Scope rings

So got a new scope for my Remington 770 (30-06)... Wasn't a fan of the Busnell it came with. I got a Nikon 4-12x40, now my rifle has the original rings on it. How important are the rings used for the scope? Could I use the rings already on it or would upgrading be better? I also saw a Burris mount with rings on it would that be an option?

I'm no expert but I think rings are pretty important for a precision rifle and scope combo. You might have a great sports car but lose performance with bad tires.

Obviously the rings are the connection between the scope and the rifle. I always use Weaver or Leupold (I also have a Burris PEPR mount) but others here will give better advice.

Here's the deal. Will the rings that came with the rifle work? Absolutely. They will likely be fine. But cheap rings are.more likely to fail over time. Cheap aluminum is more likely to strip out, they are going to be less precise. And come in contact with a much lower percentage of the scope tube than a quality ring.

It wasn't til recently that I came to the realization that scope rings and bases can be a forever (or close to it purchase). If you buy quality rings now, you can move them to other rifles over time, as needed. They are just going to last longer.

But everybody has a different budget. On the cheaper side, the Burris zee rings get great reviews. In the mid range ($50 or so) I had a set of warne maximas that I really liked (both of those can be purchased at bass pro/cabelas). I just put a set of TPS rings ony new rifle, and the machining quality is head and shoulders above the other 2. I think they were $80ish.

I have a set of $12 leupold rifleman rings on a .22. They work fine, but will never be put under and kind of stress either.

Your budget is what your budget is, and I would find the absolute highest quality ring that fits your budget. If your budget is currently zero, use the factory rings until they fail. And maybe they never will.

As someone who doesn't have the most experimence in rifle shooting, here are the 2 biggest things I've settle on with this topic...

1. It seems to me the most important thing is the ensure you torque down the screws properly no matter how "good" or "bad" you rings and/or bases are. Most ideal situation is to have a torque wrench. But a close second is making sure u apply even torque to the best of your ability. Ex, your better off using turn the screw with the short arm of the L shaped wrench and doing it evenly than using the long arm to torque it down as hard as you can. Remember, their is such a thing as too much torque.

2. Unless you're prepared to start going high dollar for rings/bases to shooting thousand of rounds in a year, then one piece Talley rings are clearly the way I go. I totally agree with caribou. The talley rings are very affordable and have prove. Themselves to be great for most of my purposes.

I'll always go with steel rings if I can. IMO, the biggest drawback to aluminum rings is that they are much easier to strip during install but you can get by with them if you manage to get them installed correctly.

Your rings were fine with the old scope. They are very inexpensive rings and I would eventually upgrade if I were you, but they should be good for the time being.