Dave I disagree on the Talley's being the best mounts available. For many years, when rifles all had sights we used the Weaver mounts and quick Det rings. The the mfgrs stopped adding the sights and all rifles (or most) were slick bbls. I was going on a much desired Rocky Mtn hunt for Elk/Mulies and wanted a new rifle, scope, mounts. After looking at all the set ups at BAss i elected to go with Leupolds Dual Dove Tail mounts.I got them mounted and scoped wih a Nikon Monarch and zeroed at 200 yds + 1". My Rem. custom shop 700's ( a 30-06 and a 25-06) have been to the Rockies yearly for the past l2 yrs and the scope has maintaied zero thru all the baggage handles (as they try to burst the cases apart) and to this day both firearms have maintained the same zero as on the onset. So no way will I ever mount a scope on any rifle without the Leupold DDT set up. But again,success is what matters, And what-ever works for you that's what you should use. However I do think all steel mounts are better than Allum. Shoot-um-straight and often.

Well i hope the sandwhich tasted good, because it sounds to me like that is a damn good scope. I'm gonna have to see if I can get me one of those.

Nate

Don't feel bad, Mr. Petzal. The catfish sandwich has proved the undoing of many a high-minded journalist.

Customer service is excellent too. I need the detachable mounts for my Austin/Halleck muzzleloader which is not the most common in-line out there. Talley was very helpful, and the base and rings are awesome. I've never had a problem with maintaining a zero, and every time I go to the range I make sure to shoot both with iron sights and the scope.

Talleys are indeed all Petzal says they are. The only negative thing I can say is that personally I think they are a bit on the ugly side when compared to Conetrols or a few others. However if ugly works the best then so be it. I dislike catfish and my best friend owns Taylor Grocery in Taylor Mississippi which sells the absolute finest catfish meals in the world. Check it out on the net. Lynn has won about every award available including some issued from the high class food magazines. Don't tell him I don't care for catfish, even his. You can tell him I love Talleys but he won't give a damn.

I've used Leopold and Weaver mounts with no problems. The only mounts I ever had that gave trouble was a set of see-throughs that I think I got from Sears about thirty years ago. This blog surprises me only because I haven't heard of a bad scope mount for a long time. I guess Talleys are the best of a good bunch. But then I don't shoot .450 Dakotas, either.

I meant steel rings.

Which would explain my typos.

Jere A. Sorry to hear about the Melanoms, that some nasty %$#@

For years I tried to torque the screws super tight like I did on my 56 Chevy heads. Even Leupold said in the dark ages to torque the screws as tight as possible. It was in the old Leupold mounting booklet that came with the scope. Not anymore, they now say 15 inch pounds is enough "ump" for the scope rings. This change came about because scopes sent in for repair had the "crush ring" on most if not all of the scopes returned. I used to lap all my rings but then I found out bad things that will happen that clearly over comes the good, "ie" the knife edge you get when you over do the lapping not to mention the loss in clamping power when top and bottom flange meets before you reach an acceptable torque setting.I found a happy medium, I now use the Warne 25 inch pound Torque wrench. Dave I also like Talley rings but Warne rings work just as well and they don't cost near as much as Talley. There is a good article on Chuck Hawks site about scope rings that is not biased. I don't know about the rest of the gun shooters on this blog but I don't plan to jump out of an airplane or land on some remote hostile beach with weapon in tow. Now I might fall out of my stand, in which case, knocking my scope out of adjustment using rings other than Talley or Leupold would not be my main concern.

DEP what do you think of Buehler or Burris mounts?

My, times do change. In the old days, you could buy a journalist for a bottle of cheap rye whiskey. Now it's catfish sandwiches. Regardless, Talleys are the best rings I have ever used, period.
Michael

I'll have to take your word for it Mr. Petzal. I have used Leupold's(scopes/mounts) for years now, and as the saying goes. "If it ain't broke DON"T fix it". So, how good WAS that sandwitch?

I see I'll have to give Tally rings a close look. Local retailers don't carry them, and I rarely buy what I don't inspect or what hasn't been recommended by a reliable source.

DP

I have had great success with Leupold and Burris bases and rings, particlarly the Leupold Dual Dovetail setup. I have been transitioning all my mounts to DDT since the adjustable rear bases are not necessary for a properly drilled receiver and are a potential source for torque problems. But those Talley setups look mighty fine, too.

Dave, do you lap those Talley rings the same way you (should) do the conventional style? What about Warne rings? I think they have dual Torx screws vice the single ones on Talley's.

Again to each his own. What works for one may not work for the other. So Use wah you like.

Talley LW one piece mounts are on all of my rifles except the Weatherby. It has the steel rings and bases. In my opinion they are better than Leupold rings.

I've got Talley QD rings on my Model 70 Safari Express in .416 Remington magnum, and can remove the scope and reattach it with no noticeable change in zero. These Talleys, by the way, hold a Leupold Vari-X III (older model) variable 1-5X scope. I figure that if I ever needed to remove the scope for a hairy situation, I wouldn't have a quarter on me to turn the knobs on those other guys' rings. I put the levers on the left side so that they wouldn't interfere with cartridge ejection. Whenever I get my next rifle, it will definitely have Talley mounts and rings!