Expensive AR lesson learned

[jame]

I attempted to mount a scope on my Bushmaster AR Shorty using one of the handle mounts with a thumb screw, and what an excersize in frustration! The mount would come loose upon firing, I couldn't get a decent cheek weld, and the whole damned thing felt heavy, cumbersome and clumsy. After a brief sight in, I attempted to hit a one of those small (empty) propane cylinders at about 200 yards, to no avail.
I took the whole mess off the top of the carry handle, took a casual rest on a nearby tree, and rattled off five rounds with only the irons. I hit 3 out of 5.

Sometimes simple is best. This seems to be one of those times. :banghead:

On the upside, I have a scope I can use on an Enfield sniper project. I gotta make the best of a bad decision!

 

[TexasRifleman]

And now you know why they started making the flat tops...... all the difference in the world.

The only thing worse are those Mini 14 mounts that attach to the sideplate on the receiver, ugh....

You could always trade that upper for a flat top.

 

[tommyt]

What kind of mount? Many people use these and say they are great.

 

[Mulliga]

A few people in the club have carry handle-mounted optics.

Results definitely seem to vary - one guy's red dot sight was mounted forward of the handle and seemed to work pretty well (he had a 20" HBAR).

Another guy had an old-school mount that put the scope directly over the carry handle, and he could never seem to get that thing zeroed.

I'm wondering how a compact ACOG would do, since that's the scope I plan to use on my Bushy.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

On carry handle AR mounts, it will depend a lot on the quality of the mount. You will also want to use blue loctite to secure the screw through the carry handle or even the best mounts are apt to vibrate loose in a few hundred rounds.

Mulliga, don't sweat the compact ACOG. I ran the much larger TA11 ACOG in the carry handle with no problems. You just need to remember to loctite the mount screw.

 

[Vitamin G]

I've had ridiculously good results with my carry handle mounted NC-star. It gets about 1.5"moa (because I suck), and it seems to NOT be effected by bullet drop!
(I'm not claiming that I have magical bullets, I was thinking perhaps because its mounted so high up, its almost a self-compensating thing?)

 

[Joe Demko]

I've had good results with handle mounted optics on three different AR's.

 

[BigG]

I've had good results with the B-square carry handle mount and the small Colt scope with the integral mount. 100% satisfied.

 

[nbkky71]

Ditto what Bartholomew Roberts said about the mount quality.

I got one of the cheap-o scopes a while back (on a whim). Th mount was so bad that it actually wiggled left-to-right when mounted on the carry handle. Needless to say keeping the bullets on paper was a chore.

I fixed my problem by inserting some small cut-to-fit plastic strips to act as a shim. Problem solved.

 

[yorec]

Yep, mount quality is a biggie.

Never had any problems with mine - also hold zero after many on and off mountings... Course I don't have one that cost less than a twenty spot either. (and only one less than 50)

 

[6530]

I've had good results with the B-square carry handle mount and the small Colt scope with the integral mount. 100% satisfied.

I just happen to have one of the B-square mounts that I'd part with. It's in excellent condition and comes with the Allen wrench.

Email me if you're interested.

 

[ruger270man]

flat tops are your friend

 

[Bang]

Haven't had any problems with the Luepold base and rings. And yes Loctite is our friend. Have had no problem poppin' clays out at 200 yards with this set-up.

Bang

 

[Harry Tuttle]

On a carry handle, a "real deal" colt 3x20 or 4x20 is the way to go.

 

[Snaps]

I've got an ACOG on the flat top Colt which I love

A goosneck off the handle of my Bushy with an Aimpoint mounted to that which is perfect.

There's a cheap Colt knockoff with the base built in on my brother's RRA that seems alright. Probably going to need to loctite it on there because it seems like it wants to come loose. Either that or needs tightned more. I've never shot it since he put it on so I don' know if it's as tight as it will go or not.

 

[Sheldon]

I have tried to scope both my Ar15 and M1A and have never shot better than with just the iron sights alone. Granted I never bothered with a cheekpiece on either and had such a lousy hold on the rifles I dropped the idea right away. I got a Remington 700PSS for the scope after that.....much better!!!

 

[jetman]

I added a TA01 to the CH of my old Government Carbine and I actually preferred shooting it over the same scope with the TA51 mount on my flat top LE6721. To each his own, but it worked REAL well for me.

 

[Atticus]

The A.R.M.S. mounts work great...but are pricey.
http://www.armsmounts.com/catalog.php?action=110&cat_id=1

I use this one.
http://www.armsmounts.com/catalog.php?action=124&item_id=41

 

[jame]

Excellent advice, all. I might start looking at some of those higher quality mounts. I will say that I wasn't quite prepared for the added expense.

One thing about the responses surprised me, though. I figure more would say, "Good! Leave the optics off. Learning the irons is the best way to go."

Am I off base with expectations? I didn't think I did too bad with the irons at 200, but maybe I'm just a little green as it come to the AR's. She is my first.

 

[NMshooter]

Spend the money.

A cheap mount only brings frustration.

Get some decent optics too.

And if you need more trigger time with iron sights, do that first.

Good optics are well worth the money.

 

[Atticus]

One thing about the responses surprised me, though. I figure more would say, "Good! Leave the optics off. Learning the irons is the best way to go."

No...actually I agree. But if you're going to mount a scope, get a good mount.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

One thing about the responses surprised me, though. I figure more would say, "Good! Leave the optics off. Learning the irons is the best way to go."

Actually, I think it is a good idea to slap a scope on the rifle and shoot from a good solid benchrest for a few rounds. Once new shooters have confidence with the rifle and know what it is capable of, they are quicker to accept "operator error" as the problem when learning irons.