BB from United States, WA Public Profile

Looking for rings with a built-in level led me to these. However, my low-height rings did not come with the bubble-level, even though some reviewers commented on it, and many photos showed it was included. After receiving mine without the level, I contacted Steiner; they replied immediately with a personal note saying this model no longer includes the level.

Let me review the other qualities: the 34mm rings are solid, well-machined parts. Top and bottom perfectly align. Torque specs on the rail mount seems high at 60 inch-lbs (25 for the ring-top screws), but they installed very easily with the large bolt head. The torque values are on the box itself, so either remember them if you move the rifle, or save the box. I appreciate that the rings can be tightened with open-end or box wrenches on a torque wrench.

The narrow profile fits very well on my Tikka T3x CTR picatinny rail, with very little movement when installing. After shooting the first 30 rounds of .308, there is no movement or shift in zero, and that's with adjusting the turrets for nearly every shot from 100y yards out to 700 and back. (see my review of the Athlon Ares ETR 3-18x50 for corresponding scope on this gun).

Though I'm disappointed about the level, I'll purchase an aftermarket one for the scope tube. The quality of the rings is still very high, and with some Optics Planet bucks used, and a discount code, the price was competitive as well for high-name brand and quality rings. I'm very pleased overall.

Purchasing a scope without much information caused me some apprehension, but with multitude positive reviews on the Athlon Ares ETR 4.5-30x56, I was willing to take a chance on this 3-18x50. We mounted the scope on a Tikka T3x CTR SS .308 with Steiner T-Series rings. Assembly was seamless, and the fit was excellent. It's a solid, well-made scope, all dials spin cleanly, but with some friction so they won't move if bumped. Eye-relief is 3.5" plus, so easy to set up. I wish it came with a sun-shade and scope caps, or at least covers of some kind. The box itself fit like dove-tailed joints!

At almost 2lbs for a 18x scope, it's a bit on the heavy side for mountain hunting guns; but the tough 34mm tube, excellent ultra high-density glass and APRS6 reticle may be worth it. My son and I chose it because of the price, reticle, and glass-quality on the longer range scopes in this brand/family, and perfect magnification range for a .308 with a 20" barrel. These were the first shots for gun, scope, and rings. The reticle's floating dot was exactly what we were looking for, rather than straight cross-hairs that block some of the target area. The center dot is .04 mil, so it covers less about .13 MOA (almost 1/8") at 100 yards! Illumination in our desert-like environment at 5:30pm was daylight bright.

Range: after bore-sighting, the first shot with Hornady Black 155gr AMAX loads was both 3" high and left. The mil-reticle made turret dialing easy to match the bullet hole in the shoot-n-s

I built the 8" kit into an Aero Precision Receiver/Handguard, Stealth Recoil Spring, and SB PDW brace. Out of 500 rds, we had one failure to eject, but the round sounded weak when fired, so we weren't surprised. No squip, fortunately. The recoil is light, even for my 78-year old mom who loves shooting it. It's cycled all kinds of brass and steel case, as well as hollow points. I highly recommend this system.