Hey guys,

I'm trying to order my base and rings and just want to confirm before I do. I am going to be running a Leupold MK4 8.5-25x50mm, Badger 20 moa base and Badger rings. When I use the scope ring height calculator it tells me I can use the standard height (.823) rings?

I just saw on another thread people recommending medium or high rings for 50mm scopes, and wanted to make sure.

When I run the calculator on your setup, I get a NO-GO for the standard height rings.  What numbers are you plugging in for the various parameters?

What rifle?

It is hard to say without the rifle and possibly even barrel profile dimensions. I would mount your base and mock it up with your scope. Then measure.  Then you can figure it out with your cheek weld, eye relief set correctly, etc. guessing the forward rearward scope movement on a tapered barrel could be the difference between be working and reselling your rings for taller ones.

Rob;

I know that you are an experienced precision shooter... so, at the risk of being accused of hijacking the thread, I'd like to ask you a question on the topic of ring height...

When setting up a hunting rifle which will be used to take medium sized game at distances less than say 300 yards and which is zeroed and then used in the field without any additions adjustments, I understand that it is advantageous to have the optical axis of your scope as close to the bore axis as possible...  but in precision distance shooting where you will be dialling in a firing solution and holding dead on (except for maybe wind hold off) at any distance out to the effective range of your cartridge,  Does how close the optical axis is to the bore axis (within reason) really matter at all???  In my most recent build, I mounted my scope with a generous amount of room between the barrel and the objective bell (sunshade/ARD) for the ease of the installation, the comfort of getting behind the scope while shooting, and the leeway between the rear of the scope and the bolt lever.  My thinking was that since I will be chronographing my rounds and then going to a ballistic calculator where you input all the data (including sight height above the bore)...  the ballistic calculator will take all the data into account and produce a ballistic table that will be accurate out to whichever distance in whichever increments that you asked for...  as a result, I don't understand why (some) precision shooters even try to mount scopes so low...

Thanx in advance for your comments/wisdom...  

- R -

It doesn't really matter provided you don't
have cant.

If you are canted the higher height above bore effects bore offset more.

If you are plumb with your reticle and bore and Earth then you can mount your scope 10" high.

Mounting low is more for proper cheek weld. Adjustable comb stocks are more popular now so cheek weld is less of an issue.

One of my rifles has a 35moa base, MTU profile barrel and 56mm objective but a conventional stock so I wanted that scope as low as possible due to the huge amount I needed to build up the comb.

Exactly what I thought!  I thank you sir!

Fair enough although I don't know how important cheek weld is in slow, prone shooting with relatively short "on scope" times...  I can understand for a sniper who can be on scope for hours at a time, or for a competition shooter shooting long strings - every little bit matters...  but for weenie-me who will be on scope for a few minutes at a time and can take breaks whenever necessary (recreational shooting or maybe hunting), I'm not so sure it is that important...

In the grand scheme of things, my feeling is >>> in for a penny - in for a pound...  does it really matter if the huge build up is 0.25" more or less???  I'm not sure...

Thanx again for the wisdom popnfresh!  

Usually no but there comes a point where a simple soft pack on the comb wont work and you have to build up the comb with hard items.With a soft pack, if you get it too tall it will push off the side of the stock IME
This is the problem I had with my rifle. My pack kept pushing to the side, I even made a kydex liner, still didn't work. Finally got a Bradley Adjustable and it is at max height.

Cheek weld should be perfect height so you can rest on it to look through the scope. It doesn't take long to fatigue from holding your head up trying to look through your scope shooting prone.

My setup, you can see my scope in nearly touching the barrel and my cheek rest is maxed out. Don't really have room for another 1/4" height unless I want to really create a house of cards.

Here you go.

...or change your stock to something completely different.

Nice rig...  obviously designed with some serious distance in mind...  what caliber?  (to my eye) It looks like a R700 SA but that seems unlikely (to my brain)...

The rifle is 700 5R with the 20" threaded stainless factory barrel.

Thanks, it's a 20" R700SA .308, I had the bbl chambered with a deep throat to shoot long 230 loads so I can get serious distance for a 20" .308 LOL.



My rings pictured there are 1.102" height but keep in mind the heavy barrel is about a 1/4" larger diameter at the objective bell than the factory 700 SPS barrel(56mm objective).