I understand that there are no bases to be installed,
Mike. As I said in my previous post "if the action is
machined for Talley rings" (emphasis added).
Actions I have seen machined like this (Granite Mountain and Mauser M98 Magnum) were machined to take standard Talley rings (often supplied, indeed, with the rifle). Yours may or may not be. You can check that easily.
IF you have Talley bases on your rifle, my point in the previous post applies "keep in mind that the rings themselves are not as wide as the base. This adds ~3mm (almost 1/8") margin on each ring". Here is a pic showing what I mean, you can clearly see that the ring is narrower than the base by almost 1/8" on each side, hence the scope can be moved ~1/8" forward of the rear edge of the base:
Bottom line: in any case, you have the rifle and the rings.
Put the rings on the rifle and measure from rear edge of rear ring and front edge of front ring.
- If these are Talley rings, this distance will be ~1/4" shorter than rear edge of rear base to front edge of front base, and based on what you wrote previously I expect that this should be 5 5/8" (5.625").
- If these are not Talley rings and the distance is 5 7/8" (5.875"), you are still good.
If you maximize eye relief (which I recommend), the scope rear bell (just ahead of the zoom ring) should touch the rear ring. The scope tube is 165 mm = ~6.5".
- If these are Talley rings, the front edge of the front ring will be .875" or 7/8" from the end of the scope tube. This should put the ring well behind where the front lens is in the tube.
- If these are not Talley rings, the front edge of the front ring will be .625" or 5/8" behind the end of the scope tube. Depending on how the scope is assembled, this should be over or just behind where the front lens is.
This is what it should look like (internet pic Kimber & Redfield):
Use a torque wrench to tighten the screws of the rings per Talley's recommendations: "Steel Screw Lock Detachable and Quick-Detachable ring: bottom 10-32 screws 35 in/lb, top screws 20 in/lb" (
https://www.talleymanufacturing.com/frequently-asked-questions/). You can go down to 15 in/lb on the front ring top screws if it makes you more comfortable (Leupold recommend 15-17 in/lb anyway), because the front ring does not need to be all that tight if the rear bell rests against the rear ring.
I have seen many magnum action DG rifles with the front ring about half an inch or less from the scope tube front end, which places the ring over or just on the edge of the front lens inside the tube (depending how the scope is assembled), and I ever never heard of a front lens being cracked.
Here is an internet pic of a Johannsen rifle showing a front ring very near the front end of the scope tube, likely just over the front lens. I do not think that Johannsen would do this if it represented a risk to crack the scope...
My own rifle would have the scope slid forward all the way until the rear bell touches the rear ring, for the reason I explained previously (
seeing a bit of a fuzzy black ring around the sight picture does not affect shooting, but keeping the scope 1/2" farther forward on a .40+ caliber may well save you from a nasty scope bite in case of snap shooting, and you can always stretch your neck a bit if you take a carefully aimed slow shot), but to each their own. The point of this picture is to show a front ring over the front lens inside the scope tube...
Here is an internet pic of a Martini rifle with front ring about 1/2" to 5/8" from the scope tube end, likely just over the rear edge of the front lens. Same story with one caveat: I guarantee you that this one is a "Weatherby smile" waiting to happen. See how far the scope is over the grip... I would not want that even for a PG rifle... But again, to each their own.
If this does not work for you, then you need a scope with a longer tube... Personally, I would have no qualm whatsoever putting this Leica Amplus 6 1-6x24 on your rifle...
Best of luck
