Posted: 12/7/2014 1:10:08 AM EDT
| I searched the archives and I didn't see a topic about lapping. I am going to mount my Leupold 3x9x50mm VX-II to my new Rem 700 CDL in 300 Win Mag and wanted to see if it is really necessary. It doesn't seem like a difficult process, but I've never done it before,my rifles have always been very accurate, and some people swear by it. I am looking at the high double dovetail bases and rings by Leupold. Any advice or guidance? |
| I've done it once on a Remington 700 I put together for my wife. I bought the kit made by Wheeler Engineering (MidwayUSA link) and Leupold rings. Even with the alignment bars there was noticeable areas in the rings that polished down. I'm not exactly sure what the long term benefit is other than rings that are close to perfect alignment and avoiding possible damage to your scope. Read through the product description as well as the customer reviews as there are some good insights. |
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There are two levels of consideration in deciding if lapping the rings is worth the effort.
The first level of concern, if the rings are far enough out they will damage the scope by torquing the tube. The second level of concern, if you a concerned about precision, it takes very little misalignment of the scope to affect what you are seeing at longer distances. The process I used was to install the rings loosely into whatever base and then clamp a steel bar into the rings where the scope would go. Now the rings can be tightened into the base and they will be perfectly aligned. I would then use the bar to lap the rings to remove any high spots. |
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It has always been my understanding that lapping rings was done only as a fix for something that isn't in spec. If you buy high quality scope rails, high quality rings and a high quality scope and you install them properly (which typically includes bedding the scope base), then lapping should not be needed at all. It's usually done when one of the components is sub-par, or hasn't been installed properly. |