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30mm Scope Mount Rings

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General features

There is more than one way to mount a rifle scope, but the most widespread is the option with rings. It has numerous advantages, for starters, it's affordable and available in the biggest number of versions. A lot of today's riflescopes need a 30mm scope mount - because they feature a 30mm main tube diameter. This means that in order for you to connect your rifle scope to the firearm you need the 30 mm rings for mounting. The most important thing when mounting a rifle scope with rings is to be aware of the appropriate force needed to fasten the rings. Go over the limit and the structural integrity of the rifle scope will be compromised. Rings can also leave a visible mark if not tighten accordingly. The amount of torque should not exceed 2.2 Nm.

Since the rifle scopes with 30mm tubes are the most common one in today’s world, the range of 30mm mounts is the widest among all mounting options. Even on our webpage, this category of mounts is the biggest. There is almost no firearm in existence that would not have at least some sort of mounts for 30mm scopes.

Rings for the 30mm scope tubes on hunting rifles are usually 15mm wide and thus slick and elegant. Tactical mounts are however in most cases much wider (up to 32mm) and thus more robust and bigger. With very wide rings the pressure on the scope tube is better to disperse and a better and more secure fit is achieved. Wide tactical rings also leave fewer marks on the scope tube. On the other hand, bulky tactical rings don’t really look appropriate on elegant hunting rifles.

While many mounts meant for hunting rifles are still made from steel, almost all tactical mounts are made from aluminum. High-quality European riflescope mount producers use high-quality aluminum alloys which are equally strong as steel but much light at the same time.

Hunting mounts with 30mm rings usually have 1/3 – 2/3 arrangement of the rings and tactical mounts usually have ½ - ½ arrangement. 

Hawke 9-11mm Match Mounts, 30mm, 0 MOA, Matte style

Hawke 9-11mm Match Mounts, 30mm scope mount

The 30 mm rings are manufactured by: 

Is lapping of the rings really needed?

Lapping is a process that is essentially lining two mounting rings perfectly to one-a-another. It is done with special cylinders that grind off the excess metal.

When the ring is constructed from two near half circles - so if the circle of the ring is split in half, roughly in the ratio 50:50 and such rings are mounted on two separate mounting bases, then lapping is recommended. If lapping is not performed, the very small offsetting can be present when all the different pieces of the mount come together and when both rings are mounted on two separated bases. If the mounting of two high-quality rings is done on a single-piece base, then lapping is not needed. This is one of the reasons that Picatinny rails style are becoming so popular in recent years.

In the worst-case scenario, the axis that runs through the center of the rear ring does not completely match the axis that runs through the center of the front ring. For this reason, the scope, if mounted into such rings is under unwanted structural stress. The most obvious problems that occur due to this reason are less than perfect optical performance, tracking problems, the side focus mechanism can stop working and the point of impact groups can be dispersed.

If the ring is designed in the fashion of 1/3 base of the ring and 2/3 of the top of the ring then lapping is not required as the design is plastic enough to bend slightly and adjust its shape to the scope tube. The same applies to ½-1/2 rings mounted on the single-piece base.

It may be a good idea to take into consideration to choose the 1/3: 2/3 rings as they do not require additional lapping to be fitted properly. Or use a single-piece mounting base.

Lapping is also not required with monoblock mounts and all mounts are made from one piece of material and alignment of both rings is usually perfect. It is also not required with high-quality European mounts since their tolerances are minimal.

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Airguns or pellet guns (the name comes from projectiles they shoot – pellets) are popular among all generations of people with a variety of different interests.

They are used for

  • plinking,

  • hunting,

  • sport competitions etc.

All these activities demand variety of different airguns. A lot of these applications do not require a rifle scope for using an air gun, but some of them do – especially hunting or long range shooting.

Hawke 9-11mm Match Mounts, 30mm, high

Hawke 9-11mm Match Mounts, 30mm, high

 

General Features of Airgun Scope Mounts

It is common to almost all airguns that they have 11 mm dovetail on the receiver. This dovetail is full length and it is used for mounting a rifle scope or diopter. Such dovetails are basically the same as on the rimfire rifles (.22 calibre). It is important to know that they share the same mounting platform and this is why we can found airgun scope mounts also on rimfire rifles and normally, similar scopes are used on both types of rifles.

When thinking of mounting a rifle scope on the airgun, we have to consider that spring powered airguns have strong recoil in both directions. This is why the robustness and rigidness of the mounts is extremely important (especially with spring powered airguns). This problem is not the case with rimfire rifles, where recoil is very mild.

Mostly, these mounts are made from aluminium and can also have a screw that serves as recoil stopper. The screw can be placed vertically, but with the two part design scope mounts, screw can be placed horizontally. Although, majority of airgun scope mounts comes without recoil notches. There are two options available for mounting the scope on the airgun monoblock scope mount: 25.4 mm (1’’) or 30 mm rings. Other dimensions can also be found, however - they are extremely rare.

Normally, airgun mounts are affordable and in most cases fixed. Detachable airgun scope mounts are usually very rare. However, the most affordable airgun mounts are also the ones from the lowest quality (although, sufficient) and high quality mounts can be expensive, too.

Adjustable inclination on the rifle scope mounts is advisable, usable and a lot of times needed (because of the imperfections of different parts – rifle, mount, rings and dovetail). Some of the mounts also have recoil buffer available. There are also available shock absorbing recoil buffers that can be bought separately and installed behind the scope mount and help to absorb recoil.

BKL 0.6" Long Dovetail Rings, 30 mm

BKL 0.6" Long Dovetail Rings, 30 mm


Monoblock Scope Mounts for Airguns

Monoblock scope mounts for airguns are definitely more reliable than two piece scope mounts. This is normally because they can handle recoil much better. They are robust, rigid, hard and they offer great clamping surface for the dovetail. However, with monoblock scope mounts, setting the proper eye relief might be an issue in some cases. Also, monoblock mounts are almost always more expensive than similar two piece mounts. Clamping surface on the rail which is connected to the rings in one piece is usually higher than it can be with comparable two piece mounts. This might also be an disadvantage, worth mentioning.


One Part and Two Part Design of Airgun Scope Mounts

When we are talking about two piece solutions of airgun mounts, we should not forget to mention some of the differences between one part and two part design of these mounts. One part design is easier to produce, therefore these mounts are cheaper as a rule. Versatility with one part design of scope mounts is normally poor. More options of mounting a scope are normally available with two part design scope mounts. It is good to know that airgun scope mounts for rifle scopes with rail systems are not usual (actually, they are rare). If they are available, they are normally available with two part design of scope mounts. Example for such mount could be Recknagel’s tip off mount for 11 mm dovetail on the bottom and with Zeiss rail option (ZM/VM) on the top. They also offer a LM rail version of these mounts.