Scope Rings

Excitement about the purchase of a new scope for your firearm might carry you away from practical, less fun things like scope mounts and rings. And these attachments deserve no less attention than the scope itself.

Choosing scope rings can be tricky because of all the specs you need to consider, and the number of items available on the market can make you feel a little dizzy. But once you are familiar with all the aspects, you won’t feel any hesitation picking your personal best scope rings. So let’s dive in.

Base style

The first thing you need to do is figure out how to attach the rings to your firearm. Most modern rifles come with the base already attached. For non-optic-ready rifles, you need to buy one separately. Scope bases (Picatinny, Weaver, dovetail) differ by slot size and spacings between them. So pick scope rings compatible with your base.

Size

The ring size must match the scope tube diameter. The most common rifle scope tube sizes are 1 inch and 30mm. As long-range scope models are trending, you’ll also find many 34mm options.

So if your scope has a 30mm tube, you need 30mm scope rings.

Height

Scope rings come in low, medium, and high heights. To achieve maximum precision with fewer adjustments, you should be able to mount the scope as low as possible and in such a way that it doesn’t touch any parts of a firearm.

The lowest height for setting a scope equals the size of the ocular bell. For example, with a 40mm bell size, you probably want to go for low- or medium-height rings. And a 50mm bell scope will likely require high height rings.

Material

Most rifle scope rings are made either of steel or aluminum. Steel rings work best for heavy-recoil firearms as they make strong construction that won’t move. Lightweight scope rings are made of aluminum alloys.

Here are a couple of tips. If you want your ring parts to last as long as possible, you’d better buy scope rings with bolts or torx-head screws, because flathead screws are not so secure.

If you change scopes often or you just want to detach the scope whenever you like, you might want to pick horizontally clamping rings. Such ring design will allow you to separate the scope from the rifle without unclamping the rings.

GritrSports carries a broad range of high-quality scope rings and scope parts produced by such trusted brands as Talley, Weaver, Vortex, Leupold, and many others.