What is the best quick release scope mount for Ruger/Kimber rifles?

[wombat13]

I’m about to buy a Kimber Hunter and was planning to top it with a Leupold VX-5 3-15x. I already have a Leupold VX-6 2-12x ion my Ruger Hawkeye. I’m wondering if there is a very repeatable mount that would allow me to switch the VX-6 between the two rifles.

These rifles are for hunting not targets.

 

[Chuck R.]

You can probably use a picatinny rail bases on both rifles, as long as it's a quality base, within specs, the rings will align with the notches.

Shouldn't be too much of an issue as long as both are long or short action lengths. I've got a set of Larue QD rings that work well with great RTZ for that use.

That type setup will add a little bit of weight, and re-zeroing every time you swap, so it may become a question as to whether "the juice is worth the squeeze" so to speak.
I like QD mounts for those rifles that I have mutiple scopes for, or may go to irons, but I don't move scopes between rifles, just due to having to re-zero.

 

[Varminterror]

How often are you going to change the optic between rifles? Does it need to be field expedient?

 

[.38 Special]

Delete

 

[d2wing]

How about Leupold mounts. If I recall, they are made to be removable.

 

[jmr40]

IMO it isn't practical to use one scope on 2 rifles. You'll have to re-zero every time you change. Plus Kimber and Hawkeye use very different mounts. Adding a rail to both is the only way, and they don't work very well with Ruger's mounting system.

I have had 2 scopes zeroed for the same rifle in the past. Something like a 1-4X for close fast shooting and a 3-9X for longer range use. In fact I have just that on a Ruger 10-22 at the moment.

While not exactly "quick release", I've had great success using factory Ruger rings on Ruger rifles as well as Weaver, or Weaver style rings. I need a screwdriver to remove and replace the pre-zeroed scope so it isn't something I can do in the field.

As far as returning to zero it might not be acceptable for someone into match shooting, but on a hunting rifle I've never had the scope not return close enough to zero for me to note any difference.

The key is to slide the rings as far forward as possible in the slot in the base when mounting each time. When the rifle recoils the rings want to slide forward. If they are already forward it can't move.

 

[wombat13]

This is a half-baked idea that perhaps I should let go. Here's why I was thinking about this. I don't get to shoot as often as I like and I can only hunt with one rifle at a time. I have a very expensive scope (for me) that sits in the safe 350+ days per year. Is there a way to get more use out of the asset?

Realistically, in the next 5 years or so, 99% or more of my shots will be within 300 yards. I've shot two deer greater than 150 yards ever: one at 212 and one at 182. I was hoping I could have quick release mounts that I could switch and know that going from rifle A to B means that I need to adjust the scope "8 clicks up and 3 clicks right" for example, and be within a MOA. Is that realistic in a mount that costs significantly less than the $1k that the Leupold VX-5 will cost?

 

[3Crows]

Tally, Leupold and Warne all make rings that can be removed and reinstalled using a lever and do not need to be re-zeroed as long as they are on the same rifle. Warne and Tally I am pretty sure make a Ruger specific version as well. I prefer the Warne because they have a vertical split and are steel, USA made. And they do hold zero. For example, for the Ruger:

https://warnescopemounts.com/1rlm-warne-1-inch-ruger-qd-med-matte-rings/

Or install a pic rail and use standard Warne QD rings (not rifle brand specific):

https://warnescopemounts.com/201m-warne-1-inch-pa-medium-matte-rings/

 

[jmorris]

I really like Larue QD mounts but just going between rifles it doesn’t take much. A hex/slot ring won’t slow you down much.


The zero can though. If I have a place to put one, I just put a pistol laser on the rifle and it is set at zero at a known distance. Optics get moved to the dot, projected to said distance.



If that’s not available I made an aluminum V block that mounts onto the barrel and move laser beam to zero of currently mounted optic. Swap optics and move aim point to dot.

 

[Chuck R.]

The old magnetic Leupold "Zero Point" Boresighter would help you do what you're trying to accomplish. It works OK as a boresighter, but it really works well for recording zeros. I make large scale copies of the pattern and record my zeros:



I take pictures of the sheet with my camera and bring the boresighter on hunting trips. Should something happen to the rifle/scope, it's quick/easy to confirm zero. I used it one time when sending in a scope to have the turrets changed. I recorded the zero, removed the scope and sent it in. When it returned I remounted it, and re-boresighted using the "Zero Point". Just as a test I then stepped out on my back porch and took a shot at my turkey swinger at 407yds and got a hit that was only about .5 MOA off POA.

Still, even though what you're thinking of is feasible, my guess is it will prove to be too much of a PITA to swap back and forth regularly. It might make sense IF rifle A was in use 90% of the time, then on an off year you wanted to use rifle B for an Elk hunt etc.

IF it really was easily doable I suspect most of use wouldn't have a dedicated optic (or 2) per rifle.

 

[Varminterror]

@wombat13 - if you’re changing frequently and especially if you’re doing so in the field, then QD’s make sense. However, it sounds like you won’t be changing frequently, since you mentioned one of these rifles doesn’t get used 350+ days per year, and it doesn’t really sound like you need to don and doff in the field…

So personally, instead of buying QD mounts, I’d simply buy a torque limiter stick or torque driver, and use the conventional rings on both rails. Naturally, this will mean you’ll need a pic rail on both rifles, which isn’t as elegant on the Ruger as it is on some rifles, but the parts are out there.

I pull my scopes from my match rifles frequently, I’ve even had to do so in the middle of a rifle match - and installing in the same slot and torquing back to the same torque brings my zero back. I’ve also transplanted my optics many times from one rifle to another, such as shooting a night match which requires illuminated reticle and swapping out a non-illuminated optic for the match, then returning both scopes to their previous rifles again after the match. All just using standard pic rings and rails.

I do have a couple scopes on Alaska Arms QD mounts for Ruger integral bases which I use on the same rifle, a 1-6x and a 4-16x, so when I change barrels from 300wm to 458wm, I can swap scopes quickly, but also because the 458 barrel has iron sights and I might remove the optic in the field. But that’s a little different paradigm than you’re describing, and obviously the Ruger compatible rings I’m using wouldn’t work for your Kimber.

 

[wombat13]

So it sounds like my idea would work, but only if I put a picatinny rail on both rifles because Ruger uses a different style of mount than Kimber. Is that correct?

 

[Chuck R.]

So it sounds like my idea would work, but only if I put a picatinny rail on both rifles because Ruger uses a different style of mount than Kimber. Is that correct?

That's correct. The rails effectively negate the different base mounting system for each rifle.

The rail would also ensure that regardless (within reason) of where the rings were positioned on the scopes, they'd line up with the bases. For instance IF you had two scopes with different tube lengths and had to place the rings further apart for one, it won't matter as long as the bases met specs.

Swapping scopes on one rifle with QD mounts, or VTs method, works because the scopes are zero'd for that rifle. There's some technique to it to make sure you remount the same way each time, but it's not terribly difficult.

By using the same scope on 2 rifles, you'll still end up re-zeroing each time you mount the scope to the other rifle.

 

[Varminterror]

So it sounds like my idea would work, but only if I put a picatinny rail on both rifles because Ruger uses a different style of mount than Kimber. Is that correct?

Yes. The Ruger M77 Hawkeye uses integral mounts for direct ring attachment. Kimber Hunter would use something like integral Talley rings bolted directly to the round receiver, or use bolt on bases. Sticking a pic rail on both rifles would be the only way to use a set of QD rings on both anyway, and at that point, using conventional rings will do what you need with less limitations.

 

[berettaprofessor]

I've used Warne and Leupold QD and prefer Warne. And JMR40, try a SightMark...heavy kludge of a scope but allows you to zero, I think, 5 different rifles at the same time due to the digital nature of the optic.