High End Vs Budget Scope Mounts

[rabbitslayer]

I think that in all walks of like there is a point where diminishing returns kicks in. There's no doubt that the BKL and Tier One will work and the former do overcome the centreing problem, if indeed it is a problem in the real world?, although the BKL look to me to be a bit of a faff.

Myself, I have had issues with Hawke and Nikko such as bad machining, offset easily stripped threads, terrible recoil pins etc, so I wont go near them now.

In all honesty, I don't think you can go far wrong with Sportsmatch. In the main they are a couple of quid more than Hawke etc, they do the job, are British made, and don't look like something you would find in a Meccano Set, utilise a recoil hole and your scope is going nowhere.

Hi Portzy,

Don't get me wrong, I imagine that the more expensive mounts are very good, well made and with more than likely, better, higher tensile materials. It's just that I've always found the cheaper mounts I've used to have done the job of holding my scope in place, securely, very well and that's all I want them to do.

No doubt I've been lucky going on what others had said about their experiences but I thought I'd ask the question because I couldn't understand (and I'm still not that convinced) that they make much if any difference when compared to a non faulty set of cheapies especially when used on low powered airguns.

[Portzy]

Hi Portzy, I thought I'd ask the question because I couldn't understand (and I'm still not that convinced) that they make much if any difference when compared to a non faulty set of cheapies especially when used on low powered airguns.

With you all the way mate, especially the bit in brackets. The only thing I have done in addition to using SM's is invest in a torque driver but I do not follow the mount maufacturers figures, I deduce my own.

[bill57]

To be honest I feel sorry for the mount manufacturers. The machining of dovetails on air rifles (especially springers) has never been properly standardised, with the result that you might be faced with a dovetail size anywhere between 9mm and 16mm, with quite few half mils in between. The depth and angle of the cut may vary as well. All too often scope mounts don't quite fit and are over-tightened to compensate, and being usually aluminium, they don't cope well.

It's tempting to think of mounts as a pair, but in reality they're being churned out in their thousands - we just happen to need two at a time.

[rabbitslayer]

With you all the way mate, especially the bit in brackets. The only thing I have done in addition to using SM's is invest in a torque driver but I do not follow the mount maufacturers figures, I deduce my own.

Can you recommend a small torque driver? I've always tightened by 'feel' and I'm always worried about overdoing it. I only ever use the small end of the Allen key as the lever when tightening, never use my screwdriver as it's too easy to apply too much oomph.

[where's it gone]

Once you used Sportsmatch, ther's no need to buy other makes.

[BAD DAZ]

Have you ever seen a nice scope ruined by crimp marks on the tube, I've seen plenty, that's why you pay the extra, all mounts will hold your scope on the gun, but cheap ones are not properly aligned and will cause crimp marks on your expensive scope, if you can't afford new decent mounts, someone will sell you some second hand, I like to use sportsmatch on my guns and they are all second hand, atb Daz

[rabbitslayer]

Have you ever seen a nice scope ruined by crimp marks on the tube, I've seen plenty, that's why you pay the extra, all mounts will hold your scope on the gun, but cheap ones are not properly aligned and will cause crimp marks on your expensive scope, if you can't afford new decent mounts, someone will sell you some second hand, I like to use sportsmatch on my guns and they are all second hand, atb Daz

Thanks Daz, but I would say that you can crimp a scope with any mount regardless of cost / brand. If you over tighten the top clamp / strap you'll crimp the tube (the ring halves are not supposed to touch).

[I. J.]

I cannot understand some mount manufacturers who lined their mounts, I suppose so you dont crush the scope tube,thus reducing the inside diameter of the mount thus making in easier to crush the scope tube.

ATB
Ian
[Ive got more Apels than Granny Smith. ]

[Portzy]

Can you recommend a small torque driver? I've always tightened by 'feel' and I'm always worried about overdoing it. I only ever use the small end of the Allen key as the lever when tightening, never use my screwdriver as it's too easy to apply too much oomph.

The one I use is this;

https://www.screwfix.com/p/wiha-vde-...1-pieces/2581k

The only problem is that you get more bits than you need, I later came across the same driver/setter but with less bits and not as expensive because of having less bits.

I also got this;

https://www.screwfix.com/p/wiha-soft...3-x-75mm/2678k

And this;

https://www.screwfix.com/p/wiha-soft...4-x-75mm/8624k

I needed these because the Wiha is a VDE instrument and the drive is not quite 1/4" for safety reasons.

Over the top? maybe so, but I like prescision and repeatability.

I settled on 1.6nm for the clamp bolts, and 1.0nm for the scope caps. This was equating to a tad under what I used with normal hex keys using the "tight with the short end plus 1/4 turn with the long end" method.