I've wondered the same thing, but I think any organization as professional as Mauser would have "figured this one out". I have no doubt that destructive testing was probably done, or at least some really good math. Good luck getting anyone to do it for you today though.
What I don't understand was why they did that as opposed to screwing down the front clawmount directly. It seems as though they were more concerned with a perfect scope mounting platform, and less with the integrity of the front ring.
