Got my truck gun out yesterday for my grandson to bang away at some rocks and just happened to notice both rings are cracked clear through the clamping screws. I’ve never seen or heard about these coming apart. Scope is a leupold 6x36 so not exactly a heavyweight. Browning stainless stalker in 22-250 so not much of a kicker either.

Thanks, Fred

Did you use a torque driver or tighten them by feel?

Probably the same question Talley will ask.

That happens with them or so Big Stick says.

I used a wheeler fat baby torque wrench but can’t remember the inch pounds off hand. That scope’s been on there at least 10 years. I haven’t shot it in a while.

Fred

You must be talking about the lightweights. In my experience and that of a couple friends, even properly torqued they seem prone to failure as you've experienced. Talley will replace them for you. They seem to be the leupold of rings, working fine until suddenly they don't, with free replacement once you get home. All of which isn't really any help at all if you're out on a hunt at the time. Their QD rings are outstanding however.

Yes, Talley's are guaranteed. I use a Wheeler FAT wrench on my rings and mounts and torque to specs, and I had a pair of lightweights break a little over a year ago. I wrote Talley, and they asked for a picture. I sent them one and a week later I had two new top halves of the rings in the mail.

I just put a set of the screw-detachable Talleys on a Mauser. Very nice stuff, and priced to match.

No trouble with the lightweights yet. I torque them to no more than 20 inch pounds, and that's held on rifles up to .30/06 with scopes up to about a pound, not for many rounds though.

They will replace them. They stand behind their products

I suggest you switch to DNZ Game Reaper mount. I've had excellent service from DNZ mounts!

I've heard and seen too many instances just like you had with Talley rings.

I've had it happen twice. After exploring many options, I've gone straight utilitarian with picatinny on everything.

I've been using the lightweight Talleys on two NULAS, a .308 (ten years and many rounds) and a 7x61 Sharpe & Hart (eight years and well over two thousand rounds) without problems. Tighten to specs. The Talley staff is great to deal with.

I really wish a company would focus on making LOW pic bases. I could care less if the spacing where the screws are located isn't straight mil-spec if they have to make one wider to accommodate the attachment screws.

Burris XT two piece is the closest thing but I'd like to see the same as a one piece....even if it had only a partial width over the action.

+1.

I've been saying this for over a decade.

add me to that list as well

I use the Talley bases and rings. Don’t like the lightweights.

Color me ignorant. What are LOW pic bases?

Not so HIGH pic bases.....

If there were a demand for low picatinny rings and bases they would make them.

There's a lot to be said for Weaver/PIC stuff, including easy switching of optics. On the ones I'm using, I put Burris Zee rings, usually the Signature ones with inserts, which hold well and don't mark the scope. Since I hunt close to home it's not really a necessity, but they also permit the carrying of a lightweight backup sight like a FastFire in case of whoopsies. Generally I don't use rails on bolt guns because they block access to the action somewhat, but they are no doubt somewhat stronger.

Still, the Talleys LWs are light and low, so I'll continue to use them where they work for me.

Low Picatinny Rails.


See third section...

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...catinny-rail-heights-listed#Post14214699

I'll kill to be that





















































steering wheel.

It's a shame Burris makes their mounts and rings in CHINA.

I agree, and hope some changes are coming in that regard. However, we all have choices to make about such stuff, not just scope rings, but stuff like appliances and electronics, which are almost all made there now. Gonna take some time to wean off of cheap goods made in countries where the governments, if not necessarily the people, are our enemies. Burris is far from the only optics company that has some of their stuff made there. Let THEM know how you feel about it. Pretty sure most here already do. Just not buying stuff doesn't let a company know why.

Call and complain enough and say you are never using or recommending their lightweight crap again, and maybe they will give you a deal on some good bases and rings.

People want to shave every hair of an ounce, and then complain when it sacrifices strength. Can't have everything.

Bingo.

They sell the cheapest azz screws for their rings as well. I won't use them anymore.

Murphy will make a rail as low as possible. The catch is math. The lugs have to be a certain height and the rail has to be thick enough to accommodate a proper screw head. Yes as a general rule most rails could be shaved down, but not by much. Observe how deep the screw head is recessed below the rail, and thats how much height can be easily shaved. Then the question becomes where to take the material from, the screw head or drilling the screw head recess in the rail deeper, both of which reduces strength, which is why we want it in the first place. Maybe a rail with action specific lug pattern is an option, with a lug centered over each screw, and the screw recessed in the lug with no overlap into the rail.

The best solution is an action with an integral rail.

Yes, apparently most hunters don't have enough sense to demand a robust mount.

Guaranteed to be off center, pos! and not answer enquiries to why their QD rings are not machined to be on the center line of the rifle. Will never deal with these arses again!!!!!

Well, I have several of the steel bases and rings, most QD, and they have all been superb. It’s a great company who prides itself on their products and service. The retired founder, Dave Talley, has been a personal friend for a long time, as has the current president and CEO, Gary Turner, his step son. There are no finer people.

No outfit is perfect, and I’m quite sure a polite call will get any issues fixed.

Yes, and integral rail as part of the action would be great. Defiance does it with a few of their actions in different ways but I haven't handled one....just from pictures it looks as high as an added rail....but I don't know that for sure. Strength would certainly be a plus. At a low height, with a multi-slotted section over the front and rear, this would be the perfect answer.

Concerning rail height, the Burris XT two piece shows it can be done....but they used steel, not aluminum. They have holes in non-mil spaced lugs and in these have plenty of room to use bigger screw heads. Their screw heads seem small to me, but I've not had one give yet and I'm running them on a light weight .308 (19 oz scope/APA rings), and a .375 Ruger (22 oz scope/Seekins rings).

Integral rings like JM pointed out are crazy strong , near alpha hunters are crazy strong but expensive. Burris makes a low 2 piece pic mount and Farrell and APA make low rings.

I believe that Talley switched the metallurgy in their LWs to a cheaper alloy several years ago (10 maybe)? The OP may have one of the oldest pairs of the "new" rings, which seem prone to breaking in the exact manner that he describes.
Like usual, a specialty company that produces a solid product eventually tries to save $ by using cheaper materials, and their end product quality goes down the drain. Leupold did the same. I wouldn't doubt that at some point, SWFA and burris does the same.

I've still got a few pairs of older lightweights that are going strong but their newer stuff just isn't worth buying. I don't care how good a warranty is if a guy has to use it often.

With over two dozen, my experience is quite different.

The chicken-[bleep] screws are the weakest linking the base to the receiver but you can only go so big. I've had nothing but excellent luck with Talley for twenty plus years and dozens of ring/base combos.

I still don't understand why Talley doesn't offer a set of rings called "Wackers".

They figure most folks already have a pair of those.

A pair?

I imagine most guys only have one.......

Or more......getting a 2nd one attached to your arm is the new "in" thing......

Forgot about that....leave it to the Europeans. Ugh...every time you think 2020 has reached peak ridiculousness, you read something new.

I think their screws are too brittle as the same thing happened to me. The company response was excellent and I can't recommend them enough based on their customer service. I haven't had any trouble since and it's been 10 years.

I had some do the same thing and they replaced them no questions asked.

Have had Talley lightweights on a few rifles notably a 300 Weatherby with Zeiss HD5 not a lightweight scope dragging through nasty elk country with no problems, hunting partners the same. Do use a torque wrench.

I have used a number of their QD's without issue. Most recent...

Guaranteed as long as they are not altered, I would think "lapping" is altering. I use Talley QD rings on my rifles in 1 inch and 30 mm sizes and have never had a problem. I am not surprised that occasionally the Talley Light Weights fail.

I have about ten sets of Talley LW. I did not use a torque wrench on any of the but did install them TIGHT. I have never had an issue from 375 HH to 223 and everything in between. I will continue to use them because they work great and are very lightweight. YMMV.

One pair on a Vanguard 300Bee, two scopes. No problem, would buy again.

Remove their hard anodizing and they lose some strength.

Hmmm... I modified a Talley extra low last week, knowing that I was ruining any warranty but to make it fit me and my rifle/scope combo. Now I learn in this thread that I may have weakened a weak point even further. Lotta good info here on the fire, but this tidbit I found a bit late.

I mounted a Leupold 2.5-8x36 on a Mauser M18. I like a scope to be as low as possible, or would have gone for a picatinny rail. The lowest of those are ridiculously high. Plenty of room between front bell and barrel with Talley extra lows, but the variable power ring needed about 1/32 more room to clear the “deck” on the rear Talley base. I considered, phoned and talked with a Talley man, then took a dremel and cut down the top of the rear deck almost 1/8”. It is not quite down to the top of the recessed screw head.

I flat out LOVE the way the scope comes to my eye with crosshairs on target the moment the stock touches cheek and shoulder. Low mounts make this rifle and scope combo fit my eye and bod.

It only has ten rounds through it so far, in .30-06. Will see how it holds up. Bases and rings are epoxy bedded so the thinner base is supported evenly across its contact with receiver.

There is nothing wrong with high cheek risers on stocks nor with craning your neck up to see through a scope, but I prefer low. It gives me a tight cheek weld with line of sight as close to line of bore as possible. Ditto to wishing that someone would make a low pic system.

Was a huge fan of the LW Talleys and as their predecessor was on my 30-06 ULA thought they were bullet proof. However got a reality check and on my MRC1999 the front ring cracked right on the Y branch part. Rifle was in 300WSM and I use a torque wrench. Talley were true to their word and sent me replacements. But never again! Rifle had very little use and no abuse. I now stick to their steel rings only stuff the extra weight.

Ive been using Talley QD and screw lock steel rings for many years on dozens of different rifles many of em hard kickers. They are built like a tank. There is no better system of bases n rings that I have found for my uses. I’ve got a couple sets of lightweights too n never had any issues with em. Great customer friendly company too.

Well as a ph I guess I’m late to game. After 30 yrs hunting dangerous game I decided to try Talley lightweights on my 375. Yeah I know they ain’t been around that long. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Yet there’s a lot of new stuff that’s damn good.Talked to the owner and he assured me they would hold up to hard use. After a couple of years I finally made the switch and no problem. Still I had the questions in the back of my mind. I talked to the owner several times afterward at some of the shows expressing my surprise the lightweights held up. He told me he going to Africa that year using lightweights on his 375 but just in case of a problem he was taking a set of detachable signs they failed. Hey I like the lightweights but I started trying to back up when he told me that. Trying real hard not to be obvious I was running. Damn shame, i really like the rings. I just don’t have confidence after that exchange. Just the facts. Happy Hunting

For a rifle package there are lots of other places less crucial that an ounce of weight can be saved.