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Posted By: 280RemFan S&K sculptured mounts - 08/20/11
Anybody have a picture of these on a 700? If I'm really lucky someone will have a pic of a set on a Nosler rifle. Can you help me? I've got a Nosler TGR in 7-08 coming in December and am looking for some type of mount/ring combo that is a bit different.

TIA
Posted By: nsaqam Re: S&K sculptured mounts - 08/20/11
Here are some S&K's on a M70.

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Posted By: 280RemFan Re: S&K sculptured mounts - 08/20/11
Those are nice. Easy to install? How do you like them?
Posted By: jim62 Re: S&K sculptured mounts - 08/20/11
Tell me all you SK sluts.. what do scope tubes look like after they have been clamped in those rings? Any marks?

I have seen some severe "Pecker-tracks" at about 6 o'clock on the tubes with Conetrol rings in the past ..

How do the SKs fair in that regard?
Posted By: FVA Re: S&K sculptured mounts - 08/20/11
Originally Posted by jim62
Tell me all you SK sluts.. what do scope tubes look like after they have been clamped in those rings? Any marks?

I have seen some severe "Pecker-tracks" at about 6 o'clock on the tubes with Conetrol rings in the past ..

How do the SKs fair in that regard?


Depends on how hard you tighten them. They do put quite the head lock on a scope and I've seen marks from them. OTOH they look good, are very strong and light and not a bad choice if you aren't playing musical scopes.
Posted By: nsaqam Re: S&K sculptured mounts - 08/20/11
The S&K's are much easier to install than Conetrol rings.

On my sample of one I didn't see any ringmarks at all when I removed the Conquest from the rings. I did follow the instructions which came with the rings when I installed them though.
My Conetrol rings seemed more prone to creating ringmarks than the S&K's. Probably due to the multi-piece construction of the Conetrol's.
I like the S&K's a bunch and will be using them more in the future.
Posted By: 280RemFan Re: S&K sculptured mounts - 08/20/11
Great info guys. Please keep it and pictures coming.
Posted By: RickF Re: S&K sculptured mounts - 08/20/11
The S&K's are great rings, my one complaint is that even the low rings aren't very low. Even the bases are higher than they need to be.

Posted By: KDK Re: S&K sculptured mounts - 08/20/11
OK, I'm getting set to order some S&Ks, going on a Winchester Extreme Weather in .300 WSM, scope will be a 3-9x40 Conquest, and I will be wanting to run Butler Creek caps. Will lows work, or will I need mediums?
Posted By: Kenneth Re: S&K sculptured mounts - 08/20/11
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I will say the Snk rings are pretty good, with a just a little redesign they could be Really Good.
Shorten up that rear base and also take a little height out, or make an extra low.

In the pic is a FW New Haven short action with low rings, as you can see there is ample room for scope caps.
Posted By: KDK Re: S&K sculptured mounts - 08/20/11
Cool. Thanks!
Posted By: nsaqam Re: S&K sculptured mounts - 08/20/11
Originally Posted by KDK
OK, I'm getting set to order some S&Ks, going on a Winchester Extreme Weather in .300 WSM, scope will be a 3-9x40 Conquest, and I will be wanting to run Butler Creek caps. Will lows work, or will I need mediums?


The pics I posted above are a LA M70 with the 3-9x40 Conquest in low rings.

You going with stainless mounts or are you going with matte blue mounts?
PM me and I may be able to save you some money on either blued or SS.
Posted By: mike762 Re: S&K sculptured mounts - 08/20/11

I went to Seguin, TX to the Conetrol facility, and the owner there was "max PO'd" when I mentioned S&K as a competitor. It seems that the guy who owns S&K worked for Conetrol, then took what he learned and started making almost the same thing. Lots of bad blood there for whatever reason. I have three sets of Conetrols on my M70's and one on my M700, and they are clean in design, and strong. I'm sure that the S&K's would be the same.
Posted By: nsaqam Re: S&K sculptured mounts - 08/20/11
Conetrol advertising has implicitly slammed S&K for a very long time.

I suspected what you're saying happened here and now it looks like my suspicions were correct.
Posted By: jim62 Re: S&K sculptured mounts - 08/20/11
Gentlemen..

Thanks for all the SK info.

I have a Mauser or two that will get a set of them in the future.

BTW, Considering the various Scope objective bell sizes/barrel contours on most rifles these days,the low don't look that high to me.

Other than perhaps offering a "Super low" ring height, I don't see what else they could really do to make them sit any lower..

Posted By: jim62 Re: S&K sculptured mounts - 08/20/11
Originally Posted by mike762

I went to Seguin, TX to the Conetrol facility, and the owner there was "max PO'd" when I mentioned S&K as a competitor. It seems that the guy who owns S&K worked for Conetrol, then took what he learned and started making almost the same thing. Lots of bad blood there for whatever reason. I have three sets of Conetrols on my M70's and one on my M700, and they are clean in design, and strong. I'm sure that the S&K's would be the same.


I ralize you are not taking sides on the Conterol/SK ring issue, but here is my take-


I bought my first set of Conetrols about 30 years ago.

The guy who owns Conetrol has been a grouchy, old cuss since the beginning- competitors or not. wink

Frankly, I do not know WHY he is mad at SK and really I do not believe the "Former employee" story since SK is in PA.

The guy at Control has NO design rights to a wrap around soft one piece scope ring at all- they ARE different than Conetrol rings. As to the cone screw attachment in the bases, if he did not file patent on it, that HIS problem

He also should be pissed at Dave Gentry up in Belgrade. MT because Dave also made the same basic ring base designs as SKs.

I think instead of holding grudges against perceived competitors, the guy a Conetrol needs to concentrate his remaining time on earth to better Marketing/advertising, better customer service and making bases that are not shaped like something a kid made in high school metal shop class.

Conetrol has problems that has nothing to do with what their competitors are doing. wink
Posted By: mike762 Re: S&K sculptured mounts - 08/20/11
Yes, he was a grouchy SOB, but he did give me a decent price on the rings since I actually came by the shop. grin

I do have some S&K mounts/rings, but they aren't the sculptured style, they are for MilSurps. I have found them to be very good for putting glass in place of rear open sights on Mausers and Mosin Nagants in a "scout" configuration without permanently altering the weapon. It gives me a better appreciation for how accurate they really are, since I find the sights on .mil Mausers to be heinous, and the "Arshan" increments on MN's to be unworkable.
Posted By: dave7mm Re: S&K sculptured mounts - 08/20/11
Originally Posted by jim62
Frankly, I do not know WHY he is mad at SK and really I do not believe the "Former employee" story since SK is in PA.



I've been to the S&K shop and visited with the owner.
The story is crap.
The owner of S&K is a younger guy and very knowledgeable about scope mounts for piles of rifles of every kind.
He was helpful and answered every question I had, and invited me back, after I bugged him for over an hour.That included a tour of his shop.
Its a typical tool and die shop.With equipment that you would find in any tool shop.
When the tool and die industry died in this country back in 2001 thanks the free trade re-pub-low-craps.He switched his business over to making scope bases/mounts for off the wall firearms.
Now making gun parts is the business.


dave
Posted By: RickF Re: S&K sculptured mounts - 08/20/11
Let's not forget that S&K's are about half the price on Conetrols, and are MUCH easier to use.
Posted By: jim62 Re: S&K sculptured mounts - 08/20/11
Originally Posted by RickF
Let's not forget that S&K's are about half the price on Conetrols, and are MUCH easier to use.


Exactly.

If the guy at Conetrol had had any brains, he would have realized the jig was up when Gentry's one piece wrap around rings first same out 20 years ago and DROPPED his complex and expensive ring design in favor of it. There was no patent protecting the Gentry ring design but the guy at Conetrol was stubborn and it has cost him a bundle in lost market share.
Posted By: Yukoner Re: S&K sculptured mounts - 08/21/11
Originally Posted by mike762
....seems that the guy who owns S&K worked for Conetrol, then took what he learned and started making almost the same thing.


Mike,

The S&K mounts are not the same at all. The Conetrol are complicated split rings, while the S&K are simple one-piece rings that wrap around the scope tube.

Ted
Posted By: sandcritter Re: S&K sculptured mounts - 08/21/11
Echo the same thoughts on would like an extra-low S&K. Like them a lot, clean looking, no bulk; have on Husky 1640 and CZ550. And +1 on their cs.

The rear bases for my Husky were about .070 proud off rear of receiver, interfering with bolt on closure. Presumably reciever wasn't drilled std, not sure. Anyway, S&K listened to my issue, took them back, milled off the requisite material per my measurement and reblued both front and rear so would still match. Took maybe a week turnaround. No charge. Now that's above and beyond cs.
Posted By: jim62 Re: S&K sculptured mounts - 08/21/11
Originally Posted by sandcritter
Echo the same thoughts on would like an extra-low S&K. Like them a lot, clean looking, no bulk; have on Husky 1640 and CZ550. And +1 on their cs.

The rear bases for my Husky were about .070 proud off rear of receiver, interfering with bolt on closure. Presumably reciever wasn't drilled std, not sure. Anyway, S&K listened to my issue, took them back, milled off the requisite material per my measurement and reblued both front and rear so would still match. Took maybe a week turnaround. No charge. Now that's above and beyond cs.


Yes, that is wonderful customer service by SK.
Posted By: mike762 Re: S&K sculptured mounts - 08/21/11
Originally Posted by Yukoner
Originally Posted by mike762
....seems that the guy who owns S&K worked for Conetrol, then took what he learned and started making almost the same thing.


Mike,

The S&K mounts are not the same at all. The Conetrol are complicated split rings, while the S&K are simple one-piece rings that wrap around the scope tube.

Ted


Just repeating what the owner of Conetrol told me. Don't have a dog in the fight, and own products from both.
Posted By: jim62 Re: S&K sculptured mounts - 08/21/11
Originally Posted by mike762
Originally Posted by Yukoner
Originally Posted by mike762
....seems that the guy who owns S&K worked for Conetrol, then took what he learned and started making almost the same thing.


Mike,

The S&K mounts are not the same at all. The Conetrol are complicated split rings, while the S&K are simple one-piece rings that wrap around the scope tube.

Ted


Just repeating what the owner of Conetrol told me. Don't have a dog in the fight, and own products from both.



None of us are arguing that's what you were told. wink

Just the truth of what he told you.
Posted By: balltownbob Re: S&K sculptured mounts - 08/21/11
I am acquainted with Sid Haight, the founder of S&K, now retired, who sold the business to the current owner. He advertised, for many years, that his ring-to-base design was through an arrangement with Conetrol. He never worked for Conetrol. Sid learned the tool/die trade locally and improved upon Conetrol's design, first specializing in cleverly designed mounting arrangements for military and obsolete rifles.

George Miller, Conetrol's owner who is around 90 years old these days, has always been most helpful with me and voluntarily discounts whatever I buy without me asking for same.

I've never had ring-marking issues with any of the many Conterol mounting systems I own. Ditto for S&Ks. I do prefer the simplicity and weight of the S&K design over Conetrol's.

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