Leupold Rings

[Wannagohunting]

I have Leupold scope rings on my 30-06. I think they are called STD rings,
not sure. The front ring turns and locks in the base, the rear ring has screws on both sides to hold it in the base. I have seen many others with this setup
and they remove the scope by removing rear screw and swinging the scope out of the base. I was told not to remove the scope this way.
Please advise.

 

[Meplat]

I have Leupold scope rings on my 30-06. I think they are called STD rings,
not sure. The front ring turns and locks in the base, the rear ring has screws on both sides to hold it in the base. I have seen many others with this setup
and they remove the scope by removing rear screw and swinging the scope out of the base. I was told not to remove the scope this way.
Please advise.

I've always been told, and follow the advice, of not using my scopes to turn the scope rings into or out of a base like you describe. I've got Weaver mounts with the same setup on a couple of rifles, and when scope switching time comes round, I always remove the scope from the rings, reassemble the ring, then use a dowel rod of appropriate diameter to remove the ring from the base. Reason being that when you don't use this method, what you are doing is in effect, using your scope as a pry bar. There are cheaper pry bars out there, without delicate internal parts that can be rendered useless if bent or torqued out of line.

Also, when re-installing the scope, the dowel rod can be used as a guide to line the front and rear rings up if it closely approximates the diameter of your scope. Misaligned rings can - once again - damage delicate internals of a scope when tightened down.

 

[dakotasin]

I have seen many others ... remove the scope by removing rear screw and swinging the scope out of the base. I was told not to remove the scope this way.
Please advise.

don't do that.
if you want the scope off, unscrew the ring halves, remove the top halves of the rings, remove the scope. if you want the rings off, that is the time to unscrew the rear ring, slide it off the base, and then use something like a tool - not the scope to remove the front ring (adjustable wrenches are convenient and work well and everybody has 'em).

 

[adaman04]

Yeah, definitely don't do that. Think of it this way. You are twisting a tube with round pieces of glass in it that only fit one such way. Don't do it!