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Education / Training Leapers base for RWS Diana rifles – Part 3 More testing

Leapers base for RWS Diana rifles – Part 3 More testing

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2

Today, I’ll tell you how the new Leapers scope base for RWS Diana rifles installs, and give you some insight into what it was like to test this thing. The first thing you need to remember is that every RWS Diana air rifle has a different amount of droop. In general, the break barrels have more than the fixed barrels. I was fortunate to have on loan from Pyramyd AIR an RWS Diana 34 Panther with a huge amount of droop. So much, in fact, that it was impossible to get on target at 20 yards by using just the scope’s internal adjustments. That was exactly the kind of rifle I needed to test this new base, because that was the worst problem of all…not a gun with a few inches of droop, but one with almost 21 inches at the most useful airgun range of 20 yards. If a base could compensate for a rifle like this one, it would work for most of the others that have less droop!

To put this into perspective, let’s look at a target I shot with the scope adjusted as high as it would go.

07-28-08-tgt1

A 20-yard target shot with an RWS Diana 34 Panther and five 7.9-grain Crosman Premiers. The Leapers scope is adjusted as high as it will go. The aimpoint is the center of the top bullseye (this target was hung upside-down in the pellet trap). The pellets impacted over 7-1/2″ below. If you tried to shim the scope to compensate for this amount of droop, you’d have to use so much shim material in back that the scope tube would be at real risk of bending when the ring caps were tightened. Until now, the only solutions for this were either adjustable rings or a special droop scope mount.

Don’t think that just because the target shows a 7-1/2″ drop that the rifle droops only that much. The scope was adjusted AS HIGH AS IT WOULD GO! If I centered the reticle, the pellet would be almost 21″ below the aimpoint.

The amount of droop was so great that the engineer at Leapers could hardly believe me. Anyone who has not actually experienced this before would find it hard to believe, but this is one of the reasons I wanted this new base so much. Over the years, I’ve had to talk many shooters through the workaround of scope shimming or convince them that adjustable mounts were what they needed. They always asked me how an airgun company could make a product with this much droop and not have something to correct it. To answer them I will point to the Hubble Space Telescope, which had vision problems for many years until corrected in orbit by NASA. If a telescope costing two billion dollars can have vision problems, I guess an air rifle can have barrel angle issues. Besides, Diana isn’t alone in this situation. Many other breakbarrels and some fixed barrels have a droop problem. It’s just that many more RWS Diana rifles are in use around the world and they all seem to droop in varying amounts but similar in that they all have it.

Speaking of fixed barrels, I did test a second RWS Diana rifle during the base development. I tested a .22-caliber RWS Diana 460 Magnum, which is a powerful underlever rifle. That rifle didn’t droop as much as the breakbarrel 34, but it still drooped more than some scopes can compensate. Other scopes would just be able to get on target with all their vertical adjustment used up. Although the one new mount would have worked for this rifle, Leapers decided to make a second base with less droop built in. They call it their 460 base. That gives you a choice of slope angles to fit any rifle out there.

We finally got it right
In part 2, I told you about all the prototyping Leapers did. I’ve left out the valuable lessons we learned in this testing because Leapers spent a great deal of their own money to get this product right. Others who try to copy them will probably run into the same problems we did and have to figure how to solve them.

By the fourth prototype, Leapers got the design and the slope right. All I had to do was mount the base, attach two rings and slap in a scope. The new base ended up with the vertical adjustment of the scope between the midpoint and the three-quarters point when the pellets were landing on target at 20 yards. That means the gun can be shot out to a great distance by using the internal scope adjustments because the base preserves most of their adjustment range.

07-28-08-shoulder

The recoil shock shoulder hangs down in front of the new base to contact the front of the rifle’s base. After that, no movement is possible.

07-28-08-screw-cut

At the back of the new base, a relief cut prevents the base from touching the big-headed screw on the back of the rifle’s scope base. See that deep hole in front of the relief cut? That is a vertical scope stop screw for those who want to use it. It isn’t necessary, but Leapers put it there because they know some people will want to use it.

Watch the video, if you can
The RWS Diana rifles have gone from being the most difficult rifles to scope to the easiest because of this new base. Paul Capello made a short video that shows how easy it is to now mount a scope. That video is on both the video page and on the product page with the new bases. Since some of you can’t watch videos, I’ll show you how to mount a scope using this new base. I will use the 34 Panther for my description and photos, but the procedure is exactly the same on all RWS Diana rifles and for either new base.

Installation
Loosen the screws on the sideplate of the Leapers base and slip it into the dovetails of the base on the rifle. Slide it back until the recoil shock shoulder contacts the front of the rifle’s base. It won’t move any farther. Snug it down. The base is installed. Time: about a minute, working slowly.

07-28-08-rifle-base

The RWS rifle’s base has 11mm dovetails to accept the Leapers base.

07-28-08-leapers-base

Leapers’ new base simply clamps on the rifle’s base. The recoil shock shoulder rests against the front of the rifle base. Now, the airgunner is presented with numerous slots to which Weaver rings will attach.

07-28-08-weaver

All Weaver rings have a 3.7mm-wide key across their bottom. It fits into one of the slots in the Leapers base. The Leapers base is cut with 5mm Picatinny slots, but don’t despair – hundreds of thousands of centerfire rifles also use a Picatinny base with Weaver rings. Just slide the ring to the rear of the slot before fastening.

Next, install two Weaver rings in the slots of the Leapers base. Position them far enough apart for the scope you’re using and back far enough for good eye-relief when holding the rifle. Time: about two minutes, working slowly.

It’s best to use scope rings with four cap screws on all RWS Diana guns, so the caps are wide enough to provide maximum clamping pressure on the scope. Medium-height rings will be high enough for all scopes, because the Leapers base also raises the scope. Low rings will work with many scopes.

07-28-08-rings

Attach two Weaver rings to the base. Separate them as far as the scope tube requires, and don’t forget to check the scope’s eye relief.

Last, install the scope in the normal fashion, using the instructions I provide in the scope-mounting article. Time: about 10 minutes, working slowly.

07-28-08-scope

Lay the scope on the rings and fasten the top straps.

You’re done!
The new base takes care of two things:

  1. The barrel droop is corrected by the slope built into the base. Your scope will be on paper during sight-in and not too far from where it needs to be.
  2. The new base puts an end to scope base and ring movement. The recoil shock shoulder cannot be budged and the base slots and Weaver keys form a positive locking system for the rings.

If you’d like to print out directions, Leapers has a step-by-step sheet that is linked to both scope mount bases in the left column on the product page (under “Manual”).

The last report
This new base puts an end to barrel droop and all the problems associated with scope creep (broken big screw heads and narrow scope stop pins gouging scope bases on the rifle). It cuts the scope mounting time by two-thirds, and takes the operation from trial-and-error to plug-and-play. Now we can put our time to more profitable enterprises.

author avatar
Tom Gaylord (B.B. Pelletier)
Tom Gaylord, also known as B.B. Pelletier, provides expert insights to airgunners all over the world on behalf of Pyramyd AIR. He has earned the title The Godfather of Airguns™ for his contributions to the industry, spending many years with AirForce Airguns and starting magazines dedicated to the sport such as Airgun Illustrated.

99 thoughts on “Leapers base for RWS Diana rifles – Part 3 More testing”

  1. Mornin’ B.B.,
    Looks like this scope mount will come in handy done the road for me. I have a quick question on 10 meter target. How many targets are shot in a match, and how many shots are shot at each target? I shot 10 at one yesterday with my Daisy 880, and shot a 53. I know the gun could do better, i am not that staedy with that light of a gun.
    Thanks,
    Brody

  2. Brody,

    A 10-meter rifle match is 60 shots for men and 40 shots for women. One pellet is shot at each bullseye, to keep the scoring easy.

    In world and Olympic competition the top finishers each shoot 10 additional shots. These are each scored decimally. How much of the additional decimal you get depends on how far into the scoring ring your shot is. A perfect shot is worth 10.9, but one that just breaks the 10-ring is worth 10.0. Those 10 shots are added to the cumulative scores of the finishers to determine the winner.

    B.B.

  3. B.B.

    Finally, I have had a Diana 34 for 4 months now, waiting, after 3 broken rws adjustable mounts and two other brands breaking as well…I'm ready…( not that I can't wait to shoot it, with the S410 at my side)

    Does todays blog mean PA is shipping them now, because I have three on back order. YEAH!!!

    Wayne,
    Ashland Air Rifle Range & Rentals

  4. I like the forward shock shoulder, this oughta be more common.
    I don’t have a Diana or a drooper issue, but I am trying to choose a mount for the Walther Falcon Hunter and have some concerns about creep, and recoil damage. Would this mount be a candidate for the WFH, or could you recommend something else? They have that weird picatinny-like mount but the supplied rings seem a little cheesy.
    Thanks for the excellent articles. Good to see manufacturers getting product input from airgunners!

  5. Thanks B.B.,
    Im going to have to find a shooting club around here somewhere. That way it gives me something else to do, and it could help me get into college. Im probably good enough to compete with shotgun right now, but rifle will take a bit mre practice. Just trying to make it easier on myself to get into college. Grades, sports, everthing is harder now that im closer.
    See ya,
    Brody

  6. B.B.,

    Thanks for this third installment. The Fed Ex site says your new scope base should be in my hands tomorrow. My new 54 with a Leapers 4-12x44AO full size swat scope, fully adjusted, can only get 4″ low of the bullseye. The amount of time you will save being able to direct diana gun owners to these 3 terrific articles you wrote will be significant. Thanks again for the great information and your dedication to this hobby (now obsession). kevin

  7. daveshoot,

    I don’t know if this base will work on the Walther Falcon Hunter or not. The mount they have on the gun is very strange. It’s an 11mm base with cross slots cut at what seem like random spacing. With a base that strange I expected Walther would bring out a ring that integrated into those slots, but it seems they don’t know what to do with them, eights.

    I do think the new Leapers base would make any scope too high for convenient use.

    B.B.

  8. Job Well Done! Thanks for getting Leapers to get on board with this project as well as put the time and testing in to get it done right. Thank you Tom.

    Kevin – Racine WI

  9. B.B.

    Well-done. Your work on this base and the Benjamin Discovery has done a lot of good.

    During my vacation last week, I regretted the loss of my internet connection only for missing the PA blog. But I put in the time productively reading Stephen Hunter’s book Day Before Midnight. During the climactic shoot-out in a nuclear missile silo, Delta Force troopers are making good headway against renegade Spetsnatz soldiers when suddenly the sprinkler system comes on and makes their lasers inoperable and their attack stalls. Now, I’m sure lasers can be made to work in the rain, so the problem must be that the water drops were dispersing the beam. Is that right? I would have thought that lasers were too concentrated for that but Hunter’s details are usually accurate. This would be a useful caution for anyone planning to use lasers for self-defense. (With Delta Force limited to guns only within the missile silo and the countdown for launch ticking away, things are not looking good. But meanwhile, two veteran tunnel rats from Vietnam, an illiterate and a non-English speaker, are working up from below to defuse the missile. Anyway, it’s a good read….)

    More generally, well-published gun writer and tactics expert Gabriel Suarez (whose instructions for semiauto pistols was accurate) writes that lasers are impractical “toys” for tactical shooting (with the exception of one very powerful one that can be seen only with a night vision scope). Is this true? I get the impression that gun lasers are in pretty wide use by professionals.

    Matt61

  10. B.B.,
    The end stop and the Picatinny slots certainly make a rock solid set-up. Thanks for the pic of the bottom of the Weaver ring; now I understand how they work.
    My 54 had 12″ of droop at 20 yds, almost exactly 1 degree, and I ended up boring out a set of one piece rings to compensate. This new base looks a whole lot easier and cleaner!
    I’m waiting to hear how it works on Kevin’s 54, too.

    I think I’ll order one for my B40; it also has droop issues.
    Best regards,
    Lloyd

  11. B.B.
    Upcoming Shows–
    I’ve been looking around and can’t seem to find anything about the Roanoke VA airgun expo this fall. Guess I’m looking in all the wrong places.
    Do you have any info?
    Will you be there?
    Anything in Frederick MD this fall?
    Thanks again,
    Lloyd

  12. BB,
    To use J-B bore compound dont you just run it throught with a bore mop thenrun cleaning patches through it. Would Hoppes 9 be okay to use on air rifles?

    CritterController

  13. That base looks like a a MIL std 1913 Picatinny rail which has a 5mm grove. Weaver has a 3.7mm grove and although a Weaver ring will fit a Picatinny rail, there will be movement. For best performance, you’ll need Picatinny or authentic tactical rings, which are expensive.

  14. B.B.,
    Oops. Yes, sorry. A quick glance at my B40 and I see what you mean. I would have just ended up with an extra for my 54, LOL.

    Thanks for the show info. I will contact Fred.
    Lloyd

  15. b.b,

    Off topic, so direct me elsewhere if appropriate.

    Have you reviewed any of the large bore, (9mm and larger) airguns available through PA? (Especially the Sam Yangs?) I’m working my way back through the blog posts, but haven’t found one yet.

    I’m starting to get scared that I might lose the bet with Wayne about the $1500 limit, as I now see the need for a .22 and a larger bore for bigger game!

    Bill

  16. BB,

    got my base mounted as quickly as you said. I would have mounted the Leaper 4x16x50 scope but incredibly, I ordered the wrong rings (30mm instead of 1 inch). It’s times like this that I wonder if I have enough intelligence to own an air rifle. Anyway, my question regarding the Leapers base is what, if anything, do the numbers signify? For those who haven’t seen the Leapers base, it has numbers increasing by 2 from the front to the rear, between the rails (2-4-6-8-10-12).

  17. B.B.–Scott298–well I took your advice-ordered the new leapers scope base along with the rings you recommended. Should have it by Friday. With any luck I’ll be able to drop a line on the blog relating the experience a novice has installing and sighting in my 350–if all works out thanks for the advice–if it doesn’t”I’M TELLING MOM!!! I’ll let you know how everythjing went–Scott298

  18. Well, the DN034 version was a breeze to install. Nice design! With an optically centered scope, I was hitting consistently 3″ above the aim point at 10 meters. My apologies for being lazy, but I’m assuming that I would be better served with a DN460 base, no? The rifle is a MOD 34, medium rings. The reason I’m thinking of the DN460 is that I’m just about out of optical adjustment on the scope with the DN034 version. It is also entirely possible, of course, that I am missing soemthing obvious, being a rank beginner at such things.

    –aim

  19. Bill,

    It's OK, I can take payments, it is a good thing for me your being tempted to spend the $1,500 in 1 month let alone 1 year… the value of the bet was a little over 4 to 1, not 3 to 1, like I thought…..the cost of the HW-30 has gone up by over $130 looks to me…I'm glad I bought 5 when I did…

    I would love to send you pics of the groups I'm getting at 50 yards with the Air Arms .177 S410, just to tempt you more. I'm still learning the different sitting field target positions, but 1 or 2 times out of a 10 shot magazine I hit the 3/8" center red dot in those 3" "shoot N' see" targets, with mostly 2" groups, but a few times I put 3 out of 5 on the 1" black dot with other 2 just missing for a 1-1/4" group. I've got three targets saved that I hit the red dot on the first shot of a group, so I stopped on that target, just to pretty to mess up, a couple other times it turned into a 3" group and pissed me off..

    When I miss I know it was me, and I can tell when I'm gonna hit center…it just shoots where you point it…and that's all there is to it…

    The .22 cal S410 carbine will be in the first week of Aug. we hope..

    B.B. has got me thinking of trying the Evanix Hunting Master AR6 in .22 while I'm waiting for the S410 carbine. It shoots close to a rim fire…but it looks like it is as loud as rim fire also..I prefer not so loud, but I would try one if you want to do the rent to own trial deal on either the S410 Carbine or the AR6..or I might be talked into one of the elephant guns your talking to B.B. about too maybe…

    I guess I should have a few of everything within reason..

    Wayne,
    Ashland Air Rifle Range & Rentals

  20. –aim,

    Why would you want to give up that elevation? When will you EVER have to use the adjustments below center? NEVER! All you gain here is the ability to adjust for farther targets.

    However, if you want, the 460 will bring you lower.

    B.B.

  21. Re: Why would you want to give up that elevation? When will you EVER have to use the adjustments below center? NEVER! All you gain here is the ability to adjust for farther targets.

    I guess that I’m uncomfortable with the scope *elevation* adjusted to within a click of the lowest setting at 30 meters. I see your point about not needing to adjust down even more and currently my *windage* is only a couple of clicks off center. So I should not worry about it then?

    My reasoning was that 1. I am 3″ to high at 10 meters; 2. the 460 is 3″ lower at 20 meters and therefore is should still have quite a bit of UP adjustment without bumping up against the limits of the scope.

    –aim

  22. Thank you for confirming my reasoning! Please do not feel the need to apologize, as you are providing an amazing and valuable service and following the thread of your comments always turns out to be useful and thought-provoking. A beatiful design, by the way. If only my Mod 34 was more average…

    PA’s customer service is outstanding as well, so the whole process so far has been great.

    –aim

  23. Hi BB,

    Just want you to confirm that DN460base can also fit My 34 as I don’t
    need much elevation compensation same as “Aim’s” above. Thanks,

    Hank

  24. B.B,

    Received your new base about 3 hours ago. Took less than 10 minutes to install the base, the medium height weaver rings you suggested to me a month ago (same rings you suggest in this article, part 3 of the new diana base)and install the scope (loose in the rings) on my diana 54. I optically centered the scope yesterday so all I did was line up the verticle on a plumb line and snugged down the rings (about another 5 minutes gradually tightening the screws on the rings in sequence). This base and scope look stunning on this gun. Integral. The awkward look of the one piece mount with rings hanging the stop pin over the front of the base was impossible to get used to. Your new base also allows me to move my Leapers 3-12x44AO completely out of the way of the loading port. After reading all 3 parts about your new scope base I was so arrogant about your design that I started shooting at 20 yards not the ten feet you suggest. No problem with this new base. About 3″ low and 1 3/4″ right. Left the windage alone and adjusted for elevation. Took another 10 minutes (yes, I’m slow. I rode the short school bus). Shot at 20 yards for about 40 minutes until I didn’t have anything left to shoot at. Now that this is on target and the scope isn’t moving around this thing is a blast to shoot. Moved the target to 35 yards. Only shoots 1 1/4″ right at 35 yards vs. 1 3/4″ at 20 yards??!! but is still dead on with elevation. Thought about buying a set of b-square adjustables for your new base(Midway carries these even though Pyramyd said they were no longer making these rings) to adjust for windage but with the mil dot scope I don’t think I’m going to bother. I’m keeping the base. Only shot about 100 pellets but I’m convinced this is the solution to scoping the diana rifles. Checked the rings and base after this brief shooting exercise and everything is still snug. There are now 149 comments when you combine the diana scope base parts 1-3. Your new base has generated a lot of interest. I can assure everyone it’s not hype, it works. Buy your diana rifle now because when word gets out that the problem in scoping these springers has been solved, there should be a run on these german made beauties. kevin

  25. B.B,

    I’m not surprised. There are 50 years worth of information from YOU that was captured from YOUR various postings that was necessary for me to be able to accomplish this task and therefore the report. Thank YOU. kevin

  26. BB,

    you reported a while back that the scope base on the IZH 613m was very similar to RWS break-barrels – especially the part about hanging the recoil pin forward. I’ve never noticed any glaring barrel droop, do you think it sounds like a match? Or maybe the 460 base?

    A shrouded Crosman PCP repeater sounds like the gun that will finally get me to buy a pre-charged.. Or maybe if they considered a PCP version of the “Outdoorsman.” That is one beautiful gun, you should probably review it on aesthetics alone.

    Western PA

  27. B.B.,

    thanks for your work on these bases.

    I was at the Diana factory last week, and I bought a Model 240 Classic (“Schutze”, in the US) and a Model 34. I already own a Model 36 (I got one when they were not listed anymore in the catalogues, but they could still be had from the factory shop – a lovely rifle). The 240 is a nice handy, accurate little rifle, but the trigger pull is far too heavy – I’m hoping it will break in a lot. I really like the fibre-optic sights. The rifle came with a Diana scope mounted, but I’ll probably take it off, as the open sights are perfectly adequate. course, the trigger on the 34 is excellent.

    Anyway, to make a long story short, I’ll be in the market for a pair of the new compensating bases. Do you happen to know if Leapers have a European distibutor? I’d love to buy them from P.A. but, unfortunately, the shipping charges are prohibitive on such relatively inexpensive parts.

    Thanks,

    Denis

  28. B.B.–Scott298–Last nite- Wed- I began preparring my 350 for the new leapers mount. I removed the scope and existing mount and throughly cleaned the rifle barrell with the bore paste that you recommend. I’ve been shooting a lot of CPH and wanted to make sure that accuracy would not be effected by lead fouling-the gun is stripped and ready to go. I recieved word from my wife that Fed-Ex dropped off my order this morning-thurs. Tonight when I get home all I’ve to do is read the instructions and install the Leapers base then attach the scope with the rings you recommended–hopefully I’ll be able tomorrow I’ll be able to report how things went and how the gun performed afterward–Scott298

  29. B.B.,

    Have you seen the new mount that was imported by umarex to apparently compete with your new base? It’s called an “RWS Lockdown Drooper Mount” and just shipped this week. Same time as your new base. Straight Shooters has the base and the literature claims it has .025″ of Droop compensation built in. According to the tests of this new mount by Straight Shooters they shot an R-9 at 10 yards 1/4″ low. They put this new RWS Drooper Mount on the gun and shot 1 7/8″ high. They translate that into the equivalant of their bkl D4 base that compensates for .004″ of droop!! They contacted Umarex and Umarex isn’t sure what to say. Couldn’t provide any testing information on their new mount. In addition, this new base only comes in one size (versus your two choices), comes with non’adjustable rings (with only single screws to tighten the rings, cheap, inadequate), doesn’t appear to have a shoulder for a positive scope stop like your shoulder and retails on the Straight Shooters site for $68.25!! Your base and the set of rings you recommended was only $27.50. A person could buy your better base and then buy B-Square adjustable rings to fit your new base and still be at the same price as this “competing” mount. I hope the masses don’t get confused by these two new base choices for the diana guns. I don’t want anything to detract from the work that you and Leapers did to truly correct ALL the scope mounting problems on the diana’s. kevin

  30. B.B.,

    Wish Diana would have put their efforts in correcting the problems on their rifles instead of creating, what appears to be, a poor aftermarket product to compete with a better aftermarket solution. kevin

  31. B.B.–Scott298–disaster struck! The leapers mount went on in a snap and within 5 minI had the rings and scope attached. I went to my father-in laws basement where I target shootat 63′ and I couldn’t get the pellett on paper-and this was a 5′ long sheet of card board. I cranked the scope adjustment all the way down and the beat I could do -by aming at the floor the pelletts hit approx 2 1/2 feet up from the floor-now what? I almost tried to put the leapers mount on backwards but that was impossible–Scott298 dismayed

  32. B.B.–Scott298-if my 350 doesn’t have the “droop” would it be a wast of time getting the mount for the 460? If the answer is yes than what mount would reccomend for the weaver style rings you recommended? Thanks-Scott298

  33. Scott298,

    There are no other bases for those rings – yet. I have spoken to Leapers to try to interest them in producing a non-drooping base just like the one you have.

    Yes, the 460 base is probably a waste of time. It will probably work, but you will be very close to the end of your adjustment.

    Why did you get the base if you don’t have a droop problem with that rifle? For the scope stop, alone? I’m asking so I can pass your answer along to Leapers.

    B.B.

  34. B.B.–I was using a b square adjustable mount. The rear scope ring hade to be turnrn up two full rotations to sight the gun in–problem was after 30-40 shots the whoe mount system was loosinging up and I was getting fustrated having to take the scope and rings appart. What do you think my next move should be?

  35. Scott298.

    Unless B-Square’s QC has plummeted, that mount is very stable. You just have to mount it correctly.

    First of all, two turns up in back isn’t a big droop.
    Have you also turned the front ring up AT LEAST 1/2 turn, too? Because if not, you didn’t have the gimbal action of the mount. It should be up at least a half turn, which may mean the rear ring needs to go up another half turn.

    If you loosen both adjustment screws, you can take the ring off the post. When you do you should see two divots on either side into which the adjustment screws must go. Put the ring back on the post so the adjustment screws go into those divots.

    Now, after you tighten the two adjustment screws, you have to then tighten the two jam screws that lock the adjustment screws in place. Did you do that?

    Try all of this and see if you can return the mount and rings to PA.

    B.B.

  36. B.B.-Scott298–thanks for your advice. Ireally fell in love with theleapers mount and the rings-the way they fit and the time it takes to install them is great..I have never had a more solid set up to place a scope into. Does pyramyd have any other brands that accept the weaver pictany rings? It’s hard to go back to something else when you’ve had something that solid on your rifle–Thanks again-Scott298

  37. Scott298,

    There is this 11mm to Weaver base from B-Square:

    /product/b-square-17021-11mm-to-weaver-adapter-adjustable?a=601

    I don’t know if it has a scope stop, but if it does, you could hang that in front of the base on your rifle.

    This Leapers base is similar and does have a scope stop pin:

    /product/utg-11mm-to-weaver-adapter-vertical-scope-stop-pin?a=2401

    B.B.

  38. B.B.–Scott298–When you developed the leapers base why did you set it up for 30yrds? I’ve always been under the impression that any springer that shoots at 900fps or better would get 2 aim points if they zeroed the gun at 20 yards. I know everyone wants to put holes in the bulls eye at 50 yrds=so they would have to use the diferent breads on the recticle or a little field testing with their elevation turent. By any chance during your trial phase did leapers make any mounts with just a slight cant that you could get your hands on and send one offto your”son”-I would be more than happy to write back and report on it’s results-=Looking forward to talkingto you again in the near future–Scott298way of target!

  39. Scott298,

    I set the Leapers base for 20 yards, which gets you 30 yards automatically. Leapers doesn’t understand the two intersection points, so they juts used the longer yardage in their advertising.

    Same zero.

    Contact me through the guest blogger address, please.

    B.B.

  40. User Denis already asked this few posts up .. il repeat it …

    “Do you happen to know if Leapers have a European distibutor?”

    EU distributor that has THIS mount.

    So far i have found that from USA only P.A. sends to EU but to pay 90$ to ship an 18$ item is insane.

  41. B.B.,

    Concerned that the B-Square quality control has plummeted.

    Broke down and purchased a set of b-square adjustable rings to install on your new base since my optically centered 30mm scope needed windage adjustment (was forced to buy from a competitor since Pyramyd doesn’t carry b-square 30mm adjustable rings). Your base eliminated the elevation problem so the rings were purchased only for the windage adjustable feature (yes, I made sure to have adjustment on the posts for the gimbal action to work properly). The pathetic one page, xeroxed instruction sheet that came with the rings was useless. Key information on the instruction sheet was cut off the page when it was copied from the original. Without your 3 part series on b-square adjustable’s I wouldn’t have had a chance of making these work. Installed them easily enough on my diana 54. Corrected for windage and locked down the windage screws. Ten shots later the base of the mount itself would move. Retightened the single allen screw that attaches the rings to your new base and shot ten more times. Loose again. Took the scope off the rifle and the clamp at the bottom of the rings used to attach to your new base is rounded at the front and cracked through and through on the rear. Enjoyed the 5-6 shots that were on target until the mounts cracked. I’m so fed up with the adjustables that I’m putting the heavy duty, unadjustable rings back on (that you originally recommended and I purchased from Pyramyd) and adjust for windage. So much for the optically centered scope. Really wish b-square would make a set of heavy duty adjustable rings. There’s a market for these especially for a 30mm tube.

    kevin

  42. B.B.,

    Me too. I’ve done a little research and looked at the millet angle loc rings. Cheaply made-poor reviews and poor design for windage adjustment in my opinion. Also looked at the Weaver Sure Grip Windage Adjustable Scope rings. Unfortunately these only come with 1″ rings not 30mm. Anxious to hear what your search reveals.

    kevin

  43. B.B.,

    Depending on the outcome of your research into an alternative for the b-square adjustables I may buy the burris rings. Was hoping you had some time with these rings before I incur additional brain damage.

    In the same vein, your new scope base was designed with a shoulder that fits over the front of the rail to act as a stop. Presumably for rearward recoil. When installing scope rings on your new base do you recommend butting/installing the crossbars of the rings forward against the cross slots (to counter the forward recoil) or against the rear of a crossbar (to counter the rearward recoil like the shoulder on your base does)?

    kevin

  44. B.B.,

    That was probably my second stupid question but I did install the b-square adjustables butted against the rear of the cross slots (habit from mounting scopes on firearms). It was the forward recoil from this diana 54 that rounded the rear mount and broke the front mount. Yes. I made sure that the lateral “stop” at the bottom of the scope ring was parallel and flush against the cross slots before tightening. Thought maybe I should have installed them against the front of the cross slot since it was apparently the forward recoil that rounded these holes. The b-square’s aluminum couldn’t take the recoil from a 54.

    kevin

    • BB I am extremely impressed by the work you have done with leapers regarding this base.I am wondering if I could install two v shaped pieces of metal to the sides of my model 27 mount sort of like this would the mount work then? Or would I run into problems with the front stop on the mount being too long?There has to be a way to adapt this thing to the old style dovetails.My eyes are not what they used to be.Thanks for all the work you have done over the years.Perhaps you could interest the good people at leapers to make a run of these type mounts for those of us with the old style mounts.There are an awful lot of these old airguns still out there.We both know they last forever if they are taken care of. Stay safe and Regards Hoot

  45. jd,

    There is no “best way.” The scope ramp on the 35 is too narrow for the majority of scope rings. Maybe you could shim a ring base to fit, but you’ll still have to use the front of the rifle’s ramp as a scope stop.

    B.B.

  46. B.B.,

    Your new leapers base sure has caused a “buzz” in the air gun community. The comments/questions continue on these old threads and the yellow forum is jumping with endorsements for your new base for the diana rifles.

    I’m not pushing but am curious, do you have an opinion yet on the “RWS Lockdown Drooper Mount”?

    kevin

  47. I like the idea of the mount. It solves the barrel drooping and scope shifting very well. However, some things are still to improve: First of all, please make this mount of steel instead of aluminum. After less than a single tin of pellets, I can start seeing some deformation in the stop slots!!!

    Secondly, please use some serious rings. Leapers rings are made of aluminum too. There is no way that the screws could stand the necessary clamping pressure… I understand this is not a problem of the mount, but of the rings themselves. Pick some good quality steel rings. I think I’m going to install leupold PRW.

    Finally, the mount itself provides enough height that, even with the lowest profile rings, you will need to get your cheek out of the stock, if you want your eye to align with the eyepiece. I think there is not a lot to do about this with the actual design of the mount+rings system. I am thinking about using a comb rising kit. Beartooth is a good option on this.

  48. Miguel,

    You have GOT to change your thinking on this. You can EASILY crush a scope tube with an aluminum ring. You don’t need steel. Aluminum rings get tight enough to hold any scope on any rifle.

    The Leapers base CANNOT deform the scope stop slots because of the recoil shock shoulder. You couldn’t get deformation with this base on an elephant rifle.

    The fact that you see deformation means it was there to begin with or your stop pins are not aligned with the shock shoulder. Stop using the recoil pins – they are unnecessary! The shock shoulder is more than enough to stop the mount from moving and it will not deform.

    A cheekrest is a great idea. Army snipers used one in WW II and it worked fine on the Garand. Those same pads are still available for other rifles.

    B.B.

  49. Thanks BB,

    Here I am posting my comment again. It is the answer to the one you posted on September 10, 2008 11:07 AM:

    Thanks for your quick input BB,

    I couldn’t agree more about your answer about my previous post. After a while of re-reading what I wrote, I realize that my post did not represent well what I want it to mean and therefore I am taking more time to write a more specific one.

    I do like the Leapers mount. It does cure the long-carried diseases of Diana rifles and that I first faced with a Diana 36 on the early 90’s.

    I do agree that aluminum rings could very well do the work of holding the scope in place in any air gun and that excessive pressure of the ring over the scope will ruin this last one. This was the first thing I worded wrong: The problem that I was reporting was not on the rings cap or the scope-ring system but on the rings-mount system instead: The screws and/or the nuts that hold the rings on the weaver base are made of aluminum.

    What happened to me -and I think it is a very easy mistake to make by anyone- was that every time I checked the tightness of all my rifle’s screws, I found that the above mentioned screws were “lose”. I think that this “loose” feeling may come from the fact that I was eating the soft thread of the screws or nuts and also from the fact that you don’t use a screwdriver to tighten those screws but rather a wrench with which is easier to neglect excessive torque. This is what happened to me, and that is how I ruined my ring’s screws. Even a very light pressure on this screws (needed for having a good clamping) will end up ruining the screws at a long term! That’s the reason that makes me think that steel screws and nuts on the rings or even all-steel rings would be more up to the job.

    About the deformation that I appreciated, thankfully it did happened on the picatinny cross-slots of the Leaper’s base and not on my rifle. These locking cross-slots of the Leapers base are the ones taking the hard hit now in a similar fashion that the stop pin holes of the rifle’s scope rail were taking it before.

    I realize that if this will become a consistent issue among users, finding about it involves dismounting the scope and rings from the mount (something that I wouldn’t have done if I wouldn’t ruined my ring’s screws as I reported to paragraphs above). So there is a slight chance that I am not the only one experiencing it..

    I attribute this issue to two things: The softness of aluminum (again another reason to make an all-steel mounting base) and also to the fact that the locking key in the base of the rings is circular, concentrating stress into a single corner of the picatinny slots in the mounting base instead of distributing it regularly on a bigger area. So the Leaper’s base is not only the one to blame but also the Leapers rings.

    That was the reason that I thought about using the Leupold’s PRW rings instead. They have a deeper rectangular key on their bottom and they are made of steel. I do agree, however, that any other set of rings with this characteristics will perform better than the Leapers ones.

    Finally, I want to set clear that I do like this mount very much! As I said, it finished the nightmares that Diana shooters have been having for a long time.That is why I think that any ideas that could add up to the already high value of this mount would be on the benefit of the Diana shooters community.

    Miguel

  50. I just bought the “B-Square 17021 11mm-to-Weaver“ which has an adjustable elevation screw (with set screw). This is great for RWS 350 owners. I mounted a pair of “B-Square 20052 1″ Sport Utility Rings, Low, Weaver Mount“ for a perfect fit.

    Other than tightening the rings a little after some rounds I have found the whole assembly very sound. I was prepared to put Loctite blue on the screws but it appears I don’t need to.

    This leapers mount looks great for serious barrel droop but if you own a RWS 350 then you should go this route. Don’t forget to optically sight your scope as BB has posted. It helped a lot when getting my gun working with this new setup.

    I dumped my RWS C-Mounts – they’re junk!

    G. :o)

  51. Hay BB,

    I just wanted to chime in here and say Miguel is right. I was having trouble with consistent groupings with my RWS 460 ever since I changed to the Leapers base for RWS Diana rifles. I did not immediately think of that as the mainspring died at about the same time. It turns out that when I went back to the old scope/Leapers one piece mount, the groups tightened up as if by magic! Turns out the front scope mount had loosened up and was probably causing the slight shifting of POI. When I checked the base, I had rounded corners at the top of the mount where the round stop of each Leapers ring contacted the mount. Of course the front was worse due to the loose mount. I will try again with B-Square Intermounts, which is a low cost version of the squared off stop that Miguel is describing.

    JC

  52. JC,

    For some reason, I don’t think I ever saw Miguel’s report. Thank you for drawing my attention to it.

    If I understand you and Miguel, the recoil is causing the base of the ring to round off the edges of the scope stop slot on the Leapers base. Is that what you are saying?

    This needs to be reported to Leapers. Is there any possibility of a photograph? You can send it to blogger@pyramydair.com

    B.B.

  53. B.B.

    I have got these Weaver rings to go with the leaper DN034 mount for my D34 Panther

    /product/leapers-premium-1-rings-medium-weaver-mount-see-thru?a=789

    They have a half round peg instead of a square / rectangular peg as shown in your blog.

    Will the half round pegs do the job.

    Manish
    Mumbai
    India

  54. Tom –
    First, I love my experience with this blog and with Pyramyd AIR. Top-shelf.

    Second, this droop compensator really works really well on my RWS 34.

    Third, question: will this same droop compensator work on my RWS 24? Please advise.

    Fourth, what scope would you recommend for the RWS 24. I really like my Leapers Golden Image 4X32AO Rifle Scope I got with my RWS Striker Combo. Does this make sense for the RWS 24?

    Thanks,
    – Vincent

  55. Just put this mount on with utg quik locks. I've owned this gun for years and could never keep it on target after a few shots with the factory RWS one piece mount that I paid twice as much for!

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