I think with this action we are talking about hunting rifles, not benchrest or super tack driver long range stuff, so any action stiffness or rigidity is secondary to weight and aesthetics. There are plenty of good bases, rings, and one-piece ringmounts that are lighter, effective, and way more attractive than pic rails. As far as Africa is concerned I will not go hunting there with an ugly rifle.
Would that be any less accurate with two piece bases?
The mounts on my two African rifles were sold as pic rails ... but sorta are not. Most pic rails are made for detachable magazine rifles. However, for rifles, like classical African guns that must be loaded from the top, a full width, full length rail can conceivably get in the way of loading. So these "pic" rails have a cutout over the magazine for loading. Ring slots are eliminated in the cutout zone to maintain rail strength. So they function like a pic rail but not nearly as ugly. In fact, my rails are almost indistinguishable from the old classic one-piece bases that are commonly found on some African rifles (e.g. Leopold). My rails have the added advantage of being able to mate to generic "Weaver style" rings. My rifles have Warne Quick Detach rings so I can opt for iron sights or scope as the situation dictates.
Possibly. Depends on how accurately the holes for the two bases have been located, how much uniformity in machining receiver dimensions, quality of bases, etc. A one piece pic rail is (or should be) uniform width and height end to end. If the rings are the same manufacture and height, it's essentially impossible for them to NOT be in alignment when mounted on a rail. Much easier for them to be misaligned on two separate bases.
It was a 50% genuine question, 50% I’d never want something that ugly on my rifle sort of comment.
A pair of scope rings would not cover all the several "ugly" slots in each half of the MRC integral split rail. Warne split steel bases are similar with several slots in the forward base. Only one or two slots will be concealed. Look closely at the image of my rifle above. Scope rings are mounted and still three pic slots are visible, one next to rear ring and two behind the front ring.
