Threeper Luke reminds me of something I've been meaning to tell y'all for a while. He sends this link to Bassett Machine of Dripping Springs TX and their excellent M14 scope mount pictured above.
Luke calls it correctly:
Good M14 mount that's quick on-off, zero hold to within 1-1 1/2 MOA and won't shoot loose
Mike,
http://www.bassettmachine.com/
Only mount I've found so far that won't give a wandering zero. If you take it off and put it back on, it will come back to within 1 MOA of zero, if you use the included strap wrench to torque it per the directions. Has only one screw to fiddle with, too!
I now have one of these on the China Doll and will test it next time I'm at the range.
14 comments:
I have been looking at one of these for awhile. It has pretty good reviews. I just have to wonder how it will actually hold in the field. It really looks flimsy. A good mount is my biggest complaint about the M14/M1A system.... the damn scope is too high for my tastes.
Recently I ran across a rail that replaces the top handguard that claims is very stable. Then I read somewhere that it will not work on a National Match model. Is this due to barrel thickness. I know the Ultra Match has a heavy barrel but the N M model does not. I can't get a decent answer.
Anybody out there know the answer?
I've an A.R.M.S. 18 scope mount on my all GI but receiver M1A.
I've tried several others and have heard the Smith Enterprises makes an excellent one too...
I've tried several of the "cheaper" alternatives (don't know how much the Basset is) and finally sprang for the $200 mount and a Leupold scope... you DO get what you pay for...
FYI ... because of the M14(M1A) Garand action some scopes don't do well with the "double" recoil of the Garand action.. (i.e. recoil from shot and recoil when bolt goes to battery).
Jeepster
As Jeff Cooper said, "May your enemies always be set on full auto."
I started with a Springfield Armory P.O.S. aluminum mount a buddy sold me. I trashed that after a year, wouldn't hold zero and snapped 2 of the bolts off. Pure junk!
Got an A.R.M.S. mount a few years ago with a S&B 1.5x6 and now can shoot 1/2" groups with handloads at 100m. The rifle is a std grade Springfield Armory M1A with '63 TRW bbl, G.I. plastic stock, unitized gas cylinder, tricked out and glass bedded by myself.
Do yourself a favor and buy the best you can afford, stay away from cheap aluminum mounts. They just aren't worth the trouble. Semper Fi, 0351/0321/2111
As already said, buy once--cry once. I have used both Smith Ent. as well as the A.R.M.S. #18. Both worked as advertised and expected. The #18 will allow use of your Irons.........LRB as well as SADLAK Ind. also make an excellent product according to shooting partners.
Chris
III
I failed to address incorrect receiver Dims. Sadlak has a fix for out of spec receivers regarding scope mounts. Link>>> http://www.sadlak.com/si_m1a_receivers.html
Taking a lesson from the quick disconnect side mounts on AK rifles this is a welcome change. Since the American public have been shooting AKs more often these last few years there's been a wealth of improvements made.
Proves the adage give an American a rifle and he will improve it because marksmanship is in our genes. I now run aperture sights on all my AKs now and can hold my own with M1As.
Don't be afraid to use a dab of blue loctite and you will never have to tighten your mounting screws enough to break them off at the threads.
I put a Springfield scout picatinny rail on my M1-A1 rifle and a Simmons 2x8 long eye relief (pistol)scope.I also installed a scout Muzzle Brake on the same rifle I´ve had absolutely No problems with drifting zero and the scope mount does Not Interfere with extraction of spent cases.I am VERY happy with this set up so far with about 300 rounds sent down the tube since installing the Scope and Brake.
Dennis
III
Texas
PS you can also install a Leupold scout scope on this set up but the scout scope is a fixed 4x scope.
Dakota,
I also have the Ultimak rail for my Poly. It works because Chinese barrels are GI contour. You are correct that the "scout" barrel-mounted rails out there are for GI-profile barrels and won't fit thicker "match" barrels.
I like the forward rail because it allows me to use a long-eye relief scope or 1X red dot and retain the ability to load the rifle with strippers.
Bassett makes a low mount. I went with the high picatinny because it is not that high and allows you to see your irons at 100M if your scope bell is not "hubble" class.
All the multiple-attachment point mounts have problems, because they must be adjustable for Springfield's less than stellar fidelity to GI spec receiver dimensions. Also, the clip guide was never intended to be a mount attachment point.
Here is why the Basset design works:
Look at the side of your M14/M1A receiver. It has two grooves near the mount hole. One horizontal, and one vertical. They are V shaped, and flat, not rounded, at the bottom. If you were to lay the rifle down so those were facing up and you could lay something cylindrical (say, a short 1/8" bit of drill-rod) in either V grove, with just gravity holding it in, there are only 3 directions the cylinder can move. The rod could move away from the receiver, or slide back and forth in the V slot. If you have two cylinders, they both could move up and away from the receiver, but the side to side movement in the slot would be perpendicular to each other. So, if they were joined together with say, a plate welded on top of them, the different direction of the side to side movement of each cylinder is now impossible due to them being fixed to each other. The whole piece could still move up and away from the receiver, but that is now the only direction of movement available. Screw this entire piece to the receiver and you eliminate that last direction of movement.
It is important to note that the pins do NOT bottom out. the torque, 22-inch lbs., is transfered to a very small surface of the receiver, not wasted trying to spread torque over the entire surface of the groves and the bottom of the groves, the clip guide slot, etc. In addition, the round pin self-centers on the angled walls of the groves on the receiver. The swaged and loc-tited STEEL pins, not the mount, take the recoil forces.
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s180/lto1245/100_0098.jpg
Here is a better pic of the mounting surface setup. This is the standard non-picatinny mount but the mounting surfaces are identical. http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s180/lto1245/IMG_0275.jpg
An inexpensive but serviceable torque-screwdriver can be had for <$25.
Use it to set the screws on a mount like this and you should see 99+% R-2-0.
Since I started using mine on my guns I find accuracy is improved immensely - even a full strip (stock-off)/rings off disassembly seems to matter naught.
HTH///
DD
I've got two (2) Bassett mounts for two (2) M14's. One is an Armscorp and the other is an LRB. One Bassett is a Weaver mount, the other is a M1913 rail. I have tried to use Springfield mounts in the past and currently also own a Smith Enterprises mount, which I haven't used due to the complexity of installation, compared to the Bassett. Without any reservation, the Bassett M14 mount is the one.
A new mount is available from www.m14.ca It is solid and secure on my rifle. Worth a look...
Post a Comment