Rifle Scopes Leupold Mark IMS Mount opinions?

[lp916]

Anyone have good (or bad) things to say about the Mark IMS?

I'm looking for a pretty niche one-piece mounting solution for a 35mm tube that needs at least 72mm ring spacing, and also has at least 20 MOA of cant. Stumbled across the Leupold Mark IMS, which has around 83mm ring spacing, 35mm tube, and 20 MOA cant. These retail for ~$300, as opposed to their entry-level Mark AR mounts that are cheapo sub $100 mounts. If Spuhr made an option for me I'd be all over it, so the $300 price doesn't phase me, but the fact that Leupold also makes such a cheap mount option makes me nervous about the quality of the Mark IMS.

 

[lockroller]

I have two of them because I got them on a VIP sale from Leupold. Had an issue with one of them where there was a burr several threads deep inside where the top rings mount that kept stripping screws out. I called Leupold customer service to talk about replacing it cause I didn’t want to void the warranty by re-tapping it myself. They gave me an odd amount of grief basically stating that the “resistance” I was feeling on screws was the thread locker that came from the factory. I explained that I had new 8-40 screws without thread locker that I was using and on 7 out of the 8 holes they thread just fine all the way to depth but on the one in question they would get maybe 4 threads deep and it’d destroy any screw I went deeper with. He persisted that it was normal but then agreed to replace it.

So I guess long story short is that Leupold has a good warranty on their products (even if you have to argue your ability to thread screws on the phone) and if you have an issue with it they’ll make it right but honestly for the money I’d explore other options if you can find something that’ll fit your needs.

 

[lp916]

I have two of them because I got them on a VIP sale from Leupold. Had an issue with one of them where there was a burr several threads deep inside where the top rings mount that kept stripping screws out. I called Leupold customer service to talk about replacing it cause I didn’t want to void the warranty by re-tapping it myself. They gave me an odd amount of grief basically stating that the “resistance” I was feeling on screws was the thread locker that came from the factory. I explained that I had new 8-40 screws without thread locker that I was using and on 7 out of the 8 holes they thread just fine all the way to depth but on the one in question they would get maybe 4 threads deep and it’d destroy any screw I went deeper with. He persisted that it was normal but then agreed to replace it.

So I guess long story short is that Leupold has a good warranty on their products (even if you have to argue your ability to thread screws on the phone) and if you have an issue with it they’ll make it right but honestly for the money I’d explore other options if you can find something that’ll fit your needs.

Thanks for the reply. For the record, I did end up with the Mark IMS and I'm quite happy with it. Nothing else had the ring spacing, height, cant, and machining quality I was looking for. Had no issues with mine, all the machining and threading was very clean. Has a solid lock up with a nice thin ring gap at torque, and everything feels really high end.

 

[lockroller]

I’m glad it worked out well for you and it fits your needs. Looks like everything came together well.

Just for anyone’s clarification the specific model that I have is the 35mm IMS 0 MOA Bolt Action and I’ll attach a picture to show the issue I was having with the screw not being able to go deeper into the threads without destroying the screw.

Both screws are brand new 8-40 thread pitch without thread locker. The one on the left thread down to depth with no issues. The one on the right could not be screwed deeper than what is shown without mauling the screw.