Do you put anything between your rings and scope tube?

[Patriot007]

back in the 6o's if i remember, linseed oil was applied to rings, when it dried it left a tacky residue.
today, i use Nightforce , Seekins or Talley rings. i do clean them with ballistol before mounting

This is what I was Taught to use a many of years ago, to use when mounting a scope. "Linseed oil"
Today, not so much. But every now an then a buddy will show up with an old rifle he just bought at the pawn shop or gun show with an old scope and rings and doesn't want to put any more money in it. After proper cleaning and inspection and firing, and if the scope has to be remounted, and the correct eye relief found for the shooter.
I will use Linseed oil on the rings to help keep thing in place. Today, with the new, quality scope rings you shouldn't need to use anything, provided you are lapping or bedding your scope." just my 2 cents "

 

[whirlwindjml]

about putting thin strips of paper on the top and bottom ring before mounting scopes.

In the 90s tikka rings came with strips of paper. They were black on one side. I actually had a lot of trouble with those rings. They bent my 30mm burris tube (lite .338). That was $700 bucks in 2000 a lot of money for an Idaho boy.

 

[brian11]

As most everyone else has said, absolutely not. In fact, I just finished cleaning off some crap from rings that came on a used rifle: some sort of long-since-hardened sticky-backed paper. I even have a NOS set of Millett 30mm rings that come with little pieces of sticky tape to put on the inside of the rings. No way would I ever use that junk. Is it supposedly to improve grip? Like as a gasket to correct misalignment? To protect the scope tube? All foolish ideas, IMHO. Properly installed, aligned, and lapped rings will not make a mark at all on a scope, and will grip it perfectly. Any time a scope has ring marks, it means it was installed by someone who didn't do the rings properly.

 

[ntsqd]

I mounted scopes in the 80's and I've never done that (paper inserts) nor had I heard of anyone doing it. The cheaper rings did come with a woven cloth-like insert stuck in them, but the shop that I worked in used Burris almost exclusively. Once in a great while a customer would insist on Weavers and I never could get the owners to charge for the extra time those cost me. And once in a very great while we'd have a set of Buehler mounts pass thru. Those were a trick to get right.

 

[sheltongrn]

Never have used anything myself, but wondered if anyone had.

I have used very thin double-sided scotch tape on a pistol in 454 casull, worked fine.

 

[freddiej]

I Just read a tip a few days ago that recommended a small dab of rubber cement on the rings when mounting a scope. Do you use anything between the rings and tube when final mounting a scope? If so, what and how do you do it?

Jon,
For heavy kicking magnums I do put a small bit of rubber cement. I was having problems with scopes coming back to me that I had taken the time to bed the stock to the action, lap the rings just enough to make them fit with 80% or more contact, and then within the first few shots of say a 340 Weatherby, or a 416 weatherby, 300 win mag mountain rifle, or a 7MM rem mag mountain rifle would kick the scope, no matter how light, loose and make it twist, shift or otherwise just make the client very unhappy. then I talked to an older gunsmith up in South Lake Tahoe that I know.. his advice was to clean the scope tube and rings with alcohol, put a thin coat of rubber cement on the bottom of the ring and the top strap let dry for a few seconds and re-install the scope as normal then let it dry over night.. to this date, I have never had another failure like that. even on a 5 pound 458 Lott and a 7 pound 460 Weatherby. as with everything.. opinions vary. everyone had an opinion, everyone has different experiences. this is just mine.. take it or leave it.

 

[gator378]

Here is the thing!!
1. if your scope is slipping in a certain set of rings no matter what ...find a different set of rings preferably one from the say the top 5 in the industry .
2. if your scope is slipping in say 6 screw Night force rings, spuhr, seekins or any of the premier ring manufacturers on lets say a 300 norma mag with a atacr on it ... you need to get a different torque wrench.
3. if you have to bed or glue your 2k plus optic to your rings to get a "better grip" on the scope.. you need to buy a different torque wrench. many a many world records have been set without having to do this so why start now

I've mounted 100's of scopes only had one slip.. changed rings to nightforce 6 screw problem solved!!

When in doubt Badger Ordnance. Solved ring problems with the FAL. For some reason never had a problem with Burris Rings on the 300 Weatherby. After 20 years of heavy loads I had a scope give up, but the rings never slip.

 

[Gone Ballistic]

Don't steal the rings off your kids toys and expect to be able to glue your scopes to plastic or nylon! Use whatever book you read that out of for toilet paper long enough until you get rid of such rubbish!

 

[gator378]

Jon,
For heavy kicking magnums I do put a small bit of rubber cement. I was having problems with scopes coming back to me that I had taken the time to bed the stock to the action, lap the rings just enough to make them fit with 80% or more contact, and then within the first few shots of say a 340 Weatherby, or a 416 weatherby, 300 win mag mountain rifle, or a 7MM rem mag mountain rifle would kick the scope, no matter how light, loose and make it twist, shift or otherwise just make the client very unhappy. then I talked to an older gunsmith up in South Lake Tahoe that I know.. his advice was to clean the scope tube and rings with alcohol, put a thin coat of rubber cement on the bottom of the ring and the top strap let dry for a few seconds and re-install the scope as normal then let it dry over night.. to this date, I have never had another failure like that. even on a 5 pound 458 Lott and a 7 pound 460 Weatherby. as with everything.. opinions vary. everyone had an opinion, everyone has different experiences. this is just mine.. take it or leave it.

A 7 pound 460 Weatherby. You must slipping by now. that is a kick

 

[ElkSurgeon]

Since we're on a similar topic I hope the OP doesn't mind if I ask you guys....so I use the Wheeler level kit, get scope leveled & begin to torque rings down & scope always seems to cant one way or the other. I've even tried different sequences of which screws I torque first. Is there a simple way to fix this?

 

[Deleted member 107796]

I have mounted at least 18 scopes and never have used anything on Leupold or Warne rings. I clean everything well with high purity alcohol and mount to suggested torque spec. With everything up to 338wm, never had a slip or other issue.

 

[ntsqd]

Since we're on a similar topic I hope the OP doesn't mind if I ask you guys....so I use the Wheeler level kit, get scope leveled & begin to torque rings down & scope always seems to cant one way or the other. I've even tried different sequences of which screws I torque first. Is there a simple way to fix this?

If you start to tighten one screw and it twists in favor of that screw, do you then loosen it and try the other screw after re-aligning? What happens then? I've seen rings do this and sometimes the other screw won't twist the scope, and once you have some clamping force on the scope it wont move as you finish tightening/torquing the screws. Other times it does. Unless they're hook type Weavers (that are going to do that no matter what) I take that to mean that something is wrong with that set of rings, usually that the split isn't in quite the right place. If it's minimal I compensate & work around it, but if they make it a struggle I try a different set.

 

[ElkSurgeon]

If you start to tighten one screw and it twists in favor of that screw, do you then loosen it and try the other screw after re-aligning? What happens then? I've seen rings do this and sometimes the other screw won't twist the scope, and once you have some clamping force on the scope it wont move as you finish tightening/torquing the screws. Other times it does. Unless they're hook type Weavers (that are going to do that no matter what) I take that to mean that something is wrong with that set of rings, usually that the split isn't in quite the right place. If it's minimal I compensate & work around it, but if they make it a struggle I try a different set.

Seems like it doesn't matter which rings I use Scope always cants a little & yes seems to favor towards screw being brought to torque first

 

[hunterdan]

I also use a light dusting of Rosin Powder in my seekin rings. Not only does it help with grip but helps in eliminating even the slightest scope ring marks.