ryan45kim Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 Has anyone tried Smith Enterprise tactical rings? How do they compare to the Badger Ordnance rings (since most people consider Badger the gold standard in tactical scope rings)? The reason I ask is I can get the Smith rings for $100 verses $150 for the Badger rings (I don’t mind paying for better quality but I don’t like to pay for a name if both rings are of equal quality). Thanks, Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 I've had really good results from TPS - rings & bases. http://www.tacticalprecision.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokshwn Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 I have a set of TPS rings and a TPS base and they are of very good quality. However as of late TPS has had some troubles keeping product in stock. Also check out http://www.seekinsprecision.com for a great setup that is also cheaper than badgers. I love Glen's slimline rings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 I have a set of TPS rings and a TPS base and they are of very good quality. However as of late TPS has had some troubles keeping product in stock. Also check out http://www.seekinsprecision.com for a great setup that is also cheaper than badgers. I love Glen's slimline rings. +1 - I have heard good thinks about Glens stuff, just no personal experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paraman1 Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 (edited) Glens rings rock . Have a set on the M1A and they are seriously beefy . Glen is also a really nice guy and has spent serious time on the phone with me holding my hand through rifle building projects and helping me Bed my first rifle all for Free . He also donates a lot of Schwag to prize tables and is a serious competitor in his own right . I also have Badgers and T.P.S. products . I have T.P.S. on my AR and it got beat pretty hard yesterday in a 3-gun match and still held a zero with no problems . Edited January 2, 2007 by paraman1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adiksaputok Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 i am using swan arms mount and rings on my ar15. i used it in several matches i removed the scope and the rings put it back on and surprisingly it is still zero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precision40 Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 Brownells has TPS rings in stock. I have a set on my MOR rifle and their ever bit as good as Badger or Mk4's. About 1/3 the price too. TPS Rings at Brownells Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M118LR Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 The Badger Ordnance rings are the BEST. They also have GREAT customer service. But I will say that there is nothing wrong with the other rings listed. I have several TPS rings. I have been able to find them. They are good rings for the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill H Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 I just put a set of Seekins rings on my 700 and they really impressed me with the quality. The good thing about these rings is the can be ordered with two torx bolts instead of a large nut sticking out to catch on everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryan45kim Posted January 3, 2007 Author Share Posted January 3, 2007 First thanks for all the replies, this is much better then the old system of buying the new toy to see if you like it. I see a lot of you guys are pushing the TPS rings if the goal is to save money (now are you suggesting aluminum or steel), but I still have not heard anyone comment on the Smith Enterprises tactical rings. No one seams to know if Smith makes these rings for IOR, or IOR makes them for Smith but these are both reasonably respected companies so I would guess they were decent? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill H Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 OOPS I forgot. I had the Smith rings but I prefer the Seekins over them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cactustactical Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Ryan, IOR makes some of the rings that Smith Enterprises sells. Ron Smith buys directly from the importer and offers them as part of his product line. Nothing wrong with it, he has been doing it for years. He has been buying rings from Valdada as least as long as we have been carrying their products. If you compare the 2 product lines and there is a matching item from both companies, Valdada made it. If SE has a product not in the Valdada line, I am not sure who the actual manufacturer is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glockster96 Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Brownells has TPS rings in stock. I have a set on my MOR rifle and their ever bit as good as Badger or Mk4's. About 1/3 the price too. TPS Rings at Brownells I've had a set of high TPS rings on backorder from Brownells for about 4 months. However, the 2 medium ring sets I ordered at the same time shipped immediately. I must agree with the above sentiments: they rock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokshwn Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 As to aluminum vs. steel, get ready for the fight. To the best of my research there is no performance difference between the two. Given the application of mounting and holding a scope on a hard use rifle, both materials (given they are both of suitable alloys) are overkill for the task they are given. However due to the history of these products there is still some very hard held beliefs as to which material is the best. I have aluminum TPS base and rings on a rem PSS in an AICS chassis and so far I have not had a single problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paraman1 Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Aluminum versus Steel . This generally boils down to what I can lay my grubby little hands on when I need something right now . I have both aluminum and steel bases and rings and have no problems . That being said , I have never had my gear dropped into a Hot LZ out of the back of one of our Militaries fine flying machines or exploded by enemy ordnance . Of course if that were the case you would probably be using whoevers stuff wound up being the lowest bidder . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingerjg Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Brownells has TPS rings in stock. I have a set on my MOR rifle and their ever bit as good as Badger or Mk4's. About 1/3 the price too. TPS Rings at Brownells I've had a set of high TPS rings on backorder from Brownells for about 4 months. However, the 2 medium ring sets I ordered at the same time shipped immediately. I must agree with the above sentiments: they rock. On my second AR build i used my second pair of TPS rings. I always torque them down and have had a good repeat of zero if i ever have to remove the scope. The low pair on my older AR ive had for about 3 years. I ordered the High rings about 3 months ago and they shipped right away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 I have TPS rings. My doctor knew that I had bought and installed TPS rings without having to ask me. Apparently it's the only time he's had a BP cuff explode before being able to take a reading. PM me for details. The next time I mount a LR scope, I'll be buying Badgers or Seekins. I'd rather just cough up the extra dough and *know* that I'll get quality the first time around. Also, no matter what rings you buy, just cough up for the Sinclair lapping kit with the bar. It really is essential equipment for getting the rings on square without using your high zoot scope as a fixturing device. By the way, I've met Glen Seekins. He's a class act & deserves your business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 I have TPS rings. My doctor knew that I had bought and installed TPS rings without having to ask me. Apparently it's the only time he's had a BP cuff explode before being able to take a reading. PM me for details. The next time I mount a LR scope, I'll be buying Badgers or Seekins. I'd rather just cough up the extra dough and *know* that I'll get quality the first time around. Also, no matter what rings you buy, just cough up for the Sinclair lapping kit with the bar. It really is essential equipment for getting the rings on square without using your high zoot scope as a fixturing device. By the way, I've met Glen Seekins. He's a class act & deserves your business. I remember Eric's saga and was quite leary of the TPS stuff but the gunsmith that works on my rifles said they are the kind so I took his advice. I figured that if he had to put them on he'd know if there was a problem with them. I do like the non-snag Seekins ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cactustactical Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 As to aluminum vs. steel, get ready for the fight. To the best of my research there is no performance difference between the two. Given the application of mounting and holding a scope on a hard use rifle, both materials (given they are both of suitable alloys) are overkill for the task they are given. However due to the history of these products there is still some very hard held beliefs as to which material is the best. I would agree. Over the years, the bias against aluminum rings is slowly receding as they become more eidely used. About the only issues I have really come across is the installer over-muscling the screws and stripping out the threads on the softer aluminum. If people torque properly, this is never an issue. We have had people also strip out the threads on the steel rings, but not as often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precision40 Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 I use steel because it's steel. Steel on high power rifles is good, no reason other than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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