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Rifle Scopes TPS rings/bases or Badger Ordinance??

Eagle1*

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Feb 7, 2006
139
0
Ohio
Just bought a Rem 700 AAC-SD and will be switching out the stock and such and I am trying to decide which rings & base I should go with. Is there a big difference in the Badger Ord over the others? I was looking at the TPS setup just to keep the cost down.
I have narrowed down a scope for it and I think I am going with a Leupold model with the 30mm main tube. Just wondering if there is enough difference in the two companies (TPS/Bad Ord)to pay the extra for the Bad Ord ones? Thanks for your input...
 
Re: TPS rings/bases or Badger Ordinance??

i've never used or handled the TPS gear, but i've used badger over the years on a few rigs and will continue to because i've never had problems with the rings nor bases.
 
Re: TPS rings/bases or Badger Ordinance??

Depending upon which TPS rings you're talking about I've seen a few guys on here complain about ring clamp failures. I think it was the Aluminum ones but I'm not entirely sure. I've never liked them much anyway, so I steer clear of them.

What I have really gotten onto liking in the past 9 months or so are the ARC rings. I got a set of the Gen 1's last year and I was hooked, I've since switched out to them exclusively. Great product, the owner of the company is happy to problem solve with customers, and there's a couple of rifle builders on here that have started stocking them. SWFA, Euro Optic, Short Action Customs, and I believe Suarez Tactical too.

ETA: Here's the review I wrote on the Gen 1's back in July last year. I still run those Gen 1's, but the Gen 2's are slick stuff and extremely light and strong.

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthre...095#Post1920095
 
Re: TPS rings/bases or Badger Ordinance??

If you are going TPS get the steel rings, the aluminum TPS ring clamp's are shit, and can snap pretty easily. The TPS steel rings are alot better, but I suggest Badger products, they hold their resale value much better, have better CS, which is a big thing to me, and they are very nicely machined, so it's worth the extra $90 to me, but for the price TPS is hard to beat.
 
Re: TPS rings/bases or Badger Ordinance??

I have two sets of TPS steel rings, one set of Badger steel rings, and one Seekins Precision. The Seekins are my favorites but the TPS rings are very high quality and work just fine. Between the Badger and TPS rings, I'd say their machining quality is equal. The Seekins rings are aluminum, lighter, and the design is very elegant and very high quality. If you order TPS, I'd get it from one of the Hide supporting dealers like SWFA. Their customer service is top notch and they stock the product so you get it quickly. Customer service from TPS directly is spotty and if you order direct you might wait a long time with no communication on when your order will ship.
 
Re: TPS rings/bases or Badger Ordinance??

My TPS steel rings held very well, however left major ring marks. I did not install them myself however, and believe whoever did, did not follow the instructions.
 
Re: TPS rings/bases or Badger Ordinance??

I run TPS on my rifles, definitely go steel though. Badger is top notch stuff, but I am too cheap to drop that much on rings and bases that greatly exceed the capabilities of what I would put them through.
 
Re: TPS rings/bases or Badger Ordinance??

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: D Ice 308</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Get the TPS steel rings! Save a couple$</div></div>
If one goes the TPS route, I would definately suggest a good lapping bar and plenty of compound. Personally, I would go Badger out of the two; in fact, I would go Badger if more choices were thrown in the mix.
 
Re: TPS rings/bases or Badger Ordinance??

I am running several sets of TPS (GASP!) aluminum rings and so far they have performed far beyond my expectations. They required no lapping, did not leave ring marks, and fit perfect.

Based on some of the reports here it may be wise to go the steel route. I have aluminum on a 338 lap that are holding up fine. As for myself I have no reason to dump my TPS aluminum rings and will continue to use them until I have an issue.
 
Re: TPS rings/bases or Badger Ordinance??

On one of my rifles, I changed out the TPS rings for Seekins because the Seekins low ring is about .1" lower than the TPS low ring. When I took my S&B scope out of the TPS rings, they did NOT leave any ring marks on the scope tube. I would say the TPS rings are very high quality, mine did not need lapping, and they work well. Having said that, I like the Seekins rings because the low rings are lower and work well on my GAP rifle with a S&B 4-16x42 PMII and because the design of the Seekins rings is very elegant and all corners are nicely rounded.
 
Re: TPS rings/bases or Badger Ordinance??

I like the TPS steel rings, I have a set on a rifle. They say they require no lapping, but I lapped mine a little and they left no ring marks. I advise to steer clear of the TPS bases, I tried to use one with the TPS rings and the base was visibly warped. I sent it back to TPS, but in the end decided to go with the Badger base.
 
Re: TPS rings/bases or Badger Ordinance??

I have a low 30mm set of TPS rings in aluminum and have no issues. I sanity checked alignment with my Sinclair International Lap-3 bar. Also used it with some marking ink to confirm no need to mess with the hard anodizing by lapping. I torqued the 7/16 hex crossbolt to 65 in-lbs as per the instructions. And went 12 in-lbs first on the indexed side of the tube clamp and then on the other side which leaves the 0.020" or so gap as described in the flyer yet firmly holds the scope. I find these 7075 alloy TSR model rings very nicely machined with excellent tolerances.