Picatinny vs nominal base / rings

[TassieTiger]

I’m looking to mount a new scope on a very light and hard recoiling 06 - wondering what ppls thoughts are on rails vs bases.

I prefer the cleaner look of nominal bases / rings over a picatinny but am wondering on the pros and cons of both? Is one more reliable with harder recoil?

Once the scope is set up - it won’t be moved / removed or bumped forward / back to take advantage of a large Moa rail.

Weight is a factor for me, I’d like to be as light as possible but not to the detriment of performance.

Rings will be 30mm if that is a factor.

It’s a long action and I believe that the ejection port would not be impacted by a full length rail.

Any other considerations?

[marksman]

less parts means less problems
but you have to use whats works best for the situation
sry but that's the best I can do

[SCJ429]

The picatinny rail works well but is ugly so use it unless you are worried about the look and if you are, then use something prettier.

[SCJ429]

I would not use Aluminium parts on big recoiling rifles, not that the 06 is a big boomer. Warne make some steel bases with pic rail slots in them if you don't want to use a full length rail.

[Blr243]

Last time I tried to mount a pic rail that was supposed to be a perfect fit for my rifle , I had to use small reamers to adjust the hole positions slightly. I think there’s a better chance of correct holealignment with individual bases than there is when u need four to be perfect when u are mounting a pic rail .....I think pic rails are ugly / get in the way when top feeding .........I just fitted one recently because my thermal would not mount any other way

[TassieTiger]

Cheers - good to know.

[Strangedog]

I had to fit one to my CZ 527 because I couldn't get the scope to fit how I wanted it with their dove tails. (no position adjustment) I'm happy with it but I never top load with it.

[straightshooter]

Since you specify 30mm rings the scope is likely to be overly bulky and heavy for a 'light weight hunting rifle'.
Nevertheless I would suggest the following in order of preference.
1. Talley rings, the type where the bottom half of the ring screws directly to the receiver. Problem may be availability for your rifle.
2. Hillver / Lynx one piece base and rings
3. Hillver / Lynx two piece base and rings
All of the above will handle a heavy scope on a heavy recoiling rifle without issue.
4. Redfield / Leupold etc bases and rings, one piece being preferred. So called turn in bases and rings are a distant fourth due to the design which essentially bears all the recoil forces on the dainty little front dovetail stud. They were OK 50 years ago when a typical hunting scope may have been a 4x32. Even then they tend to loosen the dovetail or snap the head of the rear windage screw with a lot of use. Not so good for a comparatively bulky and heavy 3-12x56.
There may be other mounts that I am not aware of.