feedback on scope mounts vs. scope rings

[bomb_on_bus]

Just wanted to see if its worth going out and getting a One piece scope mount set up like the one listed below.

http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/PhotoGallery.asp?ProductCode=Bobro+202+30mm

I have read up a few articles stating that one piece scope mounts are more ridgid than using scope rings. Using this setup I've heard that I don't have to get a scope mounting kit to make sure the rings are lined up like when mounting standard scope rings.

Also some of the articles state that using a one piece scope mount would make interchanging scopes a lot easier because alignment isnt lost between the scope and the mount.

[Barney Gumble]

The problem with a scope in rings on an AR is that the scope is often too long for you to get both rings on the upper receiver AND give you sufficient eye relief. You don't want to have the front ring on your railed handguard. If the upper receiver and rail are not perfectly aligned, all the time, it will torque the scope.

In the early days of railed uppers they solved this by adding yet another rail on top that would run the across both the upper and handguard. For example, the ARMS Swan Sleeve on the Mk12 Mod 0.



The problem is these rails added weight and cost. Enter the one-piece mount.

The nice thing about the one-piece mount is that you can keep it compact enough to fit the entire mount on the upper receiver, but it can cantilever forward to get the scope farther out to give you proper eye relief. The Larue SPR-E is a good example of that. As you mentioned these mounts make it very easy to switch between multiple optics on the same upper and maintain zero on all of them. I prefer mounts with quick detach levers like the Larue for this reason.

[maxicon]

Yep, one-piece mounts have both better alignment and easier scope swapping, especially if you get quick release mounts.

With decent rings, the traditional alignment problems are much less common on ARs, as the rail is much more precise than the mounting points on non-railed rifles.

The big problem is getting enough forward offset and height, as Barney Gumble said.

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

[CSTactical]

LaRue are really good I like the ADM mounts also but my favorite are GG&G and Nightforce.

Mike @ CSGW

[rabagley]

Behold, the list of one-piece AR scope mounts. I'm currently pining for one of the newer Bobro 30mm mounts.