Burris XTR Signature Rings

With everyone wanting to enable their riflescopes to dial out to longer ranges, the ability to get the most out of your scope’s internal mechanical adjustment is key. Elevated Picatinny scope rails have been available for some time, with one piece mounts also available but twin separate rings were somewhat held back, until now.

The key issue with separate rings, is that the angles with which the mounts ‘mate’ with the scope’s tube would only work at one specific separation and although some more untrustworthy manufacturers, and ‘shimmers’ liked to think they were correct in ignoring this key variable, it was liable to damage the tube by crimping it. Burris have long produced Signature rings with polymer inserts, whose spherical shape allowed the scope to remain stress free regardless of their separation or misalignment on the rifle’s action. They also had some offset built into the inserts’ thickness, enabling you to tweak both elevation and windage by `X` minutes of angle, very helpful for some scopes with little internal mechanical range.

The latest ‘Signature XTR’ model takes that design one stage further and rather than being steel, are Hard anodised machined Aluminium bodies, with twin T25 Torx bolts to clamp to the Picatinny rail, rather than a plain slotted screw of old. They are quite large in the 34mm format on test, with six T15 Torx bolts on top of each ring, to firmly clamp the scope with little chance of crimping the tube, the pressure spread evenly over 25mm of the tube’s length.

Shims and keys

Ten ‘Pos-Align’ shims are supplied in pairs, +/-0, +/-5, +/-10 and two pairs of +/- 20 with Torx Keys and very thorough instructions in a securely latched storage case. If you were to use a minus 20 below the front mount with a plus 20 under the rear of the scope (and their opposing insets above the tube to make a `pair`), you apply approximately 40 M.O.A. of elevation into the sighting system, dependant on the exact spacing between the rings. More exact measurements are tabulated in the instruction booklet provided. Of course different combinations of inserts will give anywhere from -40 to +40 minutes in 5 M.O.A. gaps for a system that will tailor your physical mount inclination to get almost every `click` of useful range from your scope. Each of the inserts floats within its Aluminium ring until torqued in place, so will not damage the tube yet hold it perfectly longitudinal with no applied distortion or torque, for ultra-secure, stress free scope mounting on any Picatinny rail, regardless of its inherent straightness or angle. 100% contact is generated between rings and tube with no need for lapping, which can at the end of the day, only ever remove metal.

As well as elevation, you can also use these inserts to offset major windage problems and after three weeks of use on a Tikka T3X TAC A1 rifle (ZERO M.O.A. full length Picatinny rail) with 34mm Steiner MX5i scope, I found them a fantastic solution to an age old problem that clever design, investment and corresponding patents have been used to protect. Follow the comprehensive instructions and you have one of the best scope mounting solutions in the book, with versatility, adjustability and security all rolled in.

Conclusion

Great rings, available in three heights for one-inch/30mm tubes and single high for 34/35mm scopes at great value for money.