High End Vs Budget Scope Mounts

[angrybear]

Yes you're right. We buy whatever pellets perform the best in a given barrel. BUT... if 'cheap and nasty' Spitfire gave you the same group size as JSB's, would you not be tempted to make a SPITFIRE purchase?

And you've totally missed the point again by referring to performance,
Do you test & compare your cheap no-name mounts with those of better brands ?

My point with the pellets is that we don't buy cheap purely because they're cheap, regardless of how they shoot, but that seems to be exactly what you are saying about the mounts buy cheap for the sake of it

I have tested different mounts because when fitted to a rimfire rifle those errors between POI at 20yds & POI at 150yds can be lateral movement of 2" or more.

[rabbitslayer]

And you've totally missed the point again by referring to performance,
Do you test & compare your cheap no-name mounts with those of better brands ?.

Of course I refer to performance. What other reason would there be to buy or choose any piece of equipment over another if not based on it's performance?

And, no. I haven't tested different brand mounts because I've alway been happy with those I have. That's why I asked the question.

My point with the pellets is that we don't buy cheap purely because they're cheap, regardless of how they shoot

Wow... Really?... "we don't buy cheap purely because they're cheap regardless how they shoot"? - Says it all to me and I imagine this biased thinking is applied by most brand conscious consumers. Is this logic regularly applied when purchasing the expensive branded scope mount? I think it could well be so.

seems to be exactly what you are saying about the mounts buy cheap for the sake of it

Strange how some folk interpret things. Nope... I'm saying what's wrong with cheap if it does a good job and... Why buy expensive if cheap does the job? That was all. Your statement above suggests you seem to me saying buy expensive purely because it's expensive... utterly barmy! That's not a reason that's market conditioning.

I have tested different mounts because when fitted to a rimfire rifle those errors between POI at 20yds & POI at 150yds can be lateral movement of 2" or more.

Not sure what you're saying here. Are you suggesting that through testing you have come across a mount (expensive?) that removes this lateral movement or that some (cheaper?) cause it?

I'm interested to know if throughout all your tests, whether you ever came across an expensive / branded mount that didn't perform well or caused any misalignment? or does the fact that a mount costing a considerable amount of dosh remove all probability of any manufacturing faults or imperfections?

Over to you..

[angrybear]

Of course I refer to performance. What other reason would there be to buy or choose any piece of equipment over another if not based on it's performance?

That is my point & in my experience cheap mounts are crap so I refuse to use them.

Wow... Really?... "we don't buy cheap purely because they're cheap regardless how they shoot"? - Says it all to me and I imagine this biased thinking is applied by most brand conscious consumers. Is this logic regularly applied when purchasing the expensive branded scope mount? I think it could well be so.

Why is it biased? why would anyone buy cheap just because they're cheap even when knowing they shoot crap ?? every piece of advice re pellets is stick with known good quality brands JSB, AA, H&N, Bisley etc


Strange how some folk interpret things. Nope... I'm saying what's wrong with cheap if it does a good job and... Why buy expensive if cheap does the job? That was all. Your statement above suggests you seem to me saying buy expensive purely because it's expensive... utterly barmy! That's not a reason that's market conditioning.

No, I & others buy brands which we know to be good quality, rather than take a chance on some no-name rubbish just because no-name is cheap.

Not sure what you're saying here. Are you suggesting that through testing you have come across a mount (expensive?) that removes this lateral movement or that some (cheaper?) cause it?

Both

I'm interested to know if throughout all your tests, whether you ever came across an expensive / branded mount that didn't perform well or caused any misalignment? or does the fact that a mount costing a considerable amount of dosh remove all probability of any manufacturing faults or imperfections?

Over to you..

I had unknown mounts come with a 2nd hand scope they were utter crap that I could see & feel did not align when fitted,
I then fitted some Sportsmatch reach fwd/back mounts but these had close to 2" lateral shift from 20yds to 150yds,
I then fitted Hawke match mounts these were better but still had almost an inch of lateral shift over the same range,
I then fitted BKL mounts which showed no lateral shift with increasing/decreasing range.
Since then I have only ever used BKL mounts on dovetails.

[RichardH]

The expensive Sportsmatch mounts are pretty good they actually make the mounts for the Accuracy International AW so if they are good enough for military snipers at 1000m they will probably be ok on an airgun

[rabbitslayer]

I had unknown mounts come with a 2nd hand scope they were utter crap that I could see & feel did not align when fitted,
I then fitted some Sportsmatch reach fwd/back mounts but these had close to 2" lateral shift from 20yds to 150yds,
I then fitted Hawke match mounts these were better but still had almost an inch of lateral shift over the same range,
I then fitted BKL mounts which showed no lateral shift with increasing/decreasing range.
Since then I have only ever used BKL mounts on dovetails.

That just can't be right. If it was surely the other brands mentioned are simply no good and just wouldn't sell.

[FPoole]

That just can't be right. If it was surely the other brands mentioned are simply no good and just wouldn't sell.

Definitely can be correct. My first quality springer was a TX200. I bought a high end scope and what I thought were very good mounts. The mount was a 1 piece and when I zeroed the gun at 10 yards, it was shooting around 4" to 5" left at 55 yards. I zeroed at 55 and it was to the right at 10 yards by a small amount, but on a 3/8" target, it would be enough to cause a lot of misses. I reversed the mount and it then shot 4" to 5" right at 55 yards. I was convinced my gun was not straight, but I bought a 1 piece BKL 260 mount to try before I tried something more involved. I zeroed at 10 yards and when I went to the 55 yard target, all my shots were right along the vertical line I was shooting at. I was sold on BKL from that point and won't consider buying another brand. The bargain priced mounts will always sell because most people just don't want to pay extra for something that seems trivial to them. I just don't have the time or extra money to try cheap mounts until I find one that's good.

[angrybear]

That just can't be right. If it was surely the other brands mentioned are simply no good and just wouldn't sell.

They still sell because "some people" can't see why they should spend £40 on mounts when they can buy a set for £4.99

or for those who only plink in the garden always at the same fixed range, they will have no idea that at twice the range the POI will be way off.

[rabbitslayer]

I then fitted some Sportsmatch reach fwd/back mounts but these had close to 2" lateral shift from 20yds to 150yds,
I then fitted Hawke match mounts these were better but still had almost an inch of lateral shift over the same range,
I then fitted BKL mounts which showed no lateral shift with increasing/decreasing range.
Since then I have only ever used BKL mounts on dovetails.

That just can't be right. If it was surely the other brands mentioned are simply no good and just wouldn't sell.

They still sell because "some people" can't see why they should spend £40 on mounts when they can buy a set for £4.99

or for those who only plink in the garden always at the same fixed range, they will have no idea that at twice the range the POI will be way off.

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

[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.