scope mounting

[sand rat]

Need a little advice. I have an older Ruger M 77 with a tang safety in 338 win mag. I'm wanting to put my new 4x12 adj. Ao, 40 mm Leupold on it and the scope is hitting the barrel with the standard rings Ruger supplies with the rifle. Ruger and Leupold both said It should not be hitting the barrel, well it is!

Ruger said to just move the back high ring to the front and get an X high 6b rear and put it on the back. I would have thought Ruger would have designed their barrel profile or rings to clear this type of scope . I mean 40mm adj Ao scopes are as common as hens teeth.

My problem is I'm wanting to keep the scope as low as possible, for a good cheek weld. I hate high mounted scopes.

Has anyone mounted a 40mm Leupold with a adj. Ao on a magnum Ruger with the standard rings? Or is their another brand of rings to look at that is just a little higher than the standard rings Ruger supply's. I dont need much it looks like about 30 thousandths to clear the barrel.

Thanks Sand Rat

[Joe O]

Go to the Ruger INC site.They have rings in at least three different heights.If they are fairly new,they will exchange them,otherwise buy the next higher size locally or from the factory(customer service)

[Rick in Oregon]

Sand Rat: I've got a bunch of rifles with 40mm Leupold scopes mounted in Low Leupold ring sets. You may just want to call Leupold's Tech line (503-526-1427) or just purchase a set of Medium rings to fix the problem. There is a slight difference in height between Ruger and Leupold "Low" ring sets, and I'm guessing that .030" difference is what's vexing you now. The knurls on the AO are usually what screw up low mounting, a reason I like the side focus parallax feature.

I also like a good cheek weld and low mounted scopes. That's the reason I like Low rings in order to get the scope as close to the bore as possible, as well as minimize the possibility of canting. The Leupold rings are of much better quality than Ruger rings also, and seldom need lapping. They look better too IMO.

Here's proof Leupold Low Rings work with 40mm scopes with varmint weight barrels:



You may also want to try a piece of .030" brass or plastic shim stock under the lower rings halfs....cheesy, but it works in a pinch.