Lightweight ring/base options

[freediver111]

I have a Winchester Model 70 that I’m planning on customizing and wanted to see some opinions on rings and bases on the more lightweight side.
It’s going to be something of a magnum caliber for elk/moose. Haven’t decided if I’m sticking to a 338 win mag or maybe a RUM.
It currently has a Leupold STD one piece base and rings. Not 100% sure if I love that combo, but it was on the rifle when I bought it and seems to work. I could just swap rings to a 30mm size and be done with it.
I’ve mostly been putting pic rails and Seekins rings on the last couple of rifles I customized and have zero complaints, but that’s not really light weight. Plus I don’t have the need to take the scope off this rifle so a pic rail system is not needed, but I do like them.
For direct mount rings in a model 70 one the limited selections I see are Leupold backcountry two piece mounts, Winchester brand integrated rings, and Talley makes some of similar flavor.
Any of those worth it, or stick with my pic rail and ring combo? I’m looking at maybe the Warne mountain tech series, but not sure if I want to go with that lightweight set up on a bigger magnum caliber.
Thoughts?


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[deerkiller]

Warne Mountain Tech - Night Force - Talley - Leupold has some new lightweights out - there are others - there are quite a few options available

 

[TNKnoxville]

Put a set of the Tally 1 piece ring/bases on my sons Model 70. Fit is perfect and holding up well. It's only a .243. I have them on my 30 06 and 308 and they have held up nice over the last several years of shooting.

 

[Wapiti1]

For an integral lightweight ring/mount, I prefer DNZ to Talley. I think that the DNZ is made with better attention to detail.

For aluminum separate rings and bases, I've been happy with the Vortex Viper rings as well as TPS rings. My go to bases and rails are EGW.

Jeremy

 

[Brightwhite]

Take a look at the Hawkins 1 peice long range hybrids. You will need a scope that’s a 30 or 34mm tube. But they are far more robust than the talleys and are slightly heavier. I forget the weight, but I think it’s ~4oz for the pair and includes a built in anti cant level.

You could also look at a titanium pic rail from Murphy precision and running any of the bazillion lightweight rings that deer killer called out above...that’s the lightest rail I am aware of.

 

[mcseal2]

My lighter 70 in 300 win mag has Talley's on it. I went with the steel instead of aluminum since this is the gun that gets abused the most of any I own. A buddy had the aluminum Talleys have the upper part of the ring split once. I would bet it was not torqued properly, but either way I just went steel. This is the rifle that goes to AK on trips I save up for years to go on and where a back-up rifle is not an option with the weight limits. I want as few things to go wrong as possible.

 

[howl]

DNZ pretty light and easy to get along with.

I like picatinny because swapping on a 24x scope for load testing makes life easier. EGW or other aluminum rail with Seekins rings is the lightweight way to do that. The key to how light rings are is how little steel is used. Seekins has hardly any.

 

[jhm2023]

Talley lightweights are all I buy anymore. I wouldn't give DNZ a penny of my money or piss in their mouth if their teeth were on fire. Long story short I had some base screws sheer off with a set of DNZ hunt master rings on my model 70 .338WM. Called to order new screws and the owner answered the phone. Instead of letting me buy some new screws he acted very unprofessional, obscene and did not want to do anything but argue with me telling me I had no clue what I was talking about and that it's impossible for their 6-48 screws to break. The screws were torqued correctly with a torque wrench yet DNZ's instruction say tighten them till the included wrench starts to bend, lmao. Spend your money where you want but I figured you should know what kind of guy you're giving your money to. Fast forward to nearly a dozen Talley mounts later, I had some ring screws rust due to salt from a salted cape when it was strapped to my pack. I called Talley to purchase new screws and told them what happened. They said no worries we will send some out for free.

 

[deerkiller]

Talley lightweights are all I buy anymore. I wouldn't give DNZ a penny of my money or piss in their mouth if their teeth were on fire. Long story short I had some base screws sheer off with a set of DNZ hunt master rings on my model 70 .338WM. Called to order new screws and the owner answered the phone. Instead of letting me buy some new screws he acted very unprofessional, obscene and did not want to do anything but argue with me telling me I had no clue what I was talking about and that it's impossible for their 6-48 screws to break. The screws were torqued correctly with a torque wrench yet DNZ's instruction say tighten them till the included wrench starts to bend, lmao. Spend your money where you want but I figured you should know what kind of guy you're giving your money to. Fast forward to nearly a dozen Talley mounts later, I had some ring screws rust due to salt from a salted cape when it was strapped to my pack. I called Talley to purchase new screws and told them what happened. They said no worries we will send some out for free.

DNZ uses good quality steel screws but they are also highly susceptible to corrosion/rust - IF salt was in contact that is very likely why they gave it up as I had a set that I could not get out short of drilling them (which I did, then drilled and retapped for 8-40

 

[Cahunter805]

Talley lightweights that have been bedded to the action would be a great choice.

 

[jhm2023]

DNZ uses good quality steel rings but they are also highly susceptible to corrosion/rust - IF salt was in contact that is very likely why they gave it up as I had a set that I could not get out short of drilling them (which I did, then drilled and retapped for 8-40

The DNZ mounts I had did not rust, they just broke off on the front base for whatever unknown reason. The rings themselves were aluminum. It was the cap screws on the Talley's that rusted and I just wanted to replace them because I don't like rusty things on my firearms. Regardless the owner of DNZ is a real piece of work and that in itself is the reason they will never get my business or positive reviews. I too had to drill and tap my receiver because I had part of 2 screws stuck in there from when the screws sheered off flush.

 

[deerkiller]

The DNZ mounts I had did not rust, they just broke off on the front base for whatever unknown reason. The rings themselves were aluminum. It was the cap screws on the Talley's that rusted and I just wanted to replace them because I don't like rusty things on my firearms. Regardless the owner of DNZ is a real piece of work and that in itself is the reason they will never get my business or positive reviews. I too had to drill and tap my receiver because I had part of 2 screws stuck in there from when the screws sheered off flush.

Crazy …..

 

[deerkiller]

Crazy …..

meant steel screws, not rings

 

[deerkiller]

on the Tikkas I've been using Mountain Tactical rails and lightweight rings (I've BEEN using Leupold "Rifleman" rings but am now at least considering something that seems more robust although I've not had any troubles on either) I'm looking at Warne Mountain Tech now

 

[PathFinder]

The DNZ mounts I had did not rust, they just broke off on the front base for whatever unknown reason. The rings themselves were aluminum. It was the cap screws on the Talley's that rusted and I just wanted to replace them because I don't like rusty things on my firearms. Regardless the owner of DNZ is a real piece of work and that in itself is the reason they will never get my business or positive reviews. I too had to drill and tap my receiver because I had part of 2 screws stuck in there from when the screws sheered off flush.

If you torqued them until the wrench bent like DNZ instructed, that was probably the issue. Ductile metals (aluminum and most steels included) will deform elastically before permanent deformation occurs. Recommended torque limits generally take screws up to ~70% of their elastic limit. If the elastic limit is exceeded, the screw begins to stretch, becoming thinner/longer. That highly stressed, reduced cross section is very susceptible to shear failure.
This is why lugs (like Tikka incorporates, but few mounts take advantage of) are a big advantage. I never had an issue with the Talley UL rings I had on my T3 Superlite 7 RM, but I'd much rather have rings that use Tikka's lug.

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[jhm2023]

I torque all of my bases with a torque wrench to the firearm's manufacturer recommended toque specs. I never said I followed their instructions. I was pointing out how the owner of DNZ told me I had no clue what I was talking about yet their instructions literally say tighten until the wrench starts to bend some. I've never had an issue with Talley either, even on my 33 Nosler.

 

[freediver111]

Thanks guys!
I think I may try the Talley lightweights bedded to the action. If they’re solid and they only cost $50 or so, that’s not a bad option. I may decide to stick with my standard Pic rail and ring combo, but the Talley two piece lightweight rings look appealing.

30mm tube and 42mm objective, go medium or low on the Talley’s?


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[Cahunter805]

With a 30mm tube and 42mm lows should clear.

 

[PrplGld]

For direct mount rings in a model 70 one the limited selections I see are Leupold backcountry two piece mounts, Winchester brand integrated rings, and Talley makes some of similar flavor.

I ordered a Model 70 this week. I wanted the Winchester brand integrated mounts but was having trouble finding them. I just called Winchester to inquire abt where they might be found. He said they were on "back order" from their manufacturer. He also told me the Winchester brand integrated mounts are actually made/supplied by Talley.