What’s up with all the different rifle scope tube sizes nowadays?
According to Justin Smith at Athlon, “It doesn’t seem like that many years ago 1-inch rifle scope tubes dominated the market from target shooters to hunters, but with everything advancing in long-range shooting, something had to give. The shooting industry has seen significant changes in long-range shooting in the last 20-30 years. Over-the-counter rifles have gotten better, and there are more options for custom rifles, actions, barrels, stocks, suppressors, bullets, powders, and that list could go on and on.
Riflescopes play a key role in the long-range market, and just like everything else, they have to change with the times. No longer does the 1-inch tube riflescope dominate the market. Now, the 30mm scope tubes dominate, followed by 1-inch tubes and 34mm tubes. You even see 35mm, 36mm, and even a few 40mm diameter tubed riflescopes.
Some might ask why all the tube sizes and the short answer is to give the shooter more vertical travel when dialing elevation in the scope without giving up light transmission so they could precisely and accurately shoot farther. They also have thicker walls and are the most robust for handling the recoil from heavy recoiling rifles. They are better set up to handle the heavy day-to-day use of the military, law enforcement, and rugged outdoors people. The larger tubes also allow manufacturers additional room for digital reticles, illuminated crosshairs, and enhanced electronics without compromising the optical system. Larger tube diameters generally come at a higher cost, slightly bulkier and heavier.
More vertical travel was needed due to the popularity of the different long-range rifle competitions such as PRS, ELR, NLR22, NLR Hunter, F-Class, and many more. But it doesn’t stop their long-range precision shooters, hunters, tactical, competitive, and anyone stepping up to heavy recoiling rifles such as the 50 BMG or the .375 Chetak’s will all benefit from the larger tubes from either the durability standpoint or the additional travel gained.
For comparison, the Athlon Heras SPR 2-12x42 1-inch tube has a total of 70 MOA of elevation travel, but the Helos BTR Gen 2 2-12x42 with a 30mm tube delivers 110 MOA of elevation. Both are 2-12x42, but you gain 40MOA of vertical travel with the Helos BTR Gen 2. That extra 40 MOA of travel could mean the difference between running out of elevation or having enough elevation to dial for the correct yardage.”
Shooters who shoot those kinds of ranges demand reliable scope mounts, so they rely on US-made Warne Scope Mounts.
Warne makes 1-inch, 30mm, 34mm, 35mm, 36mm, and 40mm scope rings for larger tube scopes.
With all the wider tube sizes coming out, Warne was there to provide a performance 34mm scope ring. This led to the development of 35mm, 36mm, and finally 40mm scope rings and Warne’s one-piece Skyline® Precision scope mounts from one inch to 35mm.
Warne's one-piece Skyline Precision scope mounts are popular on long-range precision chassis rifles because they are very stable and can accept accessories like bubble levels and data card holders.
34mm scope rings and 34mm precision scope mounts.
Besides being used for many long-range rifle scopes, the 34mm tube size has become very popular for LPVOs. Warne makes a variety of 34mm rings. Still, because LPVOs are mostly used AR15-style rifles, Warne makes the popular Warne XSKEL cantilever mount, as well as a Skyline Precision Cantilever mount in 34mm, to get the perfect eye relief for your AR-style rifle.
35mm rings for Leupold Mark 5
Warne was one of the first manufacturers to make rings for the Leupold Mark 5. The Warne Mountain tech rings are made of lightweight and super-durable 7075 aluminum construction and stainless hardware to withstand the punishing conditions that tactical rifles can dish out.
There are other scopes use 35mm tubes, like the Atibal Medium Power Variable Optic (MPVO). MPVOs, like Low Power Variable Optics (LPVO), can be used at one power, but unlike LPVOs, which usually max out at 8 power, MPVOs like the Atabal Hybrid12 1-12x32 can go up to 10 or 12 power using 35mm scope rings.
36mm Scope rings and precision scope mounts.
Rifle scopes with 36mm tubes are less common, but they do exist, as the Zeiss Victory uses a 36mm tube.
40mm Scope Rings for the Swarovski dS Digital Rifle Scope
Some scopes, like the Swarovski dS Digital Rifle Scope, require a larger 40mm tube due to their internal electronics. Warne manufactures 40mm rings for these and other 40mm tube-size scopes, like the Sightron SV.
How can I get more vertical travel without getting a bigger tube size?
The bigger tubes add a lot of weight to a rifle and tend to cost a lot more, and not only that, they do max out. An alternative to getting a huge scope tube or even gaining more elevation adjustment out of whatever rifle scope you have is to use a Warne 20MOA scope base or 20MOA one-piece precision scope mounts, which will give you an extra 20MOA of elevation adjustment out of your scope for long-range shots. To learn more, check out 20MOA Explained.
No matter what your tube size is, Warne has rings or a mount for it. Use our search tool to find the part you need.
