Thomas, my personal experience (and the experience of several of my friends) has been that Leupold rings do not fit the Kimber dovetail very well. While they may seem to fit on at first glance, once installed and you take a closer look, there is a very limited mating surface of the clamp claw and the dovetail. Several that I have tried early on in my Kimber career caused my guns to shoot poorly and not line up perfectly with the bore. A switch to Warne 7.62 immediately fixed the problems. As a result, I no longer use Leupold rings on Kimber dovetails.

 

Thanks, neither do I.

Look closer in the package....

 

Yep! Lucky find

 

Tom, the pic isn't very clear. What are we looking for?

Doug

 

I think the base of the rings is not right for the rimfire Leupolds.

Doug

 

Yeah they look more like a Talley ring or center pinch…

 

I didn't mean to confuse anyone. If there was a prize it looks like gewehrfreund gets it!

I luckily spotted the factory Kimber rings that had somehow made their way into a Leupold 11mm box.

I had been looking for said Leupold's (for a non-Kimber) and stumbled upon them on ebay...Tom

 

The only reason I recognized them was because I had a set for my LH Custom Classic. The only thing missing is the steel plate used to open them slightly to get them on the receiver easily without scratching, etc.

 

Yep, Tom, that ring base looks like they're for a Kimber. The eBay link pics, though, shows the standard Leupold 11 mm RF rings. Did you order the 11 mm rings and get those, or was that pic provided by the seller?

Doug

 

When I click on the ebay link I see them as I bought them, that is the seller's picture in OP. Perhaps scroll down on the ebay link?

Nonetheless it was the only one. I believe the seller didn't know what he had (factory #220 Kimber rings)...Tom

 

Aha, it’s a trick picture. Look at the rings themselves and you can see the slots of the early Leupold made 1st. Gen. Kimber rings. Good score.
As an aside to the conversation, I think there’s a noticeable difference between the earlier 11mm Leupold Rimfire rings with the big tightening screw and the newer ones with the Torx tightening screw. I think early ones have a radius that mates up to an 82 receiver pretty decently and the new ones are a bit flatter. I have a set or two of the old big screw rings holding scopes on a couple of Kimbers and in my opinion they are fine. Plus the finish on the early ones matches the Kimber blue while the newer 1/2 matte 1/2 gloss doesn’t very well. Also the early ones have slightly bigger gripping jaws.

 

Things that make you say huh!!! Nice little score!

 

Those are really good rings I have a pair and prefer them over most rings. They are expensive but good. You don't have to worry about crushing the ocular tube with 18 inch pounds with good steel that doesn't need lapping.

 

I just looked at your picture, those are not Leupolds, I use 11mm rings on my groove top Winchesters , they are a little hard to find also, so when I saw the notch I thought somebody got a deal,,,and so they did, sharp eyes!!! Tim.

 

Those are my preferred rings for all my 82 Kimbers. I don't care about being "period correct." I think much more elegant looking than the vertical splits that look like a Catholic Bishop's hat.

 

Tom, just so you know I spotted those instantly. But no prize because I slept in while gewehrfreund was up early looking in the RFC Kimber forum! Also, you got double lucky because those are the tall version and can mount a slightly larger scope on your Kimber.
Amazing eye for detail Tom. Problem is now I will be distracted and spend too much time on eBay looking at Leupold rings!!!
You even have the correct early Leupold allen head screws. What are you going to do with the Torx wrench in the package?

 

HUSH, please don't spend all that time looking on eBay (you cracked me up with that comment) -- that was almost certainly a once-in-a-lifetime find. As they say, timing is everything.

Tom was lucky, but he's a really good guy, so he deserves it.

Doug

 

Hush I don't normally look that closely but I like the Leupold 11mm rings without the big "L" on top so in looking closer, having several Kimber rings and being a graduate of the Kollege, I saw what he had. Dumb luck. I probably have 20 of those Torx wrenches as I use a screwdriver style Torx. Free to a good or bad home.

Thank you Doug! If you keep saying that they might believe it!...Tom