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Writer's pictureShane Rollins

Leupold/Redfield Rings and Bases

If you're a firearms enthusiast, specifically an enthusiast who uses optics, you've probably noticed a shift from old weaver or Leupold bases and rings to Picatinny mounting solutions. This wasn't the case up until the early 1990's, however.


The most prominent optics mounting platform up until this time was the Leupold/Redfield two-piece base and ring. This system relies on two, individual, bases with mounting points on each so that rings can be attached to secure and level the optic. The ring on the front base must be inserted and twisted into place, while the rear base has opposing screws that secure the ring and allows for windage adjustments to be made via the base. This was crucial since optics of the time had limited elevation and windage adjustments internally.


While this system performed well then, and is still very reliable today, it had limitations. One of these limitations was limited adjustment for proper eye relief. We'll cover the in-depth importance of eye relief another time, but the basic definition of eye relief is the distance the eyepiece lens. If you've ever looked through the optic mounted on an old bolt action and head to stretch your neck to see properly through the optic, eye relief was not properly adjusted for you. This wasn't the biggest issue with the platform, though.





Aligning the two rings on the individual bases is the biggest concern of most people I speak with that still have rifles utilizing 2-piece Leupold, or weaver, bases. To properly align the rings, an alignment tool is used to provide a visual reference and to physically rotate the front ring in the base as well. The tools were fairly expense, and most hobbyists used things like wooden dowels, bar stock, or whatever else they could find. Even with the proper tools, it's almost impossible to get them perfectly aligned. If the optic is mounted without perfect alignment of the two rings, uneven torque is applied by the rings to the scope tube, which can damage the scope or allow it to "slip" during the recoil impulse that occurs during firing. This is especially true on large revolvers with optics.




To overcome this inability to perfectly align the two rings, tools for lapping the rings with a hardened steel bar, and lapping compound, were produced and utilized by those looking for the best results when mounting optics. The process is simple, but requires finesse. If you remove too much material from the rings when lapping, the rings will not clamp the scope tube with enough force to secure it in place, and give the illusion that the scope is damaged since it won't hold a zero.




After properly aligning and lapping the rings, you end up with a very robust and aesthetically pleasing system to mount your optic. If you're looking to get a little more adjustment for eye relief, Leupold offers bases with a 1" offset built into the front ring as well, which you can see in the pictures. This old sporterized 6mm-06 still required mounting the optic as far back as possible for proper eye relief. That's not something I like to do, but sometimes it is what it is.





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