Scope ring height, please help!

"A pistol is what you use to fight your way back to the rifle you never should have left behind!" Clint Smith, Thunder Ranch

Moderators: carlson1, Keith B

Post Reply

Topic author
c.edgington
Member
Posts in topic: 1
Posts: 59
Joined: Sun Feb 02, 2014 11:14 pm
Location: Fort Worth, TX

Scope ring height, please help!

#1

Post by c.edgington »

Need some help here on something that I CANNOT figure out. I have purchased a Savage 110 in .338 Lapua which comes with a base already installed. I have also bought a Vortex Viper PST 4-16x50.

I have read as many articles as I can find and can't figure out how to choose what height scope rings I need. I'm going to get Vortex Precision rings, and I need 30mm, but low, medium, high, extra high??... I have NO clue.. Please help lol!
Sent-01/22/2014
Plastic-3/15/14
User avatar

Beiruty
Senior Member
Posts in topic: 2
Posts: 9655
Joined: Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:22 pm
Location: Allen, Texas

Re: Scope ring height, please help!

#2

Post by Beiruty »

You need rings
1) high enough so your scope clear the barrel or anything else higher than the barrel if any.
2) high enough so when you shoulder the rifle, cheek rested on the stock, you can have full view of the scope.
Beiruty,
United we stand, dispersed we falter
2014: NRA Endowment lifetime member
User avatar

Beiruty
Senior Member
Posts in topic: 2
Posts: 9655
Joined: Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:22 pm
Location: Allen, Texas

Re: Scope ring height, please help!

#3

Post by Beiruty »

Beiruty,
United we stand, dispersed we falter
2014: NRA Endowment lifetime member

MechAg94
Senior Member
Posts in topic: 1
Posts: 1584
Joined: Tue Dec 09, 2008 10:28 pm

Re: Scope ring height, please help!

#4

Post by MechAg94 »

I believe the low, medium, high are all a set distance above the mount. You might be able to look up those distances and figure what the minimum height needs to be to stay clear of the rifle and barrel. After that, you can try to estimate how high you want the scope based on where you eyes rest when shouldering the rifle.

I am sure the experts can tell you more detail than that. :mrgreen:

cyphertext
Senior Member
Posts in topic: 1
Posts: 690
Joined: Wed Jul 16, 2014 11:31 am

Re: Scope ring height, please help!

#5

Post by cyphertext »

A 50mm objective will very often need the high rings... too bad Vortex does not offer a tool like Leupold to take some of the guesswork out.

android
Senior Member
Posts in topic: 1
Posts: 508
Joined: Sun Jul 26, 2009 11:11 pm

Re: Scope ring height, please help!

#6

Post by android »

Just get out some graph paper and draw it up.

You should allow about a 1/4" gap between the barrel and the scope.
Your cheek weld/eye height is very likely going to come out just fine with a 50mm objective at that height over the barrel.

Draw it, figure out the gap, order the ring that is TALLER than that gap.

winters
Banned
Posts in topic: 1
Posts: 325
Joined: Fri Sep 05, 2014 1:14 pm

Re: Scope ring height, please help!

#7

Post by winters »

My fix was to order low medium high rings and find what the lowest ones I could use. I got 2 vortex vipers with the big 50mm objective. Doesn't make it any easier. The only other option is to raise the comb height which I think I need to do anyway. I even had to grind some on the rail to get the scope back further. And barely any clearance for the barrel.

SSwt00SS
Junior Member
Posts in topic: 1
Posts: 30
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2014 12:28 pm

Re: Scope ring height, please help!

#8

Post by SSwt00SS »

c.edgington wrote:Need some help here on something that I CANNOT figure out. I have purchased a Savage 110 in .338 Lapua which comes with a base already installed. I have also bought a Vortex Viper PST 4-16x50.

I have read as many articles as I can find and can't figure out how to choose what height scope rings I need. I'm going to get Vortex Precision rings, and I need 30mm, but low, medium, high, extra high??... I have NO clue.. Please help lol!
You fail to mention what the built-in MOA the base rail is. That needs to be taken into consideration when choosing ring mounts.

I'm running a Vortex Viper PST FFP 6-24x50 on my setup which has a 20 MOA base rail, and ended up ordering a Cantilevered 30mm Mount w/ 2" offset from Vortex. (Part # CM-202). It currently shows it's on sale for $89.99 (which is what I paid), over their website. Call to make sure it's in stock if you choose to use this mount. No clearance issues for my application.

You also need to consider total MOA once installed, especially if this is for distance shooting to make sure that you have enough MOA over said distance.
Post Reply

Return to “Rifles & Shotguns”