Warne Maxima Aluminum Quick Detach 30mm Ultra-High Rings Review
December 9, 2013

 

Recently I purchased a Bushnell AR Optics AR/223 1-4x24 Throw Down PCL Riflescope for one of my AR builds and found myself in the need of a set of AR height rings.  Since I wanted the rifle to include a set of backup iron sights, I felt that a quick detach mount system was a must.  Also, since I wanted to keep this a value oriented build, price was a consideration in the mount selection process.  In the end, I selected the Warne Maxima Aluminum Quick Detach 30mm Ultra-High Rings.  I ended up ordering these rings from Brownells for $55.99 plus $7.95 for shipping and handling.  They weren't quite the bargain I was hoping for, but the price was still very competitive compared to the market and I liked the key features of these rings so I decided to give them a try.  The key features for my selection were:

• Ultra-high height to get the scope up to a normal height for an AR style rifle
• Quick detach to allow use of back up iron sights (BUIS) without the need for tools to remove the scope
• Aluminum rings to help reduce the weight of rings
• 30mm tube diameter to match my scope
• Matte black finish to match both my scope and rifle

Warne has several Maxima style rings, so the actual model number of the rings shown in this review is A217LM.

 

Warne lists these rings on their "AR Ideal Height Rings" webpage and the key features they advertise are shown below in colored italics.

• Our AR Ideal Height Rings come in 1″ or 30mm and are designed for Flat Top AR’s and similar rifles.
• The rings are manufactured to put the center of your optic at the Ideal Height above the Rail, offering you a repeatable cheek weld, matching the ergonomics that were built into the original design.
• Our rings mount your optic at the same height as original carry handle/gas block sight line, giving you a full image through your scope without the need to alter your standard shooting stance.
• 1″ & 30mm rings in a Quick detach lever style, 204LM & 217LM
• 1″ & 30mm rings with a 1/2″ tactical nut (Tactical Rings), 604M & 617M
• Available in Durable Steel or Lightweight Aluminum, For Aluminum simply add an “A” to the beginning of the part #
• The Maxima Tactical Rings have three primary differences from the rest of the Warne line of rings; a 22% wider body for additional clamping around the scope tube and the mounting base; a 1/2” hex nut for clamping the ring to the base that easily accepts the Mil-Spec 65in/lbs of torque; and lastly, the addition of up to eight T-15 Torx style body screws, depending on the ring model, for superior holding power.

The rings came packaged in a clamshell packaging as shown below.

Figure 1                                                             Figure 2
  

Inside the package were two identical ring assemblies and one T-15 Torx wrench.

Figure 3

The two ring assemblies weighed in at 4.25 ounces.

Figure 4

The ring assemblies are made of two vertically split aluminum halves that include a stainless steel recoil lug and steel clamp bar.  The lever for tightening the clamp bar is also steel.  The rings measured 0.700" in width and the mounting height measured 0.825" from the bottom of the scope tube to the top of the Picatinny rail cutout.

Figure 5                                              Figure 6                                             Figure 7
     

The photo below shows the clamp bar completely loosened.  This design is such that the tightening lever will not spin off the screw so that you will not lose these pieces in the field.  Actually, the tightening lever sits over a hex nut that rides on the shaft of the screw.  This allow you to pull the lever out after the nut is tightened so that you can rotate the lever to a position of your preference.  Since it sits over a hex nut, it can be in 6 different positions.

Figure 8

The photo below shows the ring assembly in a normal disassembled state just like you would have when installing the rings. 

Figure 9

Actually, it is possible to further disassemble the clamping portion, but I don't recommend doing it because the screw is intended to be a permanent installation due to the thread locking compound installed on the threads.  I did disassemble it for this review and you can see all the components of the clamping mechanism below.  You can see the clamp is spring loaded to open when the clamping nut is loosened.  The clamping nut is turned by the nut lever and the nut lever is held against the nut by the outside spring.

Figure 10

When you fold open the  packaging card that came inside the clamshell package, you see there are a set of basic installation instructions.  Warne has a good video showing the ring installation.  In their video, they talk about a torque value of 25 in-lbs on the Torx screws.  Since these are aluminum (not steel) rings, I torqued mine to 20 in-lbs instead.

Figure 11                                                            Figure 12
  

I installed the Bushnell 1-4x24mm scope on one of my recent AR builds using these rings.  This put the centerline of the scope at a height which is ideal for  an AR style rifle.

Figure 13

This height also allowed me the ability to install a Magpul MBUS Rear Sight.  Having backup sights already installed on this rifle matches the theme of the quick release mounts and will probably be the final configuration for this rifle.

Figure 14

The power ring on the scope is very close to the top of the rear sight, but there was enough clearance to allow the power ring to function without ever touching the sight.

Figure 15

If you are not planning to have backup sights on your rifle, your scope installation may look similar to that shown in the next two photos.

Figure 16

Figure 17

While zeroing my scope, I wanted to get an idea on the repeatability of the Warne Quick Detach Mounts.  I setup some targets at 50 yards and shot a group (1), removed and reinstalled the scope, shot another group (2), removed and reinstalled the scope and shot a third group (3).  With this quick test, I found the center point of impact for each group to all be within about 1" of each other.  Considering that I was using Wolf value ammunition, have never tested this build for overall accuracy and my targets were paper plates with a small red dot in the center, I feel that these quick release mounts are repeatable enough for my purposes.

Figure 18                                       Figure 19                                      Figure 20
   

 

Bottom Line:

I'm pleased with the Warne Maxima Quick Detach Rings and they seem like a good quality and value.  My simple test showed the quick detach feature was repeatable within 2 MOA when removing and reinstalling the scope.  If I would have spent more time at the bench, had used better ammunition, and used a scope with a higher power to allow me to get some better group data at 100 yards, I feel I could have proven the rings are capable of better than 2 MOA.  If you are on a budget and are looking for a set of quick detach rings, make sure you take a close look at the Warne Maxima Quick Detach Rings.

---

Or

If you would like to be notified about future Gunsumer Reports reviews via Facebook, make sure "You Like This" by clicking the Facebook "Like" button at the bottom or top of this page.  If it already says "You Like This" beside the button, clicking it again will uncheck the "Like" status and you will not be notified.

Share on Facebook

---