“If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” This statement comes to mind as I consider how some people may respond to this review. Our current scope rings and mounts of various types do the job and quality ones do the job quite well, so why mess with it? In my tenure as a precision rifle junkie testing tons of different rifles and optics, I’ve had times where I’ve had to swap out several different optics in a day. I do it so much that I don’t even pay any attention to how much time it could take, because proficiency has become my guide.
That being the case, even if I’m not starting from scratch, placing the optic in the rings and leveling etc., I’m moving pre-mounted optics from rifle to rifle and it can be a bit of a pain at times. Anything that can speed up and streamline the process is welcome. Magne-Tech is a company with one such product.
I happened across Magne-Tech on social media. I was enjoying a nice video of a bolt action receiver when suddenly someone’s hand clicked the optic into place like magic. “Huh?” I thought to myself. “What just happened here?” I read quickly through the post to find the name of the product then reached out to the company that posted the product for more information.
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Magne-Tech Mount… What Is It?
In essence the Magne-Tech is a QD scope mount. Yes, this concept is nothing new, we’ve been using products with throw levers for years, but the Magne-Tech utilizes rare earth magnets to accomplish a solid and secure mating.
There are two main components of the Magne-Tech precision scope mount. The top portion, which includes the actual rings is known as the magnetic ring mount, and designated as the female portion of the unit. The lower half is the magnetic receiver and designated as the male portion.
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There are three magnetic interfaces on the ring mount and three on the receiver each rated at 15 pounds. These align and clamp together creating the secure and repeatable connection. I can’t stress enough just how robust the connection is. One has to be careful and prepared when they go to mate them together because if you’re not paying attention you can very easily pinch something between them. As soon as the magnets get close to each other they want to mate together and not much is going to prevent them from doing so.
The components are made of 7075-T6 aluminum and they get a MIL-Spec Type 3 hard coat anodization. So the unit is lightweight and rugged.
Scope Mounting
Initial setup is straight forward like any scope rings. My test unit fits a 30mm maintube while a 34mm option will be available soon. Place your optic in the rings and level out accordingly. Torque the ring screws down to 15 inch pounds. Hex wrenches are provided.
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The receiver fits on your 1913 Picatinny rail and secures via four cross bolts. Once the receiver is aligned and properly seated, you’ll torque those bolts to 30 inch pounds. Once this is done, you’re ready to bring the rings together with the base. The base will stay on your rifle and you can attach and remove the rings at your leisure. Multiple receivers are required if you want to move the ringed optic to other rifles.
To attach the ring mounts to the rail mount you need to cant the ring mount roughly 60 degrees, align the male/female studs, then rock the optic into place. A firm grip on your optic is necessary to avoid having the optic ripped from your hand. No joke. Once joined, you depress the dual redundant locking mechanism, which is basically a lever that allows the units to secure completely, and then you tighten the locking screw on the locking mechanism as extra security. To remove the optic, just reverse the process.
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Practice Runs
Once you get in a few practice runs it takes less than seven seconds or so to remove the optic and replace the optic. It’s fast, slick, and secure. You may find yourself removing and replacing the optic just for the satisfaction of hearing the positive clicks of the figment as well as seeing how quickly you can get it done.
How secure is it? Well, Magnetch touts a 0.25 MOA range of repeatability. That’s not much. One MOA would be impressive but 0.25 MOA is something entirely different. Of course I had to test this claim and skeptical I was, although I was admittedly hopeful for such consistency.
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The Test
To test the Magne-Tech Precision Scope Mount I decided to use two rifles. I secured a magnetic base/receiver to two different rifles; an Aero Precision Solus and a Rock River RBG-1S. I had already been using the Magne-Tech on the Rock River for a review of that rifle but in order to thoroughly test it, I figured two rifles was a better move. And I was right.
My evaluation process was simple. I’d zero the optic to one of the rifles and shoot five shot groups. Then I’d remove the optic and place it on the other rifle and shoot a five shot group using the same ammo, noting any differences in point of aim/impact. I moved the optic, a Nightforce NX-8 4-32x50mm, between the rifles two times after getting a zero on each. When I moved optic from rifle to rifle, I adjust the windage only to keep aiming points similar to. In this case I was aiming at the lower right corner of a square on a Hornady target.
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Adjustments
I needed to make an adjustment of 1.5 MIL to the right when coming from the Aero Precision to the Rock River. This was rather extreme in my opinion making me believe something was out of spec on the Rock River.
After shooting a total of three groups per rifle, moving the optic from rifle to rifle between groups, the Aero Precision returned back to zero without any notable deviance as far as I could tell. I was paying close attention to the vertical deviation and there literally was none. Horizontal deviation was hard to gauge as I had no baseline on how that rifle performed with the ammo. The second group with each rifle was better than the first, especially with the Aero. Maybe I just needed to warm up. Ammo used was Hornady 140-grain BTHP Match.
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The Rock River didn’t fare as well. I noted that there wasn’t much in the way of vertical deviation but horizontal was roughly 0.5 MOA. Doesn’t sound like much but when you look at the images, it hits a little harder. Again, I believe something is going on with the Rock River that needs to be assessed and addressed.
Verdict on Magne-Tech
So does the Precision Scope Mount from Magne-Tech work? In my opinion yes. And quite well based on the Soulus’ performance. Espeically if you’re rifle is buttoned down and you to the install correctly. I know the Aero Precision Solus that I used is nailed down and the performance of the Magne-Tech reflected that.
Expectations need to be managed. Keep in mind that when swapping between multiple rifles you will have multiple POI changes. That’s the nature of the beast. But this unit should keep everything manageable if you document your changes properly. An interesting test would be to do it between rifles of different chambering.
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Retail for a complete set (one ring mount and one rail mount) is $349.99 Additional ring mounts are $194.99. Additional rail mounts can be had for $263.99.
Be sure to watch the companion video on Magne-Tech scope mount.
