Iron Sights & Weaver Tip Mounts & Rings

[Lycidas Janwor]

My understanding is that new long guns, generally, come without iron sights. This makes sense as scope technology is so much better now than it was, say, 20 years ago. That said, I still appreciate iron sights on a long gun. Why? Because I don't care what anyone says, scopes can fail. Iron sights are a sound back up to a scope. Sure, you have to remove the scope, and that takes time. Unless...

You have Weaver "tip" mounts and rings. These are old school mounts and rings that are no longer being produced. My understanding is that, back in the day, scopes were more apt to fail due to climate or weather conditions. So, a scope back in the 1950s or 1960s may fog up, hence leaving the scope useless when hunting. With the Weaver "tip" mounts and rings, you simply tipped the scope over, allowing the shooter to use the iron sights to acquire the target. My granddads old Remington Game Master 30.06 has this Weaver set up with iron sights, and I love it.

I have just recently purchased this used Winchester Model 70 Sporter chambered in 300WSM. One of the main reasons I bought this particular rifle, is the previous owner put iron sights on it, along with Weaver mounts and 1" rings that can tip the scope over, should one decide to use the iron sights. Is this necessary, on a 300WSM rifle? Nope, probably not. It's probable completely unnecessary, but I love the idea of having the ability to use the iron sights, for whatever reason.



Now the bad news: Weaver is discontinuing the tipping mounts and 1" rings (I don't think they came in any other size except 1"). This is a bummer for me. I've also recently bought a used Mossberg 500 in 12g and it too has iron sights. Anyhow, I got both guns, used, and I think I got a great price on both guns (basically half price of new models). Just wanted to let everyone know that if you want these Weaver tipping mounts and rings, do it now, as they won't be available in the future.

Good Hunting to you!

 

[Skylerbone]

While I appreciate the concept as well as your letting people know if they're fans, I'm not a big fan of Weaver rings in general. In fact I'd say many "scope failures" can be attributed to poor quality rings.

The last true failure I experienced with a scope was a (cheap) early '90s Bushnell that let up on me after 21 years of both range and hunt time. I was in the midst of testing different ammo at the time with large adjustments to elevation on a .22lr

 

[jmr40]

I've never had any real issue with standard Weaver, or Weaver style rings. The ones with screws on one side can make it difficult to get the scope mounted vertically. It wants to roll as the strap is screwed down, but once mounted they seem pretty solid. I've had good luck with the cheap 4X4 Weaver rings sold at Walmart and other places. I had some of the tip up rings years ago that came on a used rifle I bought. I found they did not reliably return to zero. I thought they discontinued them years ago, they should have been. The traditional rings come off in under 1 minute with a screwdriver or even the back side of a knife blade. I used keep a multi-tool for that purpose. Those are a much, much better option on a budget. If you want them off quicker there are several options for Quick Release rings that work much better than the tip up rings.

But after nearly 50 years of never needing them it is something I no longer worry about. I've NEVER had a scope fail to work for me, ever. I've had iron sights on rifles fail several times over the years. Most of my rifles don't have them and other than my lever actions the ones that did have been removed. Even on the AR's.