Wanted to get some thoughts on ring spacing as I mount a new scope. I have plenty of room fore/aft on the rail to maintain proper scope placement for eye relief fit. The question I'm trying to answer is whether I should mount the rings on a narrow footprint (closer to the turret body) or spread them as far apart as possible. Would appreciate any insights and rationale.
Rifle Scopes Ring spacing
- Thread starter kskevin
- Start date
Re: Ring spacing
My opinion is to spacer the rings as far apart as possible and still maintain correct eye relief.
My reasoning is that you will reduce the amount of scope that is cantilevered out past the rings, particularly on the objective end. I have seen a couple of high speed movies of rifles firing and you can most definitely see the objective end of the scope whipping around. I'm sure someone could calculate the amount of scope tube deflection, etc, etc, etc... but what is the point? I would just try to minimize the deflection as best you can by practical application.
It would be interesting to see if anyone else has some insight on the subject.
My opinion is to spacer the rings as far apart as possible and still maintain correct eye relief.
My reasoning is that you will reduce the amount of scope that is cantilevered out past the rings, particularly on the objective end. I have seen a couple of high speed movies of rifles firing and you can most definitely see the objective end of the scope whipping around. I'm sure someone could calculate the amount of scope tube deflection, etc, etc, etc... but what is the point? I would just try to minimize the deflection as best you can by practical application.
It would be interesting to see if anyone else has some insight on the subject.
Re: Ring spacing
Thanks treebasher. My intuition and engineering background causes me to believe the same but as I looked at hundreds of pics of rifles posted on here I see several that appear to have room to spread the rings wider. Started to cause me to wonder why people mount them so close together.
Thanks treebasher. My intuition and engineering background causes me to believe the same but as I looked at hundreds of pics of rifles posted on here I see several that appear to have room to spread the rings wider. Started to cause me to wonder why people mount them so close together.
Re: Ring spacing
You'll appreciate this joke then
A mathematician and a engineer agree to a psychological experiment.
The mathematician is put in a chair in a large empty room and a beautiful naked woman is placed on a bed at the other end of the room.
The psychologist explains, "You are to remain in your chair. Every five minutes, I will move your chair to a position halfway between its current location and the woman on the bed."
The mathematician looks at the psychologist in disgust. "What? I'm not going to go through this. You know I'll never reach the bed!" And he gets up and storms out.
The psychologist makes a note on his clipboard and ushers the engineer in. He explains the situation, and the engineer's eyes light up and he starts drooling.
The psychologist is a bit confused. "Don't you realize that you'll never reach her?"
The engineer smiles and replied, "Of course! But I'll get close enough for practical application!"
You'll appreciate this joke then
A mathematician and a engineer agree to a psychological experiment.
The mathematician is put in a chair in a large empty room and a beautiful naked woman is placed on a bed at the other end of the room.
The psychologist explains, "You are to remain in your chair. Every five minutes, I will move your chair to a position halfway between its current location and the woman on the bed."
The mathematician looks at the psychologist in disgust. "What? I'm not going to go through this. You know I'll never reach the bed!" And he gets up and storms out.
The psychologist makes a note on his clipboard and ushers the engineer in. He explains the situation, and the engineer's eyes light up and he starts drooling.
The psychologist is a bit confused. "Don't you realize that you'll never reach her?"
The engineer smiles and replied, "Of course! But I'll get close enough for practical application!"
Re: Ring spacing
Treebasher,
Nice! Very Nice.
I have to admit, I thought the same way as the mathematician while reading it. That's too funny.
Thanks for the laugh!
Mike
(math degree)
Treebasher,
Nice! Very Nice.
I have to admit, I thought the same way as the mathematician while reading it. That's too funny.
Thanks for the laugh!
Mike
(math degree)
Re: Ring spacing
KSKevin,
The only advice I've heard specifically on the ring spacing is from the Savage forums where it was suggested to place the rings in line with the action screws. Not sure why but I keep mine fairly close to that. For Remington style actions, that's just short of impossible. My current setup is a DNZ game reaper scope mount so its fixed spacing with the rings centered on the inner most mounting holes. I would prefer them spaced a little further apart to hold larger scopes (Viper 6.5-20x50mm) but may be perfect for say a 3x9 or 4x12 scope.
Mike
KSKevin,
The only advice I've heard specifically on the ring spacing is from the Savage forums where it was suggested to place the rings in line with the action screws. Not sure why but I keep mine fairly close to that. For Remington style actions, that's just short of impossible. My current setup is a DNZ game reaper scope mount so its fixed spacing with the rings centered on the inner most mounting holes. I would prefer them spaced a little further apart to hold larger scopes (Viper 6.5-20x50mm) but may be perfect for say a 3x9 or 4x12 scope.
Mike
Re: Ring spacing
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: KSKevin</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Anyone else with insight on this topic? Much appreciated. </div></div>
Common sense tells me that the farter apart the rings are, the better. But thats just how I see it. I've seen pics of guy who used 3 rings, he wasn't messen around! He had room for 4, but that might have been overkill
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: KSKevin</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Anyone else with insight on this topic? Much appreciated. </div></div>
Common sense tells me that the farter apart the rings are, the better. But thats just how I see it. I've seen pics of guy who used 3 rings, he wasn't messen around! He had room for 4, but that might have been overkill
Re: Ring spacing
Assuming the base to which the ring is attached, rail or otherwise, can adequately perform its role, place the rings as far apart as possible while maintaining proper eye relief. This will ensure that the cantilevered length of the scope is as short as possible. In the event that the scope is struck by something, like the ground if the rifle is dropped, it will likely be that fat parts of the scope that will take the hit, and as these are often cantilevered from the rings, the shorter cantilever will be more durable.
This also illustrates why large diameter scope tubes are nice, like 34 and 35mm. They are simply much stronger than the smaller diameters when subjected to bending loads that could be encountered when the rifle is dropped and the scope's objective bell takes the hit.
Assuming the base to which the ring is attached, rail or otherwise, can adequately perform its role, place the rings as far apart as possible while maintaining proper eye relief. This will ensure that the cantilevered length of the scope is as short as possible. In the event that the scope is struck by something, like the ground if the rifle is dropped, it will likely be that fat parts of the scope that will take the hit, and as these are often cantilevered from the rings, the shorter cantilever will be more durable.
This also illustrates why large diameter scope tubes are nice, like 34 and 35mm. They are simply much stronger than the smaller diameters when subjected to bending loads that could be encountered when the rifle is dropped and the scope's objective bell takes the hit.
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