How To Choose the Scope Mount

You bought a rifle, you bought an optic, now you need to install it on your weapon. Now what? You buy the rings, you come home, you set the optic, you shoot at the target and something is off...and it is not clear what. Many times problems occur when the optic is mounted incorrectly. In the installation, you should follow the step-by-step instruction, and do everything slowly and clearly.

In order to install the riflescope on the weapon, you need the bases (bases) for mounting the bracket. Usually, if we are looking at a hunting rifle, there are holes or slots on the receiver or on the barrel to install the optics. On a military style rifle it often has a mount built in that your rings can attach directly to. Position, size and type of mounting systems are different for each manufacturer.

Two Piece Scope Rings

The optical sight is mounted on rings. The rings are different in diameter, height, type of locking on the base, shape and appearance in general. Depending on your rifle and choice of optic you’ll need to find the appropriate rings. The most common diameters for rings are 1 inch, 30mm, and 35mm. 35mm scopes are mainly used for long range applications. 30mm is by far the most popular and easiest to find rings for.

The rings are separate, simple and not expensive (depends on the manufacturer). Each ring is mounted on its own base. To install the separate rings set separate bases on the weapon. Rings are different in diameter and height, and the composition.

One Piece Scope Mounts

The monoblock bracket looks like a single structure with removable rings on one axis, and the monoblock is mounted on a long base (usually picatinny) or directly on the base of the weapon. The monoblock is considered the best mounting bracket for scopes, but it is clearly more expensive and heavier, but this is a skeptical opinion, and there are always fans of split rings. Mounting systems can be fixed, when the base and rings with optics are screwed to the weapon and are not removed, but can be quickly detachable, when the optics is removed together with the rings from the weapon, which is convenient for transportation, from the point of view of safety of the scope, and when you have a lot of sights, and a carbine for them one. Quick-detachable mounts are directly installed on the weapon (on the integrated base of the weapon)

Mounting Features

The sight should not be placed on too high rings, especially on high bars, unless the riflescopes are used with the night vision clip on. But you should not put the sight on too low rings, there needs to be some space between the optic and the barrel although minimal . The gap between the sight lens and the barrel shall be sufficient to mount protective covers like scope covers or flip up caps

Rings or monoblock?

The monoblock is preferable, it better fixes the sight. Rings are a more affordable option that still get the job done though

It should be also noted, that rings, due to their rigidity, reduce impact load on optics. Corrected rifle does not overload the sight, but nobody is insured against blank shots.

We prefer the monoblock! Problems with accuracy will be less.

Our advice is not the truth in the last resort. This article is aimed at familiarizing newcomers with the key features of mounting optics. How good and convenient it will be in business - a personal matter of each user. It should be noted that there is no need to save money on rings/bases due to the fact that cheaper versions can sometimes be out of spec and throw off the zero of your rifle

For test use, inexpensive mounts will be suitable, which will teach you how to handle the bracket, will allow you to learn how to adjust the stiffness of the fixation and other parameters. Once your knowledge is stronger, you can buy a more expensive, reliable mount.