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Rifle Scopes Spuhr/ARC mount and Vortex Gen II Razor

SFree

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jan 20, 2005
941
318
USA
Vortex says 18 in lbs, but Spuhr says 25 in lbs then the flip side of that is ARC at 55 in lbs...
With the Vortex specification of 18 in lbs how can these two rings/ mounts properly secure a scope?

Experience?
 
Diver,
I emailed Vortex and they said 18 in lbs regardless of manufacturer and ARC would crush the scope tube...
why would Spuhr, ARC publish torque specs for their respective products knowing the values would damage any scope?
 
Diver,
I emailed Vortex and they said 18 in lbs regardless of manufacturer and ARC would crush the scope tube...
why would Spuhr, ARC publish torque specs for their respective products knowing the values would damage any scope?

Different rings designs will have different torque specs. Just because different rings have different torque specs doesn’t necessarily mean they’d impacting the scope with more or less force.
 
Diver,
I emailed Vortex and they said 18 in lbs regardless of manufacturer and ARC would crush the scope tube...
why would Spuhr, ARC publish torque specs for their respective products knowing the values would damage any scope?

Those specs are likely for Vortex rings. As diverdon and Afkirby have said, the torque specs are dependent upon the design of the rings/mount.
 
Afkirby,
That’s why I asked Vortex, but the response was 18 in lbs. I also asked if they did any testing with any other rings besides Seekins/Vortex and they said no.
 
My question to Vortex was specifically about Spuhr and ARC, and response was 18 in lbs...
They need to approve specs for other manufacturers, just makes sense, but only to me, I guess
 
I run my spuhr at 18 with my razor gen 2. No issues with movement

The ARC is so different that it cant compare to any other value because of the way it works. Probably hundreds of them are on here being torqued to 55 without issue
 
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My question to Vortex was specifically about Spuhr and ARC, and response was 18 in lbs...
They need to approve specs for other manufacturers, just makes sense, but only to me, I guess
The dude answering that email probably has no clue what ARC rings are if he said 18 would be fine

Also. They want to sell their product not endorse something else
 
Diver,
I emailed Vortex and they said 18 in lbs regardless of manufacturer and ARC would crush the scope tube...
why would Spuhr, ARC publish torque specs for their respective products knowing the values would damage any scope?

What matters to the scope is not the torque on the screw but the clamping force on the scope tube. The ARC has one screw to tighten rather than four.... so because there are only one quarter as many screws would you think that you need more torque or less torque to produce the same clamping force on the scope tube?

Now pretend you are an machinist: A screw is a simple machine where an inclined plane is wrapped around a cylinder. In smaller screws you have the plane wrapped more tightly. [ the pitch of the screw is higher ] Thus a smaller will generate more clamping force with the same torque than a larger screw would. Remember where I told you that the ARC has a larger screw-- well the larger screw has a courser pitch so it needs more torque applied to generate the same clamping force.

You also must consider the clamping elements. The conventional ring has two elements (call them top and bottom) drawn together by four screws. The ARC has three elements uniformly under tension from its single screw. Go get two eggs out of your fridge. lay one on your countertop, put a hand on top and hold the other one in your other hand. begin to squeeze and press with identical amounts of pressure, which egg broke first?

Finally, Ted (the ARC guy) started making scope mounts as a way to convince people of the quality of his brand so that he could be successful when he introduced his actions. Prior to starting his own company Ted was an aerospace engineer. So the quality and functionality of his mounts was crucial to the developement of his brand. Most of us think he got it right.

Now 55 inch pounds is the recommendation. If I was putting one on a .300 WM that is what I would use. But for the scopes I just put on .223's I just used 45 inlbs. If the scope ever moves (I highly doubt it) then I will go to 55.
 
Optic manufacturers are not going to care or recommend the torque requirements for any mount or rings they don’t make or don’t endorse.

ARC are fine to torque down to 55.

Also, rule of thumb, listen to the ring/mount maker specs as long as it’s a reputable company.
 
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Diver,
I emailed Vortex and they said 18 in lbs regardless of manufacturer and ARC would crush the scope tube...
why would Spuhr, ARC publish torque specs for their respective products knowing the values would damage any scope?

Have you ever heard of either mount crushing a vortex tube at 25 or 55??????
 
Thank you for the replies, gentlemen.
Playing “devils advocate “ I guess because I have both ARC and Spuhr products. I’ve not had a problem with any scope in ARC rings, but using Spuhr for the first time so curious as to results with Vortex.
 
As someone with a Gen 2 Razor in ARC rings, I can confirm that my rings are tightened to 55 inch pounds with no ill effect.

In fact, I’d be hard pressed to ever use anything other than ARC rings again.....I like them that much.
 
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In fact, I’d be hard pressed to ever use anything other than ARC rings again.....I like them that much.

Same here, with the exception of Spuhr mounts. They are of an equal quality as ARC. Most of my precision rifles wear ARC rings, with two wearing Razor HD’s set to ARC torque specs. No issues whatsoever.
 
This is why I posed this question for others to respond and in like manner have never had any issues with ARC rings/torque with three different scope makers. :geek:

Doubt Spuhr will be any different