. He went on to give me the # for Optics Planet which is one of their biggest dealers. Optics Planet told me the bases are out of stock and expected to come in around Xmas.

What bothers me about the situation is, if Leupold is so great why don't their dealers have the bases and rings in stock. If not in stock why can't they drop ship them from Leupold instead of a 3 week wait? Leupold did have everything in stock by the way. And Optics Planet couldn't guarantee the bases would be in by Xmas, that was an estimated date.

I'll also throw out one other thing. I own a few Leupold scopes, 6, maybe it's time to try something else. Five years ago I bought a Weaver 36x Target scope (my only non Leupold scope) and I can't say anything bad about it.

One other thing is I like a lot of the bases and rings all of you have in the photos.
 
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I read through the thread thinking it's good you couldn't find those mount so you'd try something better. The rear ring to base connection is pretty weak. You don't often need windage adjustable mounts anymore, and if you did, you'd be better off using shims inside the rings. If a medium mount is OK, I'd use Burris Signature Dual Dovetail. If you need low go Conetrol.

Leupold makes as good a scope as anyone. Its just that most models have too narrow a field of view versus competitors. They finally got it right with the VX-6 series.
 
urbaneruralite, you hit the reason I started this topic. I was hoping someone would come along and either say "the stuff you want is here" or "don't use that, use this instead".

Many of you gave me some nice choices. I'm not married to Leupold bases and rings, I have a few different ones on my rifles. There's Redfield, Weaver and Leupold bases and rings on my rifles but mostly Leupold scopes.

I may still pick up a set of the Talley.
 
Big surprise that Optics Planet doesn't have it in stock...OP is like Impact Guns...they have everything listed and once you order it..you find out it's not in stock and must wait.

Talley does make some nice rings. I've used them on Tikka's in the past and have been happy with them.

As far as bases...I would always recommend EGW bases...they are a local company for me and I really like their bases.
 
After two failures with two piece systems I changed to a one piece Reaper system on my rifles and am NEVER going back. They don't really cost any more and one solid piece is so much more rigid.
 
I really like Z-rings. I also use the 2 piece Leupold's, but Z-rings have been very good to me and hold up to bumps and bangs in my experience.
True story:
Many years ago I was hunting bear on the Mogion Rim in Norther Arizona, a series of stupid mistakes got me into a life threatening situaion that required me to let my rifle drop 30' or so. I tried my best to let it land on the butt, which it did. Long story short, when I took it back out to check zero at 200 yds. it was still dead on using Z-rings and a Leupold 3x9 VX-II. Oh ya, the objective lens hood even got bent a little bit, so it did take an impact to the scope as it tumbled after the initial impact.

GS
 
Guys, I wouldn't turn any of the rifles in the photos, beautiful.
 
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