JimBob from United States, PA Public Profile

Guys, plain and simple… This is an excellent upgrade to the cheap factory plastic shroud for any Ruger American rifle! The plastic shrouds do break, I can attest to that! I can also attest that these replacements from AO fit perfectly! Positively no complaints against form, fit, or function. I now have three of these on three separate American rifles and all three fit and function perfectly!

What I absolutely cannot understand is the two previous negative reviews for this shroud? I honestly believe the reviewers to be nothing more than inept! I don’t think either should be using simple hand tools much less try to perform any kind of modifications to a firearm!

Overall these are great lower parts kits, especially for those that want to provide their own fire control group and grip! I was especially surprised at the pivot and take down pins. Both had a nice finish and were actually sized correctly at .248! Some I've received in the past were slightly undersized from .245 to .246 which in the end would produce unwanted slop between the upper and lower. No complaints with the kit I received!

I preordered one of the new Leupold VX-Freedom 2-7x33 rimfire scopes in January and received it a couple of days after their release on February 2nd. From unboxing to mounting and zeroing, I must say that overall I am impressed with the quality of this scope from Leupold’s new Freedom line, especially when you consider their current price point.

Out of the box, the scope I received had a nice matte black finish with no obvious exterior blemishes and an excellent overall fit/finish. The variable power magnification ring is smooth through the entire range and in my opinion, has just the right amount of resistance for a hunting scope. Not so much that a throw lever is needed yet not so light that an inadvertent bump would vary it. The ocular housing allows more than enough adjustment for me to get a crisp and clear reticle image and I also like that Leupold added the ocular lock ring to the Freedom series. (Something of which I wasn’t fond of being absent on the VX-1 and VX-2’s.) The turrets are ¼ MOA per-click, semi-tactile, and are finger adjustable, no screwdrivers or tools needed. Now, I’m not claiming these scopes feature Steiner or Schmidt & Bender quality glass but, the eye box, edge to edge clarity throughout the entire magnification range, and low light performance are to me, exceptional for a scope in this price range. While I won’t go into a long-winded comparison here, I did want to share that I performed several side-by-side observations to a couple of other entry

To anyone considering purchasing this mount be advised, it is a great mount but may require a trip to the hardware store and an additional purchase depending upon your chosen mounting configuration!

The good: The mount is well made and locks up solid on every MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny rail I tried it on. The finish was nice with no blemishes and it also mates nicely to the unique footprint of the Vortex Spitfire 3X IF the factory Vortex spacer is omitted.

The bad: As the previous reviewer stated, the mount is supplied from American Defense with two different sets of screws, 2 long and 2 short. The 2 long screws are M5-0.8x18 and are supplied to attach the mount to the optic with the factory Vortex spacer in between. While the screw length is correct for this set-up, I personally found this configuration to be absolutely hideous. When mounted in this manner it leaves an unsightly gap between the front of the factory spacer and the upper receiver rail since the AD mount is about a 1/2" shorter than that of the spacer. Since I refused to run the optic in this unsightly configuration, I chose to try mounting the QD directly to the optic without the spacer as AD also supplies 2 short screws for this mounting method. The included short screws are approximately M5-0.8x10 and are incorrect for this application. When utilizing these screws, they bottom out in the bore of the optic long before ever securing the mount. After careful measurement, the screw size AD should have supplied for

Almost a year ago now, I purchased a set of the Warne QD mounting rings (721LS) for a Marlin quick takedown 22LR, model 70PSS. After using these repeatedly during that time frame I feel an honest review can now be made.

The fit and finish of these are excellent, no imperfections in the finish and no rough edges from the machine work. The QD's are quick to remove or reinstall the scope, lock up solid once engaged, and retain zero in the process. As for durability, they have held up extremely well! I have removed or reinstalled the scope over 150 times and the QD's still lock up solid! While the price may be slightly steep for .22 caliber mounting rings I would have to say that overall these are worth it!