Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Which forever scope mount ?

Hacksaw. That Mauser is an abomination. LOL

So use lower rings and cut off the front of the rail, or buy one that's short enough to start with. This isn't that hard; a rail mount can end up about the same height as a dual dovetail and low rings.

You came here asking for suggestions, and have been led to water. If you didn't want to hear suggestions, why not just stick with the DD setup you've got?

I use Leupold dual dovetails, Warne’s, DNZ’s on hunting rifles. My killing rifles get Seekins or Nightforce.

If you go with a Nightforce (as you stated in the op), what Nightforce are you looking at getting? Most of my Nightforce scopes have 56mm objective lenses and taller rings will be needed. The beauty in the rail system is it is rock solid and gives you more places to put those robust rings. When going Nightforce, you might as well buy some Nightforce rings, while you are at it,.

Just a 42mm model....

Care to explain the difference?

I dont like rails because I, (looking back), not knowing more, put a long rail on a rifle. Had to use taller rings for the front to not hit. Wrong cheek weld for my Mcmillan BDL pattern. Didn't know other rails were available, so I didn't like it, so I didn't search more.
Like what I use now.

If I’m putting a rail on a rifle it’s gonna have 20 moa built in which isn’t helping with height.

I do love their modularity as well as adjustability

There's nothing wrong with dual dovetails, they're extremely strong. Most of the problems you're going to have out of mounting systems are with the screws anyway, manufacturers should have long ago gone to 8-40 screws as standard. Misaligned screw holes and receivers can cause trouble too, the QC of some major American manufacturers through the years has been horrid and getting the rings to line up was hard. That's not a fault of the base/rings. 99% of the time if you hear of someone having trouble with the dual dovetails themselves it's because they twisted the ring in and out of the base. Once you install the ring in the base it's done, don't ever twist them out, consider it to be one piece after that. Removing them loosens the dovetail.

I like rails on some of my rifles because they're easy, give you a 20 MOA option, and make swapping scopes quick and easy. My big game rifles don't wear them though, they make the scope sit too high and obstruct the loading port more than I like. I do have some burris 2 piece picatinny bases on one rifle. They're 2 piece bases with picatinny slots that allow you to use the same rings that you'd use on a rail. I use them and super low TPS rings to get a scope with a 42mm objective low enough on my M70 7mm rem mag.

Great info. Thanks!

I like the Burris XTP bases. Low height, open port, strong, flexible ring spacing....the low height being the biggest draw for me over other pic bases.

And Leupold and Nightforce make two piece Pic style bases, with 20 MOA available from Nightforce.

So, other than DDs, is there anything of interest?

I guess I am just ignorant on this. When we talk "forever" on a mount, that implies that some systems won't last forever. Is anything failing on ring and base set-ups? Rails obviously afford better fine tuning of position, but that doesn't speak to durability/foreverness. How would one rail be any more forever than another? There are no moving are wear components. If the threads and screws are robust enough to accept the torque of tightening, what else is there? I chuckle when I see rings with six screws. The two screws on my 45-70 rings held just fine through many full house loads. I mention that because I don't think I have ever subjected a rifle/scope set up to more hard use than that one, and it was a cheap fixed power tasco 2.5X and Leupold rings and bases. I set it and it never flinched from there.

Bet you have flinched a time or two...touching off those full house 45-70s

I loved that gun and that cheap shotgun scope. At 100 yards with my best load (IIRC 57g 3031 350g Hornady RN) would typically put two shots touching and one barely not touching. So 1/2 to 3/4 inch groups were the norm. People marveled at that rig. Heck, I did too. That load was manageable. I developed a few 405 grain bullet loads that pushed beyond my comfort threshold. They weren't as accurate as the 350's, so the choice to avoid those loads was easier.

A two plus pound scope on that 45-70 might have transformed your impression of six screw rings. A two plus pound scope on a modest weight rifle chambered in a big magnum with a fast recoil impulse definitely would.

I suppose I get that. You just described very few of the set-ups people use in day to day shooting and none of the set-ups in which I have seen people extolling the virtues of six screw rings. Seems like they are most popular with the AR and heavy tactical rifle crowd.

A 20 moa rail doesn't make that much difference in height, compared to a flat rail. But they are definitely a good idea.

I like a low mounted scope too - and use rail mounts when I can. Some of you guys have convinced yourselves that rail = high, which just ain't so.

20 moa makes a huge difference in reality.

Vortex low on a 20 moa rail (Bighorn Origin- same diameter as 700 front)= .610” bottom of scope to bottom of base.

Vortex low on flat pic Rem 700 front = .472”

DD med on Rem 700 front = .392”


My PREFERENCE remains DD’s on a carry gun.

🏁🏁🏁🏁