Rifle Scopes What height rings on an AR?

[strider09]

What height rings does everyone recomend for the AR`s? I have two Ar`s that I am looking to get rings for, but am unsure what height would be good. one is a .223 regular flattop upper and the other is the DPMS LR-308B with the higher flattop receiver.
I am currioius what height seems to work well for everyone?

 

[HHCF]

Re: What height rings on an AR?

Key info would be to let the guys know what the rings will be housing...

 

[500grains]

Re: What height rings on an AR?

Ring height is only one part of the equation.

You generally want the rings to pitch forward as well.

Examples from Rock River (47 bucks) and Larue (200 bucks):

 

[Strangedays]

Re: What height rings on an AR?

Use High rings on the flattop and medium to reg. on the 308.
I use high rings on my dpms sass 308 but it is a flattop without the added height. Hope that helps.

 

[minnesotadan]

Re: What height rings on an AR?

I have both of those rifles, I chose to go with the LaRue Tac mounts. I was looking for interchange ability between a rem 700 with tac rail and my ARs. The LaRue seems to work OK with the Nightforce 3-15-56 and the Leupold 8-24-50. I have the LaRue with the extended mounting hardware, now I do not think I needed that the standard SPR 1.5 works just fine. Looking at the LaRue web page they sell the NF and the SPR 1.5 as a matching package. Hope this helps

 

[Swamper]

Re: What height rings on an AR?

The LaRue 110 qd riser works really well with low 30mm rings. You can move your scope between rifles if you don't see a big shift in the lattitude of your zero. I have seen that.

I can't imagine what that RRA riser/ring combo is good for, maybe a 72mm hensoldt scope? That baby puts a scope way up there which is defeating to a decent stock-weld eye position. I definitely want my scope to line up right with my eye with cheekbone on the stock. With one AR upper which has a Badger Ord handguard I had to millout a number of slots to enable the 4.5-14 50mm Leupold to sit correctly with medium rings. The ocular presentation though is perfect for me.

 

[strider09]

Re: What height rings on an AR?

Sorry about not posting the scopes, I was still trying to get 100% decided on them. But I think I am going with the leupold VXII 3x9x40 for the DPMS LR-308B and Nikon 4x16x42 both with 1" tubes, as for rings, I was looking at the Burris XTR's or possibly the seekins, but will probably go with the Burris because of the price. They come in .25 , .50 , .75, and 1" .
Strangedays- You use the .75" for the regular flattop and .5" on the higher flattop? does it work out good? or do you wish you had something lower/higher?

 

[RobG]

Re: What height rings on an AR?

I use XTR 1"/Xtra High rings for a Weaver 1.5-4.5x24 and it is the perfect height. Clears the rear sight and good cheek weld. It places the center of the tube approx. 1.5 " above the rail. The negative is with the scopes eye relief, I could use a bit more forward placement which the Larue would provide. Just not in my budget currently. I have some new .75/High XTR's if you want to try them out. If they work, we can work out some kind of payment. Shoot me a PM if interested.

 

[sr15match]

Re: What height rings on an AR?

I had Leupold Super High Mk4 rings on mine until I swapped them out for a KAC single piece mount with a Leupold Mk4 3.5-10x40 M1 LR.

The most important thing is to find the ring that offers the best ergonimics for the shooter. Sure maybe a lower or medium ring will allow a scope to clear and room for BUIS but will it allow a comfy cheek weld and line of sight? In a perfect world it would be nice to be able to try different options before buying but most of us don't have that option. So with some good advice from Scott @ snipercountry I went with the Super High and they worked great. But if you have a smaller frame / or are petite then you can get away with a lower mount combo.

I would recommend the KAC single piece but the price just jumped a bit over $100 after the first of the year and I am not sure if it would be worth the extra coin as there are other options available that'll do the job for waaaaaaaay less out of pocket.

my .02¢

before

after

 

[Sterling Shooter]

Re: What height rings on an AR?

Use a scope mount design that provides you with a proper chipmunk stockweld, as well as positioning of the scope for proper eye relief. If you're using a 30mm main tube, a 1.125 or 1.375 NF Unimount will likely get you good results, that's to say, a consistent perspective of aim. The Unimount also provides about 20 MOA of taper to assist scope adjustment to LR.

 

[sr15match]

Re: What height rings on an AR?

If cost and budget are an issue Armalite offers a mount too. It seems popular with some folks although I have no experience with it. Just thought I'd mention it.

Also if u were to use a riser Badger offers a nice single piece mount too.

The fewer pieces involved the better though. Keep it simple.

 

[myerfire]

Re: What height rings on an AR?

Here is a website with several different mounts. http://ijksales.com/scope_accesories.htm
I really don't know anything about the site or it's products, but their prices are great. I think if I bought a mount from there, I would make sure I had a lapping bar.
myerfire

 

[500grains]

Re: What height rings on an AR?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Swamper</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
I can't imagine what that RRA riser/ring combo is good for, </div></div>

It's a bit better than their old one which put the scope about 2" too far to the rear.

 

[strider09]

Re: What height rings on an AR?

Thanks everyone for the great advice.

 

[Strangedays]

Re: What height rings on an AR?

Hey sorry I did not say which rings I use, I have the Burris XTRs in the highs. When I lift the gun I am looking perfectly through the scope without any kneck aches. I would not use anything lower on my flat top than these. I have a 30mm sightron SIII 6-24x50 If the rings were any lower they would touch my BUIS which flips fowards. The Larue mounts are great but spendy.
I have my scope and rings on a DPMS LR 308 and wouldn't change anything except maybe go with a quick detach larue mount. Hope this helped.

 

[gszeto99]

Re: What height rings on an AR?

For High and Super High rings I use a mount/ring combo similar to what 500grains and sr15match are both showing. To me a 1 piece setup gives me the peace of mind that the rings will not shift. Higher rings means taller rings is like a longer lever with respect to where the rings mount to the picatinny mount.

 

[cctx-xx]

Re: What height rings on an AR?

Here is a site that has examples of some mounts.....

http://www.maxicon.com/guns/optics/one_piece/ar15_onepiece_mounts.htm

Mark

 

[4th_point]

Re: What height rings on an AR?

Do you have irons or a carry handle? These should be about 1.5" above the rail. If these are comfortable for you, get rings that are 1.5". Also remember that "low","medium", and "high" mean different things to different manufacturers. There is no standard that they follow.

Don't have irons? How about a paper/plastic tube and some clay/silly putty or some cardboard and tape? Try looking through the tube at different heights.

An example: I can tell you that "low" Warne rings absolutely will not work on a standard upper receiver, but might work on your riser.

If you get a mount instead of rings, I highly suggest the Larue. I think they are starting to look dated, but they are excellent. Order direct from Larue and you get their extra goodies for the same price as a retailer.

If you shoot NTCH or need extra eye-relief, get the SPR-E, but I don't recall the height. It might be lower than the SPR-1.5.

 

[mrt53]

Re: What height rings on an AR?

Go to J.P. or Larue for one piece mount.

 

[Shoots 700's]

Re: What height rings on an AR?

I used High rings on my flat top