I am about to scope my SPS in .308. I have ASSumed that I would use a solid one-piece unit from Leupold or Badger, BUT…
It seems to me (in my uneducated opinion) that a 2 piece solution might be a)lighter, b) cleaner, and c) a little bit easier to load. I think that the shorter action is probably stiff enough to resist twist. Am I right? Any major downside to this sort of arrangement on a short action rifle?
This is NOT a work rifle or anything that is likely to be used in anything even remotely like a life-or-death scenario.
I think if your not shooting precision matches you wil be fine. At what distances will you be shooting? I have a Rem 700 SPS Tactical in a 20" barrel with Leupold 2 piece mount. I haven’t shot past 100 yards yet, but its very accurate at that distance. I’m sure some better informed people will give you a more solid answer on the technical side.
Nothing wrong with 2 piece if you already have one. The best way to answer your questions is to state that there is no downside to a one piece ( weight difference etc is not worth discussing ) , but rather there are lots of positives
There are a huge assortment of affordable and quality once piece picatinny bases for Rem 700. Go to Brownells website…you will go blind looking at the various Rem 700 bases
You may also think long term if you will ever be taking your 308 to 1000yrds because with a 0MOA base many scopes will not have enough adjustment. Notable exceptions are Leupold Mk4 16X , all Nightforce NSX etc
Again, if you are starting from scratch, no reason NOT put a 10 or 20MOA base . Most scopes will zero at 100yrds on a 20MOA
Matt they’re definitely not required. I’ve got an old 700VS in .308 that’s 1/2moa out to 700yds with your basic 2-piece bases and STD rings. With my set-up (Loopy 3.5-10x40 LR/T) I’ve got enough elevation to get to 1k yds. YMMV.
You may also want to consider Ferrel, their rings and mounts are top notch. I went with a one piece rail with 20 MOA, just in case I want to put better glass on it and go to 1000 yards. But whatever you decide will be fine, its your rifle do what makes you happy.
I think it’s a good idea to bed one end of a 1-piece, or at least use a feeler to check the gap. It can’t be good to have stress there.
For a 2-piece, I’m not up to lapping the rings, but I do use a light smear of gasket sealant, which I assume takes up some imperfection.
ETA: I just read the Badger Ordnance pdf…would just using loctite accompish the same goal as bedding? Not “quite” as solid, but better than nothing, and simple?
I will tell you though that the NF rail I put on my SPS Tactical had less the .001" gap. I literally could not detect any gap whats so ever…I guess shelling out the little extra for the NF base was worth it.
Based on what I’ve read, your situation may speak more to the abnormal trueness of your 700’s receiver holes than those of the NF base, which we assume should be near-perfect. 700 receivers on the other hand are reportedly (via primarily snipershide but also elsewhere) notorious for being less than perfect, compared to Savage for instance. But that won’t detract me from buying 700…just FYI!
I couldn’t agree more. If you really want to add to the strength of the receiver, you can even bed both ends without release agent, essentially making the rail a part of the receiver. If you ever need to remove it, a little heat and smack of a brass hammer will pop it off.
Depends entirely on the compressive strength of the gasket sealant, but if nothing else it’s preventing moisture from getting in-between and rusting.
That depends entirely on how far “out” the receiver is. If it’s .001" or less? Probably fine, but any more than that I’d go with bedding.
