High End Vs Budget Scope Mounts

[angrybear]

Regarding air rifles, what's the real difference between fitting high end scope mounts (Spuhr, Tier one, BKL etc.) as appose to the cheaper budget brands like Hawke, Atom, Richter Optik, Nikko Sterling that can be had for a tenner or less on fleabay?

The reason I'm asking is that I've always only ever used the cheaper end of the scale and never had any issues with holding long term accuracy whatsoever even on springers.

So, what's the point in spending a lot of money on more expensive brands when the cheaper one's do the job? Is it just marketing or do they offer something more that I'm not aware of?

Sportsmatch and Hawke (Match) are not what I'd call 'cheap mounts'. There must be hundreds of thousands of shooters that use these and I would have thought, if what you say is right, that it'd be common knowledge by now and most would steer clear. But they don't and not all of them can be shooting at fixed ranges

Ok well in that case I'm obviously mis-reading your OP

I certainly don't class them as "cheap" either (although many serious RFD's do) but neither are they anywhere near "top end"
I'm just relaying my experience & why I think BKL are worth that little bit extra.

[MartynB]

Interesting reading about BKL, where were they originally manufactured before being aquired ?

[bighit]

Interesting reading about BKL, where were they originally manufactured before being aquired ?

Could not find anything on line other than this which is the full version of what I posted above


BKL Mounts, Rings and Adapters Return to Market
July 6, 2009 (Ft. Worth, TX)

Auto-Numatic Corporation, the parent company of AirForce Airguns, is proud to announce the acquisition of the assets of BKL Technologies, which manufactured a full line of air rifle and rimfire scope mounts popular among target shooters. Auto-Numatic plans to keep the BKL name as it denotes quality, variety and innovation in airgun and rimfire mounts the same way AirForce denotes quality, accuracy and power for the premium airgun market.
BKL operations have been moved to the main production facility in Fort Worth, Texas and will be manufactured in the USA. All mounts, rings and adapters are manufactured from aircraft grade aluminum alloy. They are available in a wide range of configurations geared specifically for air guns and rimfires for both 1-inch and 30mm rifle scopes.

BKL accessories are designed to fit all standard 11mm airgun rails as well as 3/8" rails on rimfire rifles. The one piece design allows easy mount and dismount and is self-aligning as it is tightened into position thanks to the BKL patented system. The scope rings are radius contoured to prevent damage to the scope when mounting. Also in the product family is the BKL Picatinny type rail adapter. This adapter is one of the most popular BKL products, and now more so given the proliferation of Picatinny rail accessories.

In the past the product line has been plagued by popularity but lack of availability. Auto-Numatic is now adapting the line to in house state of the art high volume production equipment to ensure future availability while maintaining quality and consistency.

For more information, contact Yvette Hicks at 877-AIR-GUNS (247-4867).

Auto-Numatic is the Texas-based parent company of AirForce Airguns and BKL Technologies. AirForce Airguns revolutionized the airgun world with the first U.S. manufactured pre-charged pneumatic airgun in 1998. AirForce is now an established leader in the design and manufacture of high performance adult airguns. BKL has revolutionized professional quality mounting systems for airguns and rimfire rifles. Auto-Numatic Corporation's headquarters and production facilities are located in Fort Worth, Texas.


Bit in bold. possibly a smaller machine shop that made them then sold out to Auto-numatic.

[nurek]

Interesting reading about BKL, where were they originally manufactured before being aquired ?

They pride themselves in being made in the USA.

The new offerings in the fancy clear box with stars and stripes seem loose on the dovetail. The old BKLs in the cardboad box/simple plastic box were spot on and fitted tightly, sometimes you actually had to spread them a little using the centre hole to get them on. The anodising wasn't best on the old ones (rough and sometimes grayish in colour) and has improved now though, but I'd rather they fitted properly.

[angrybear]

Interesting reading about BKL, where were they originally manufactured before being aquired ?

Brownsville Texas
http://www.bkltech.com//aboutus.asp