Anybody who's ever played around with one of the numerous Euro QD scope mount systems probably knows what I am talking about here. These systems tend to work very, very well in terms of return to zero when removed/replaced, and they tend to be fairly pricey when compared to many typical systems. I have a handful of Blaser mount/base assemblies, and they allow for a ton of versatility when used with a couple of receiver/stock units and a collection of pre-sighted-in scopes.
But...the Euro makers can get a bit carried away at times. It becomes irritating to have an ultralightweight rifle in one hand, and a Euro scope/mount in the other hand...and feel very little difference in weight between the two. A bit of an exaggeration, but...you get the idea.
I have a couple of sleek, slender, lightweight single shot hunting rifles: the first is a Haenel Jaeger 9, which I have owned for several years and used on a couple of deer and a handful of coyotes. The second is a Brno Effect, only recently purchased from a well-known CGN member who scooped it up a few years ago when it was offered as NOS by a CGN sponsor/dealer while I was hemming and hawing. Both of these wonderful little wands come in at 5.6 pounds on my bathroom scale, and feel even lighter.
The Haenel has been wearing the scope mount that I purchased with the rifle when I got it from Wolverine Supplies; it's a Recknagel QD monstrosity that works like a charm, but it weighs a ton, has likely as many moving parts as the rifle itself, ruins the balance and handling of a rifle on which handling is everything...and even if it didn't have these negatives, it is simply so visually massive that it looks utterly ridiculous on this rifle.
I've only had the Brno for a couple weeks, and have shot it only with the iron sights. Doing so shows me that it is way too accurate for me to be satisfied shooting it unscoped, but I haven't located a mount for it as yet. I more or less assumed that it would accept the same Recknagel mount as the Haenel, since the mount on the Haenel fits another Brno I own...but no! Brno uses a number of different dovetail widths on various rifles; my other Brno has a 12mm dovetail with a centrally-located recess for a recoil lug (surprisingly, this is the same mount that sits on the Haenel) but the Brno Effect has a weird 14.5mm dovetail with the sort of angled recoil lug recess on the side that is seen on their bolt action rifles.
Shooting the Effect with iron sights has made me admit that I just can't tolerate such a big-ass bulky mount on such a svelte rifle. The handling and balance and aesthetics are all so great on the bare rifle, and so lousy on the scoped one, that I decided I needed to find a suitably compact and lightweight mount system for both guns. I also decided that I would forego the unnecessary complication of QD mounting.
Check this out. It's even bigger, bulkier and uglier in person than in the pic:
The Haenel was relatively easy to fit with a one-piece aluminum mount, complete with removable recoil pin and marketed for air rifle use. It actually worked pretty well, but it was higher than necessary and interfered with my cheek weld. No QD function, but for me the sole purpose of QD mounts is to allow quick access to a back-up in case the primary is damaged while on a hunt. The primary scope is in "permanent" rings; only the back-up needs the QD return-to-zero function, in case the primary craps out on me in the field. It's happened a grand total of once in my life, but...belt and suspenders...
I won't be swapping the scopes back and forth regularly; ideally, I'll never be doing it at all.
But the airgun mount still looks almost as butt-ugly as the Recknagel, still "harshes my mellow" on that delightful rifle. I needed something better. Rummaging around in my junk drawers, I came upon a pair of adaptors that are intended to go on a rimfire dovetail to allow the installation of Weaver rings. They are nothing more than a pair of polymer bases that slip onto the rimfire rail and are then clamped on by the Weavers. I had them mounted on an Anschutz target .22lr for years, but had no idea if they would withstand the recoil of a centerfire.
I carefully forced them onto the Haenel's 12mm dovetail; they are designed for either 3/8inch (9.5mm) or 11mm rimfire dovetails, but the plastic has enough give that they can be slid onto it without too much trouble. I clamped a set of Burris rings on, tightened them firmly, and put 80 rounds through the rifle. a 5.6pound 7x65R has far more recoil than anything they were intended for, but the scope is a light one (Leupold 6x42) and it did not move within the rings, nor did the rings/adaptors slide on the gun's integral dovetail at all. At risk of jinxing myself...it seems to be the ideal answer. It's mounted in such a way that will allow any creeping or shifting to be easily spotted, and I will continue to watch it but if it were going to slip I think it would have been visible by now.
The Haenel Jaeger 9 outfitted with plastic ring adaptors, ready for any standard Weaver ring:
The Effect, as stated, has an oddball 14.5mm dovetail. My plan for it is to try a set of rings intended for the Tikka T3/T3x rifles. SportsMatch makes a set of aluminum rings that they call 15mm, while Tikka dovetails, depending upon what source you are reading, are either 15, 16.5 or 17mm. Warne also offers a steel ring marked for the Tikkas. Both of these makers incorporate a centrally located recoil stop in their rings, and hopefully I can bevel the end of the pin sufficiently for it to engage the angled slot in the Effect integral dovetail. Won't know for sure until I have theaenem in hand. If worse comes to worst, I might try them without the recoil pin at all. The Effect is a .308, so recoil might make this unworkable; we shall see.
Brno Effect integral rail:
If that works...well, Rusan offers a 14.5mm ring in a nice gloss blue that will match the Effect's metal finish. If it appears that properly clamped rings will work without slipping...yes, I am shallow enough to order a set of rings from Slovenia to replace a set that is already working...just because they look better.
I've considered the option of simply drilling and tapping one or both of these rifles, for installation of Tally or other flat bases...but, somehow, a gun that has the elegant option of integral dovetails just deserves better than ugly and permanent mods...
If anyone has messed around with similar thoughts, especially related to 12mm or 14.5mm dovetails, comments and suggestions would be gratefully accepted.
But...the Euro makers can get a bit carried away at times. It becomes irritating to have an ultralightweight rifle in one hand, and a Euro scope/mount in the other hand...and feel very little difference in weight between the two. A bit of an exaggeration, but...you get the idea.
I have a couple of sleek, slender, lightweight single shot hunting rifles: the first is a Haenel Jaeger 9, which I have owned for several years and used on a couple of deer and a handful of coyotes. The second is a Brno Effect, only recently purchased from a well-known CGN member who scooped it up a few years ago when it was offered as NOS by a CGN sponsor/dealer while I was hemming and hawing. Both of these wonderful little wands come in at 5.6 pounds on my bathroom scale, and feel even lighter.
The Haenel has been wearing the scope mount that I purchased with the rifle when I got it from Wolverine Supplies; it's a Recknagel QD monstrosity that works like a charm, but it weighs a ton, has likely as many moving parts as the rifle itself, ruins the balance and handling of a rifle on which handling is everything...and even if it didn't have these negatives, it is simply so visually massive that it looks utterly ridiculous on this rifle.
I've only had the Brno for a couple weeks, and have shot it only with the iron sights. Doing so shows me that it is way too accurate for me to be satisfied shooting it unscoped, but I haven't located a mount for it as yet. I more or less assumed that it would accept the same Recknagel mount as the Haenel, since the mount on the Haenel fits another Brno I own...but no! Brno uses a number of different dovetail widths on various rifles; my other Brno has a 12mm dovetail with a centrally-located recess for a recoil lug (surprisingly, this is the same mount that sits on the Haenel) but the Brno Effect has a weird 14.5mm dovetail with the sort of angled recoil lug recess on the side that is seen on their bolt action rifles.
Shooting the Effect with iron sights has made me admit that I just can't tolerate such a big-ass bulky mount on such a svelte rifle. The handling and balance and aesthetics are all so great on the bare rifle, and so lousy on the scoped one, that I decided I needed to find a suitably compact and lightweight mount system for both guns. I also decided that I would forego the unnecessary complication of QD mounting.
Check this out. It's even bigger, bulkier and uglier in person than in the pic:
The Haenel was relatively easy to fit with a one-piece aluminum mount, complete with removable recoil pin and marketed for air rifle use. It actually worked pretty well, but it was higher than necessary and interfered with my cheek weld. No QD function, but for me the sole purpose of QD mounts is to allow quick access to a back-up in case the primary is damaged while on a hunt. The primary scope is in "permanent" rings; only the back-up needs the QD return-to-zero function, in case the primary craps out on me in the field. It's happened a grand total of once in my life, but...belt and suspenders...
I won't be swapping the scopes back and forth regularly; ideally, I'll never be doing it at all.But the airgun mount still looks almost as butt-ugly as the Recknagel, still "harshes my mellow" on that delightful rifle. I needed something better. Rummaging around in my junk drawers, I came upon a pair of adaptors that are intended to go on a rimfire dovetail to allow the installation of Weaver rings. They are nothing more than a pair of polymer bases that slip onto the rimfire rail and are then clamped on by the Weavers. I had them mounted on an Anschutz target .22lr for years, but had no idea if they would withstand the recoil of a centerfire.
I carefully forced them onto the Haenel's 12mm dovetail; they are designed for either 3/8inch (9.5mm) or 11mm rimfire dovetails, but the plastic has enough give that they can be slid onto it without too much trouble. I clamped a set of Burris rings on, tightened them firmly, and put 80 rounds through the rifle. a 5.6pound 7x65R has far more recoil than anything they were intended for, but the scope is a light one (Leupold 6x42) and it did not move within the rings, nor did the rings/adaptors slide on the gun's integral dovetail at all. At risk of jinxing myself...it seems to be the ideal answer. It's mounted in such a way that will allow any creeping or shifting to be easily spotted, and I will continue to watch it but if it were going to slip I think it would have been visible by now.
The Haenel Jaeger 9 outfitted with plastic ring adaptors, ready for any standard Weaver ring:
The Effect, as stated, has an oddball 14.5mm dovetail. My plan for it is to try a set of rings intended for the Tikka T3/T3x rifles. SportsMatch makes a set of aluminum rings that they call 15mm, while Tikka dovetails, depending upon what source you are reading, are either 15, 16.5 or 17mm. Warne also offers a steel ring marked for the Tikkas. Both of these makers incorporate a centrally located recoil stop in their rings, and hopefully I can bevel the end of the pin sufficiently for it to engage the angled slot in the Effect integral dovetail. Won't know for sure until I have theaenem in hand. If worse comes to worst, I might try them without the recoil pin at all. The Effect is a .308, so recoil might make this unworkable; we shall see.
Brno Effect integral rail:
If that works...well, Rusan offers a 14.5mm ring in a nice gloss blue that will match the Effect's metal finish. If it appears that properly clamped rings will work without slipping...yes, I am shallow enough to order a set of rings from Slovenia to replace a set that is already working...just because they look better.
I've considered the option of simply drilling and tapping one or both of these rifles, for installation of Tally or other flat bases...but, somehow, a gun that has the elegant option of integral dovetails just deserves better than ugly and permanent mods...
If anyone has messed around with similar thoughts, especially related to 12mm or 14.5mm dovetails, comments and suggestions would be gratefully accepted.
