Mounting and moving optics around is a very common thing for a gun writer. I am always on the lookout for new scopes and mounts to use in reviews. When the opportunity to review the Anubis Defense “The One” scope mount came around, I jumped at the chance.
Optics @ TFB:
I don’t have a previous relationship with Anubis. I had not even heard of them before this review. They sent the mounts to me to review, and TFB paid me to write the article.
Design
One-piece scope mounts have some obvious advantages over standard rings. Both rings are part of one assembly and will tend to stay aligned more than separate rings. The Anubis mount in particular is very stout. It has ten ring cap screws and four cross-bolts. There is a recoil lug on the underside of the mount.
There is a small triangular opening in the space between the rings. The Anubis mount includes a leveling post that slips into that opening, providing a level surface to help keep the scope from rolling while tightening it. This is a great convenience feature. However, on the 20 MOA mount, the opening is not angled to match the cant of the scope tube as it sits in the rings. The base of the triangle (the line perpendicular to the scope) still works, but it does not have the full benefit of the triangular surface area.
The mount is made of a substantial amount of 6061-T6 aluminum. Anubis lists a weight of 9.27 ounces, and the mount weighed in at 9.3 ounces on my scale (including all screws). The 20 MOA mount is also technically 20.6 MOA or 6 MRAD. That added cant sets up the scope with more elevation travel up from the zero.
There is a recoil lug on the bottom of the mount.
Mounting
Much like the lug nuts on a wheel, the screws on a scope ring should be tightened in alternating order. The screws on the Anubis mount are all numbered in the proper tightening order. This is a nice little touch. Anubis also etches the torque specs for the ring cap screws on the mount for quick reference. The mount also is marked with “0 MOA” or “20 MOA” depending on how much cant is built in.
Note that the 6-screw side is the FRONT of the mount. This shouldn’t matter on the 0 MOA mount, but it matters a lot on the 20 MOA mount. I was not paying attention the first time that I mounted the scope, and I ended up with a backward -20 MOA mount on a 20 MOA base, for a grand total of 0 MOA. Don’t do that. Make sure the six-screw side faces the muzzle. Adding a “front” label or arrow pointing forward would be a nice addition.
One other change I would make would be additional slots for the leveling post. Because it sits at an angle it does not provide a level surface in the exact middle of the opening between the rings. If the scope has a large enough flat area below the turrets that is not a big deal. But if that flat surface on the scope is smaller it may not have enough surface area to sit on top of the leveling post. Adding another location or two would allow the scope body to be leveled within the full area between the rings.
This is BACKWARDS. The six-screw side goes on the muzzle end!
Leveling post in the slot. It presses against the bottom flat under the turrets.
This is also a good time to point out that this leveling system only works if the reticle is square to the optic body. That is not always the case, even on expensive scopes! It is more likely to work than leveling off the top of the turret with a bubble level, but it is not a guarantee. Always verify that the scope reticle is truly vertical after mounting.
120 inch pounds??
Anubis hypes up the 120-inch-pound mounting torque on the cross bolts. That’s ten foot-pounds! 50 to 60 inch pounds is fairly common on this style of mount. Is 120 really necessary? I don’t know. It is not going anywhere when torqued that tight, but it also is very possibly going to damage or deform the rail surface that is bearing that level of pressure. The Amazon ad for the Anubis mount contains his language:
· The application of 100 inch-pounds of torque, is not designed for repeated disassembly and re-installation of the components.
· Before performing any high-torque installation, it is imperative to verify that both the rail and scope are capable of withstanding the force involved. It could result in damage to both scope and rail during installation process.
So obviously there are some caveats to this extreme mounting torque. It should probably be regarded as a semi-permanent installation at 100 inch pounds.
On The Range
Part of my interest in trying this mount was a recent issue with some cheaper 6-screw rings. They were on my .300 Win Mag Bergara for a few years and I didn’t think twice about them. But a few months back we got bored on a hunt and started shooting long range. This is an accurate rifle, but rounds were impacting in places that didn’t make sense even with a bad wind call. I looked at the scope and noticed that it had slipped in the rings, exposing a little unpainted strip.
That little unpainted strip along the scope ring shows that the scope slipped from where it was when painted.
That experience was at the forefront of my mind while testing the Anubis mount. I mounted a Vortex Strike Eagle 3-18×44 and it was drama-free getting the scope level with the post mechanism. However, as mentioned earlier, I mounted the scope backward and had to re-mount it with the mount oriented correctly. Both times the scope was level after tightening the ring caps, and it did not roll to either side.
I then did some nonscientific testing by shooting a bunch of 200+ grain .300 WM ammo for load development and just general shooting. After many rounds over a few months and getting bumped around in the back of a vehicle to and from my public land shooting spots, it stayed perfectly in place.
I also tried using the Anubis mount on my PTR-91, but it was not quite tall enough to clear the rear sight. It also did not work for me on the AR-15 platform because it is not a cantilever. However, it did work fine on my old Savage 10T .308 which mostly pulls loaner gun duty these days. It did sit a little high on the Savage, but with the cheek pad that lives on that gun, it was still workable.
Sadly, it did not clear the rear sight of the PTR-91.
Conclusion
Overall, I think the Anubis “The One” mount is a good value. While there are some things I would change, and I am not necessarily sold on the extreme cross-bolt tension, this is a robust scope mount that seems like it punches well above its $80 price point (or $70 on Amazon). Anubis offers a lifetime warranty and will replace or return any mount that a customer is unhappy with. At this time it is only available in 1.54? height for 34mm tubes, but perhaps more versions will come in the future. As 34mm main tubes become increasingly common there is a growing market for affordable, robust mounts, and the Anubis “The One” meets both of those criteria.
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