Leupold rings and bases

[adam p]

I did a search last night and didn't find much on rings and bases so I figured I would put my .02 cents in on Leupold.

I had a set of Leupold rings and bases with the dovetailed front and their screw type rear. I went out to check my zero yesterday before my hunting trip this weekend. I could not get it to group. I got my rifle home to find that the slots on the rear ring where the screws on the base tighten down onto the ring were bent and distorted beyond belief. I dont know if it is because of the recoil (300 RUM) or if it was a manufacturing defect. I have a Mounting Solutions 1 piece picantinny base and Farrel rings on there way now. Ill let everyone know how they work once I get them here. For people looking into buying rings and bases, spend some extra money and save yourself some trouble. I will be switching everything I have to picantinny after this experience.

 

[Ian M]

Do a search here for the words Badger Ordnance, probably get a lot of info on mounts. There are hunting grade mounts and there are tactical grade mounts. There is a big difference. Badgers, Nears, Nightforce and a couple of others cost money, but they are the best.

 

[sewwhat89]

Well, I'll give my expensive lesson too with Leupold rings. They work just fine on any 'regular' rifle and scope combo. They do not work on light-weight magnums with big scopes. I have eaten two pairs of Leupold rings on my 300 RSAUM Model 7 with a Zeiss 4-14 on top. I don't need all that magnification on this particular rifle, but I do love the optics. The third pair appears to be holding their own, but the first set cost me about $150 worth of ammo and reloading stuff before I realized what the deal was and the second set cost me fifty bucks. That set was crap from the get go. When I get some additional funds, I want to put a Near base or some Burris Sig rings on their to give me 20 MOA or so. I don't think I will ever trust Leupold rings (or bases) on a custom rifle or LOUDENBOOMER RM calls'em. Costs too much in the end to have to replace everything, the bullets shot, time wasted and rezero work. I'll do it right from here on out now that I've learned my lesson the hard way (in the wallet)!

 

[Jumpalot]

Talley rings and bases work on my 300 win and my 270 wsm great.

 

[jeff 300]

i had 2 sets of them break on me the screw head spilt in half on each set they where on my 300rum

 

[adam p]

I checked my brothers 7mm RUM and his are doing the same thing.

 

[jmden]

Try the Mark 4's...I doubt they'll do that.

 

[kraky2]

I WILL NOT USE THOSE basic leo's anymore either. They've gone bad on a ton of rifles for me but I like my weatherby's and other mags. I'm now using the leupold qr mount on alot of guns. I can easily share expensive scopes from one gun to another. I got sick of seeing $175-350 glass sitting on top of ea rifle in the gun case. I like these mounts.

 

[KRob]

Quick side question
I use a savage 300wm weather worrier ive got a leupy vxII 3-9x40 with leupy bases and rings am i gonna have to worry about this or is the scope small enough.

 

[7Rumloader]

Robins thats a good question. The first set of leo bases I heard of failing were holding a little bigger scope than your using but on the same cal.
They will probably due fine but once you get some extra jingle it would be a good idea to upgrade to some badgers or something stronger in case you decide you want bigger optics later on.

Just my opinion

 

[stripes]

talked with leupold early last year, was having trouble loosing zero on my 25-06, using standard rings and bases. with a 8-25-50 long range leupold. they did not advise using standard rings or bases on any magnum caliber, or any 30mm heavy long range scope. went to mark4 rings and bases no more problems. groups even improved.

 

[WunderDog]

I recently posted a question here about this same issue. I have a 4.5-14x50 mounted on a lightweight 300 Weatherby. The rear ring was trashed where it was supposed to be held down by the screws. When I noticed it, I was able to unscrew them with my fingers. I was told that the Leupold dual dovetail bases would work okay but decided to do what I KNEW would work and ordered a base from Near. I paired it with a set of Leupold Mark 4 aluminum rings to help keep the weight down a bit. I haven't had it back on the bench yet, but it looks like this may be the ultimate solution. The near stuff is really top notch and Richard (the owner) is a great guy to deal with.