BSA Red Dot mount mis-drilled ?

[USGuns]

Hello,
Just to try out a Red Dot sight, I ordered an inexpensive BSA Red Dot for my Mini14. However, when it arrived, one of the sight mounting screws looks mis-aligned. I'm ignorant when it comes to sights and I don't have a rail for my Mini so I haven't mounted it yet ... but this doesn't look right.

They're clearly drilled at different heights on the rail, was this intentional?
Anyone else have a BSA Red Dot or can confirm to me if this is correct or not? (see attachment)
Thanks!

 

[chevrofreak]

That is to lock the scope onto the rail so it does not slide when firing.

 

[USGuns]

Thanks chevrofreak. After I made my post it dawned on me that that might be the purpose. So that lower mounting screw would go down into the rail groove?

 

[chevrofreak]

Affirmative. When I mounted my first BSA I didnt get the bolt down into the notch in the rail so I was wondering why the hell the gun was shooting so damned low.

 

[USGuns]

Makes sense, thanks!

 

[Domino]

BSA

Yeah, I noticed the same thing to when I put one on my SKS. It looked to wierd to not be some sort of mistake but suprisingly it worked.

 

[Badger Arms]

To expand on what has been said, there are hundreds or different mounts on the market and the spacing between the screws is not consistant. Only one screw needs to lock into the Weaver base to keep it from moving so the other one is drilled higher to allow you to mount it to more rail types without having to cut new slots that are perfectly spaced.

 

[USGuns]

UltiMAK

I'm thinking of ordering the UltiMAK mount for the Mini14, so hopefully that will work well with the BSA:
http://www.ultimak.com/M4.htm

 

[Badger Arms]

I've got to say that if you're spending that much already, get a better sight. The Aimpoint's are still reasonable.

 

[chevrofreak]

I have an UltiMAK on my MAK-90 and the BSA fits it fine, but looks odd on it. It also sits too high to co-witness the irons. Dont think the Mini-14 can co-witness anyway so it would be up to you whether you liked the scope to be a little too high, or just right

 

[WhiteKnight]

It also sits too high to co-witness the irons

Could you explain what co-witnessing is? I've heard it mentioned but I'm not exactly sure what it means. Perhaps being able to use both irons & other optical sight?

 

[DevilDog]

Could you explain what co-witnessing is? I've heard it mentioned but I'm not exactly sure what it means. Perhaps being able to use both irons & other optical sight?

Yes - it is being able to look through both the irons and the optical sight at the same time. It is handy if you have a red dot sight you do not leave on all the time or in the event your battery fails. Obviously it only works with non-magnifying sights.

 

[chevrofreak]

Heres a really, really poor picture of co-witnessing. Most dots are projected at what the eye percieves is 25 feet, so the depth of field is totally off when the dot is in focus. (using a camera)

You can see the red dot on the top of the front post, and in the notch of the rear sight. The point of impact is the same if the dot is centered in the glass, or if it is resting on the front sight. You can actually ignore the front sight and just center the dot in the rear sight if you want. My dot has very very little parallax so as long as the dot is on target it doesnt matter where in the glass it is, the bullet impact will be right where the dot is.


Here are a couple other pictures.

http://files.chevrofreak.com/pictures/UltiMAK/DSC01347_sm.jpg

http://files.chevrofreak.com/pictures/UltiMAK/DSC01348_sm.jpg