AR Mount & Scope Ring Marks

[Phil3]

I can't stand ring marks on scopes from the rings, so had been considering using a one piece mount, which hopefully would be more consistent in bore alignment than a two piece arrangement. Has anyone had experience one way or the other. I'd like the Armalite 30mm mount (EX0022), but no where to be found in stock. Do one piece mounts still need lapping?

I like the idea of the Burris Signature rings, the ones with the plastic inserts. No lapping, no marks. But, what do others think of how these look on an AR? They are not so tactical looking to me, but then again, my AR is target and has a smooth round front handguard and no extra rails assemblies, or other stuff. Never seen an AR with Signature rings, so just asking. Also, these are only Weaver style..will they work on the Picatinny rail on the AR receiver?

- Phil

[maxicon]

Most Weaver gear works on Picatinny slots. Many pieces of AR gear (like Eotechs) have Weaver mounts so that they'll work on either.

I've never noticed problems with ring marks from using a half-dozen different one-piece mounts, including the Armalite, but I'll admit I don't pay that much attention, and I buy most of my scopes used. Minor cosmetic marks don't bother me.

I don't think the Burris Signature rings come high enough for an AR. You need a centerline around 1.4" or so. Burris generally specs their ring height to the bottom of the ring, so you have to add 0.5" (1" rings) or 0.59" (30mm rings) to get the centerline height.

You'd need to put the Signature rings on a riser, most likely. If you need more forward offset than just rings on the rail would give you, mounting them on an extended rail or riser would help that too. Most risers are 0.5", so you'd need 0.9-1.0" centerline rings to get the right height for mounting on an AR.

If you're using a 1" scope, another option would be to get 30mm rings or mount and use plastic ring reducer inserts, like these $15 Delrin ring reducers from GG&G. They're flanged on one end only, and will work with most 30mm mounts.

http://www.gggaz.com/index.php?id=233&parents=106

Here's the Big List of AR15 one-piece mounts, including sections on rings and extended rails:

http://www.maxicon.com/guns/optics/one_piece/ar15_onepiece_mounts.htm

[Phil3]

Most Weaver gear works on Picatinny slots. Many pieces of AR gear (like Eotechs) have Weaver mounts so that they'll work on either.

I've never noticed problems with ring marks from using a half-dozen different one-piece mounts, including the Armalite, but I'll admit I don't pay that much attention, and I buy most of my scopes used. Minor cosmetic marks don't bother me.

I don't think the Burris Signature rings come high enough for an AR. You need a centerline around 1.4" or so. Burris generally specs their ring height to the bottom of the ring, so you have to add 0.5" (1" rings) or 0.59" (30mm rings) to get the centerline height.

You'd need to put the Signature rings on a riser, most likely. If you need more forward offset than just rings on the rail would give you, mounting them on an extended rail or riser would help that too. Most risers are 0.5", so you'd need 0.9-1.0" centerline rings to get the right height for mounting on an AR.

If you're using a 1" scope, another option would be to get 30mm rings or mount and use plastic ring reducer inserts, like these $15 Delrin ring reducers from GG&G. They're flanged on one end only, and will work with most 30mm mounts.

http://www.gggaz.com/index.php?id=233&parents=106

Here's the Big List of AR15 one-piece mounts, including sections on rings and extended rails:

http://www.maxicon.com/guns/optics/o...ece_mounts.htm

I know that Burris measures from the bottom of the ring to the bottom of the tube, but what I did not know is that the bottom of the ring does not touch the top of the rail. This means that the "effective" height is higher than you would think. For instance, I calculated I needed the Burris Signature High rings in .300" height (advertised by Midway), mounted on a 1/2" rail. With a 30mm scope tube, this should give me a scope centerline to rail top height of 1.39". It was in fact, 1.49", which believe it or not, is enough to notice and affect cheek weld. I measure the distance from the top rail to the bottom of the tube, and it right around .1", which does appear to be gap measurement between the bottom of the ring and top of the rail.

I ordered two GG&G rails, the GS-1 (long), and shorter scout rail. With the scope positioned properly for eye relief, the GS-1 is too long and will hit the scope bell, especially if I use the lower medium Signature rings (to get the height down by .120"). The shorter scout rail will work, but its appearance is not as nice as the GS-1 (integrated with rear of receiver, using no BUIS). Other rails have similar problems as the GS-1, such as the Rock River Arms (too long).

Could not find anything I really liked or that would work on the Maxicon list.

- Phil