I have had various doubles with scopes and find they are very usable with the scope. I would have to disagree that the claw mounts are an appreciablely faster to remove than good pivots. I would also disagree that they are less appealing when the scope is removed. I will definitely agree that the claw mounts require more work to install than pivots and once installed they are definitely NOT adjustable normally although some have some windage adjustment in the rear base. Pivot mounts on NEW doubles such as the Merkel and Chapuis are very easy to install and can easily be done by any one who can safely use a screwdrive. My Merkel 8x57 Mdl 141 has MAK pivot mounts installed with a Leupold 1.5x5 Vari X III. It took less than 30 minutes to install the pivot mounts and took less than a week to get the mounts from Europe. They have many different styles to adapt any scope to almost any current manufacture rifle. Reasonably priced at around $500. They have an excentric spacer in the rear ring that allows for quite a bit of windage adjustment. Quality is absolutely top drawer. They have special mounts for rail mount scopes and for dot type rear sights. I reccomend them highly. They are very co-operative and helpful in determining what you need. The only thing they need to know is the make and model of the rifle and the make and model of the scope so they get the proper Height to clear the objective bell. On claws if you wish to use a large objective scope you either have to mount it very high or use a front ring that attaches to the ojective bell, with a pivot mount it only has to clear the barrel since it swings sideways. I personally prefer the pivot, but as I said that's a PERSONAL decision.