[Rich Z]

OK, this is a new one on me. I have been hearing more and more people talking about lapping their scope rings, some even going so far as saying it is absolutely necessary in some instances.

When I got my Nightforce scope for one of my Barretts, the manual specifically states that lapping the rings is a REQUIREMENT, that if not done, could void the warranty on the scope.

Now I have mounted a few scopes in my time, and have NEVER lapped the rings before! Best I have done, is I got these scope ring alignment bars that I use to aligned the front and rear rings to each other before mounting the scope in them.

So how many of you actually lap those scope rings? Is this another one of those latest fad things that crops up every now and again? I think a lapping bar may make it easier to align the front and rear rings than using those pointed alignment bars I now use, but actually lapping the rings? I'm not sure about that one.

Now bear in mind that I tend to use rather high quality rings, so year, I guess if you use the el cheapo brands, there may be some machining problems you would need to smooth out. But heck, what exactly does this gain by doing this lapping step?

 

[Clint Boyer]

I've mounted a few scopes myself, never have done any lapping. I've heard of the process before but have never seen any need for it.
I, myself, wouldn't buy any rings didn't appear to be machined properly. I guess there is always a chance that an unseen defect or irregularity might slip by. But whose to say that a lapping job is done right? If it's required to keep the warranty in force then it may be a good idea. I'd say some jewelers rouge and that alignment bar should do the trick.

 

[andy]

it's needed for extreme long range

work, and/or heavy recoil. If you don't do it, the scope wont "track" striaight up and down as you adjust for elevation, and will "drift" bullet POI off to one side. It will also cause nonaligned torque forces to be applied unequally to the scope, and that will sooner or later ruin the scope, with heavy recoiling rounds. Go to Patriot Network and read Teuf's post about it.

 

[Rich Z]

Well, I bought a 30mm lapping bar and lapped the rings on two of my three Barretts. No big deal and it was easy to do. Those Nightforce scopes are locked in nice and tight now. Still have to sight in my model 95 yet, but hopefully one of these days I'll be able to get around to it.

My model 82 has a Shepherd scope on it, and that is only a one inch tube. Guess maybe I should get a one inch lapping bar and do that ring set as well.

 

[andy]

I wouldn't know. Those rockets are big

targets,at known ranges, don't move,one hit to the fuel tank, at launch, blows them all to hell. so I don't see much need for practicing with the .50. Since anyone dumb enough to be holding still, in the open, in daylight, aint much of a threat, I see no reason to risk a shot at them at long range, and reveal my presence. They are probably scouts for a company more men, that you don't know about, and can't outrun or evade. So why shoot at them, hmm?

 

[Rich Z]

So, you sincerely believe you can just pick up any old .50, hit a target at 1,000 yards with one shot, in all practical weather conditions and scenarios without practicing?

Good luck!

 

[Guest]

u CAN'T, when it's 300 ft tall, 50 ft wide?

Nobody said anything about not ranging the distance from the "hide" to the launch pad, and not sighting in at that distance, in the desert.

 

[Rich Z]

Even if the rocket is 50 ft wide, is that entire 50 ft suitable as the impact point for a .50BMG round to disable it? Don't you need to aim at some point substantially smaller than the entire vehicle? Heck, even an impact that doesn't hit substantially on the centerline of mass will likely glance off of the rounded sides, doing little or no damage at all.

No, I think you still need to place your shot with a bit more precision than that.

Of course, I would be surprised if the perimeter defenses would allow you to get even within 2000 yards of something like that. Especially hauling a .50BMG on your back. Anyone interested in babysitting a rocket that big is going to be real motivated in keeping you away from it.

 

[andy]

I"ve BEEN closer, in a van, and it wasn't

searched. Nothing keeps you from being in a sewer, for 2-3 days in advance, and just emerging for the shot, leaving the .50 in the sewer, and walking away, either. So you also need 4 ft long, 6" diameter suppressor, so what, and a bipod for the can, in addition to the bipod for the rifle, so what?

Poke ANY hole in the liquid fuel tank, and it will pee fuel down onto the launch flame. What do you THINK will happen then, hmm?

do you have a CLUE how many men it takes to man a perimeter that is 6000 m around, hmm? Much less to ALSO cover the entire area inside of that circle? Hell no you don't. How would you go about searchinig all the sewers in an area even close to that size, and how long would THAT take, hmm? Could you FIND a buried motorcyle, in the sand out there, in say, the 8 minutes it would take a man to run a mile, and once he's hitting 60 mph out there, could you keep him from just dumping the bike in a few minutes, and just blending with the crowd? what if he wore makeup, looking black, with a curly hair wig and beard, and removed same while in a rest room, eh?

 

[Rich Z]

Yeah, I suppose you could. You could get there (where ever "there" is) 2 or 3 days in advance where you just happen to know the bad guys are going to be hauling in a 50 foot diameter rocket to destroy the free world with. You just happened to know this sort of information, right? And I'm assuming this is on foreign soil, so certainly no one there is going to blink at some foreign guy hauling around a large rifle, then crawling into a sewer with it. Happens all the time there, I guess.

So the above assumes a mobile launcher that you know exactly when and where it is going to be at so you can prepare days ahead by being there waiting for them, right? I'm sure that kind of information is simple to come by.

Otherwise it's a fixed facility, and they have had as much time as necessary to set up a perimeter security system. Why would they need a warm body every 10 meters? That is what technology is for. There are so many perimeter alarm systems available that would pick you up in a heartbeat that it isn't funny. Maybe this sort of sneaking up on the rocket scenario would have worked during WW2, but if some bad guy country has the capability to launch a missle like you are describing, from a fixed and secured location, they certainly have the technology to secure the area effectively as well.

Besides, you wouldn't be going into a mission like this with a .50 rifle anyway, now would you? If you can carry a .50, there are a whole lot of other things you could be carrying that would be much more effective.

 

[ASPHALT COWBOY]

Scope ring lapping

No offence Rich, but, how did this thread on a woefully overlooked scope mounting technique turn into a missle shooting match?

Now the important matter.
Yes, lapping scope rings is nessecary. 1; are the rings perfectly aligned? Probably not, any missalignment will (tweek) a scope tube to some degree causing scratches and even denting. 2; look at the inside surface of any quality set of rings and you will find machining marks, those reduce the bearing surface which contact the scope tube, that in itself is what causes slippage.
By lapping you achieve that final .0005" of alinment as well as increasing bearing surface at the same time, and it only takes 20 minutes.

like they say spend as much for the scope as you did the rifle then mount it right.

 

[Rich Z]

Beats me how threads will go off on a life of their own!

Anyway, I guess I feel better about ring lapping now that I did a couple sets of them. But I don't think I'm going to be anal enough about it to remove my already mounted scopes to lap those rings as well. I do like the fact that making minor adjustments to the position of the scope within the rings will not leave scratch marks like has happened to be before.

But all in all it was another learning experience. I had never heard of this before I talked to people about mounting scopes on .50 rifles. Live and learn, I guess.

 

[ASPHALT COWBOY]

Rich, there's another tip I forgot to mention.
put a strip of electrical tape inside the ring halves about 1/4" narrower than the ring, even a lapped ring can scratch, tape also gives a bit more grip on the tube.