High End Vs Budget Scope Mounts

[FPoole]

One thing to take into account is, some peoples idea of good enough may not be other folks idea of good enough. I can hit a soda can at 20 yards off a rest or, I can hit a nickel at 55 yards off my knee. The can shooter will never realize he has a mount problem, because his set up does what he wants it to. I've had 3 sets of mounts in the $20 range and all 3 broke, 2 in the clamp and 1 had the edge of the claw shear off. Had several SM mounts and only 1 broke, the adjustable elevation and windage one. They were, however, scope crimpers and not in line with the bore. I took a supposedly crooked TX200 and SM mount and replaced the mount with a BKL mount. The gun was suddenly shooting straight at all distances and not moving off to one side more as distance increased. I stick with BKL because I have 4 sets and all have been straight. They do have a problem with the occasional snapped screw or stripped thread, but that's an easy fix and a small price to pay for the added precision. Through the last 20 years I've settled on BKL and I am happy.

[Portzy]

I think Rabbits' that you and lots of others have to accept that some shooters will spend more money on accesories such as mounts for two or maybe three main reasons.

First up is the obvious one and it's because they simply have the means so they can and they do;

Second is that they have an eye for quality engineering and design with my personal caveat that, maybe, the reasons behind the design are possibly flawed and baseless in the real world;

Third, I would say, that it imparts a certain degree of confidence in the rifle/scope/mount combination leaving the shooter free to concentrate on his/her contribution to the shot.

Broadly speaking, and in all walks of life, we all fit into one of the above but I maintain that diminishing returns does come into play at some point.

I use Sportsmatch, as you know, and I have deduced that correct fitting of the scope using repeatable and gentle but adequate torque settings are more important to me than simply buying the next level up or the most expensive hardware.

So I just spend what I think is reasonable money, (and I don't have a lot btw), I install correctly, I have the utmost confidence in the combination, then I simply shoot at stuff and leave the obsessing to others and i'm sure there are 1000's just like me.

Forgot to add that when I shoot at stuff I tend to connect with it too, just in case you were wonderin'

[Phil Russell]

[QUOTE=Portzy;7543870]I think Rabbits' that you and lots of others have to accept that some shooters will spend more money on accesories such as mounts for two or maybe three main reasons.

First up is the obvious one and it's because they simply have the means so they can and they do;

Second is that they have an eye for quality engineering and design with my personal caveat that, maybe, the reasons behind the design are possibly flawed and baseless in the real world;

Third, I would say, that it imparts a certain degree of confidence in the rifle/scope/mount combination leaving the shooter free to concentrate on his/her contribution to the shot.

May I add a fourth: Peer pressure or a close relative. A person may be continuously told by others that something is better or keeps reading that it is better so begins to doubt his/her equipment to the point of deciding 'I must have that, it will improve my shooting'. So a change is made even though it may not have been necessary. But, and it is an important 'but', point three above can then kick in ....

Cheers, Phil

[rabbitslayer]

[QUOTE=Phil Russell;7543899]

I think Rabbits' that you and lots of others have to accept that some shooters will spend more money on accesories such as mounts for two or maybe three main reasons.

First up is the obvious one and it's because they simply have the means so they can and they do;

Second is that they have an eye for quality engineering and design with my personal caveat that, maybe, the reasons behind the design are possibly flawed and baseless in the real world;

Third, I would say, that it imparts a certain degree of confidence in the rifle/scope/mount combination leaving the shooter free to concentrate on his/her contribution to the shot.

May I add a fourth: Peer pressure or a close relative. A person may be continuously told by others that something is better or keeps reading that it is better so begins to doubt his/her equipment to the point of deciding 'I must have that, it will improve my shooting'. So a change is made even though it may not have been necessary. But, and it is an important 'but', point three above can then kick in ....

Cheers, Phil

Hi Phil,

I think you're pretty bang on especially points 3 & 4 which, from the off, was my underlying perception of the main reason. I can fully understand this happening as I've fallen victim to this myself on the odd occasion. It could even be the reason which led me to ask the initial question but anyway, even so, I can accept these points as a reasons leading to the purchase of an expensive set of mounts, whether justified or not but for others to suggest something is better simply because it costs more, just gets my goat and doesn't help anyone.

I have to say again though that I don't think bad of anyone who goes for the more expensive options, it's their choice and I respect that and in the end if it improves their performance and overall enjoyment of the sport all the better.

[MartynB]

I had a set of Hilver low steel rings I used on my Spartan, when mounted back to back on the rail, the rings were perfectly aligned

I liked them as they matched the steel of both Spartan receiver and Habicht scope, rings still with scope when Spartan sold

Oh, and they cost £27.50 from local dealer, I bought last rwo sets they had

[bootneckbob]

I think it's already been covered now but basically buy what you like to do the job you want. £9.99 might be okay for back garden plinking or even club plinking, who knows might even be fine for FT between 10-55yds. So long as they work and you are content the bridge between your rifle and scope is the cheapest mass produced piece of crap, no dramas. I doubt the budget brigade are the same as those seaching for the perfect pellet and refining barrel harmonics; at least I hope not!

[nurek]

Like many others I use Sportsmatch and BKL, however I have recently noticed that the quality of BKL has dropped.

Before, when they were sold in a brown cardboard box they were great, now they come in a fancy silver box with stars and stripes, they seem loose and don't fit as well, has anyone else found this? I had trouble tightening the tops as they seemed too tight...

[FPoole]

Like many others I use Sportsmatch and BKL, however I have recently noticed that the quality of BKL has dropped.

Before, when they were sold in a brown cardboard box they were great, now they come in a fancy silver box with stars and stripes, they seem loose and don't fit as well, has anyone else found this? I had trouble tightening the tops as they seemed too tight...

They were in a plastic shell originally. The company was sold and then the brown box came out. The brown box is the last I've bought and they did seem ever so slightly less well made. It's certainly possible they have gone downhill like all other things.

[bighit]

Like many others I use Sportsmatch and BKL, however I have recently noticed that the quality of BKL has dropped.

Before, when they were sold in a brown cardboard box they were great, now they come in a fancy silver box with stars and stripes, they seem loose and don't fit as well, has anyone else found this? I had trouble tightening the tops as they seemed too tight...

BKL is owned by Auto-Numatic that owns Airforce . possibly why the quality has dropped and the use of the stars and stripes box



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.



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.


They also own Rapid air weapons and Theoben too.

[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

[nurek]

I had a set of Hilver low steel rings I used on my Spartan, when mounted back to back on the rail, the rings were perfectly aligned

I liked them as they matched the steel of both Spartan receiver and Habicht scope, rings still with scope when Spartan sold

[...]

I had exactly the same on my Spartan, and they also went with the gun as they have fitted it so well! The old Hillvers were made in Oz I believe.

[MartynB]

I had exactly the same on my Spartan, and they also went with the gun as they have fitted it so well! The old Hillvers were made in Oz I believe.

Yes, Hilver were made in Oz but went bust, I let the second, unopened boxed set go with the Spartan when it sold