Back in 2008 I decided to take a leap into the AR market for the first time. Prior to that I had never owned an AR but felt that it was time I give them a try so I picked up a couple of Remington R15s. The Remington R15 is a flat top AR with no sighting equipment as it comes from the factory so a quest began to determine the right sighting equipment for them.
For the one with an 18" barrel I chose a EOTech Holosight that is camo finished to match the camo on the R15. I have been well pleased with the choice and it is set up as a home defense gun.
But the other with 22" barrel has not been so easy to set up with sighting equipment. I've tried several different combinations on it. Mostly what I've found is that when mounting a scope on the rifle I can't seem to find a set of rings that set high enough for me to get a good sight picture thru the scope. The search was complicated by the fact most everyone was out of stock for any and all of the taller than standard rings.
I decided to take the rifle with me to the 2009 GBO Prairie Dog shoot out in the OK panhandle and just could not find any rings tall enough to mount the Mueller APV 4.5-14 scope I had for it. I wound up with a kinda ugly compromise that got me thru that shoot. It consisted of a half inch riser and Burris Signature Zee Rings in the tallest size they make. It worked but was an ugly cobbled up mess.
I called Gary at Talley a GBO Sponsor and asked if they had any rings that might be tall enough to do the job without a riser block. He told me they were in the process of producing a new Tactical Ring set just for flat top ARs and that when they got them into production he would send me a couple sets of them to try out on my ARs.
What I had in mind for this particular R15 with 22" barrel was a pair of scopes. I wanted to mount one high magnification variable for varmint and long range target shooting and another lower magnification scope with a very wide FOV for closer range shooting and home defense. So I needed a set of rings that allow me to remove the scope and replace it with another with minimal need for readjustment.
I'm not sure if I'm different than some in my requirement for a very tall ring or if most folks need a similar height to me but I have noticed others using rings not nearly as tall as what I seem to require. Perhaps my fat cheek accounts for the need for more height or perhaps it's just the way I place my head. What I do know is I've had a very difficult time finding a ring set that was tall enough to do the job properly.....until Talley sent me their Tactical rings made for use on flat top ARs.
These rings seem to be a perfect match for my needs. They lift the scope up to a height that makes it easy for me to get a good sight picture when I first put my head to the stock. Here are some photos taken while I was out shooting the rifle on my personal shooting range.
And a not so good attempt to show what it looks like while looking thru the scope. I was hand holding the camera and appear to have wobbled off a bit from what I had intended but it gets the idea across and lets you see my range at least.
I believe that Talley has a winner on their hands with these Tactical Rings. If you have an application that requires a taller than normal ring set these might be the answer to your quest as they have been for mine. They are study well made rings that will hold up to hard use and look good in the process. I highly recommend you give them a look. I'll be getting some more I'm sure.
