Are 30mm scope rings, 30mm inside diameter?

[rmiked]

I’m thinking scope rings must be slightly narrow OR the top and bottom halves would touch. And if they touched there is no way the scope would be held tightly. I have never thought about how to machine scope rings but it seems to me there will be some elastic deformation as you torque up the screws on the ring halves. It’s likely if you measure scope rings they will be slightly (approx 0.010”) narrow vertically and perhaps slightly wider at the elevation where the two halves meet. This would allow for the top half to wrap around the tube as it is torqued down, elastically deforming, and form a tight fit around the scope tube. Every pair of rings I have had resulted in a gap between the top and bottom halves and I alternated between the sides to keep the gap uniform. Does anyone know if there is some standard of machining scope rings such that the scope is tight (secure) ? Thanks

 

[B y r o n]

Nothing standard that I am aware of which is why there are so many scope ring designs.

 

[Makinchips208]

thousands of rings I made were all made with a specific gap between the cap and base.
As well as diameter specs with the ring diameter being roughly a few thousandths larger than nominal.
Im sure there is no set industry standards.

 

[rmiked]

Thank you.