Looking at budget scope mounts for flat-top AR carbine.....

[MIL-DOT]

...and would appreciate the advice and wisdom of the forum. I'm just fidgeting with my plinking toys, not setting up the perfect TEOTWAWKI rig, and not looking to blow any real money here, but I have a Burris Fullfield II 2-7x35 that I'm thinking about putting on a flat-top S&W Sport AR, and need a decent,economical mounting system.
I prefer a quick-detach unit, if possible, so the irons can be utilized in a pinch, but that's not critical.
I'm hearing good stuff about the ( no QD) Primary Arms unit ( at about $30 delivered), as well as this UTG set-up. Any advice on these, or other worthy canidates, is appreciated......
http://www.amazon.com/UTG-Two-Piece-Profile-Grade-Picatinny/dp/B004VIVKQ0?tag=viglink20438-20

 

[Blade First]

My experience is that a cantilever mount gives more options. Might consider that to move the tube a little farther forward on the rail...and the proper height is a definite plus in a very strong design.

As to cost, the on-line giants are your friends. Look for the PEPR knock-offs.

 

[greyling22]

The 1 piece mounts seem to be the best solution for scoping AR's. I find that even if I get my rings high enough, I still need a bit of offset off the front of the receiver to get teh proper eye relief on the scope.

the nikon or the ar stoner mount from midway are best budget minded name brand(ish) mounts I know of. You can get the stoner for around 50. I'm 90+% sure the midway ar stoner mount is made by warne.
I have even used a $25 cantilever Chinese mount off amazon that worked just fine, but it was a bit heavy and I didn't like the big nuts on the side of the mount that tightened everything down. But they have some other options now I like just fine. Some china stuff is crap, some is nice, and it's hard to sort them out on amazon.

I'm out on QD mounts. If you buy a decent scope it's not going to just spontaneously mess up, and any drop so bad that it destroys the scope it probably also going to mess up the gun, or me, or backup sights so I'm not going to still be shooting. And they add cost, bulk, and complexity to the equation.

 

[gotigers]

check out Primary Arms for mounts and optics. I have the primary cheap AR scope mount on my M&P15-22. It has been rock solid. The next step up is the Burris PEPR. The PEPR is a great mount for the money. Then the American Defense Recon is my favorite, but it is expensive. I have the three I listed. All three are a good value for their price point.

One piece on an AR is the way to go.

 

[boricua9mm]

Decent QD gear usually isn't for the budget conscious. In your case, I would get a set of Warne QD scope rings and call it a day. Should be around $50. If you don't need the QD feature, the cheaper options avail.

 

[fanchisimo]

Right now Burris has a $20 rebate on their QD pepr mounts. If you can find them on sale in addition to that they aren't too bad. I got mine from PSA when they were on sale for $60, so overall I got one for $40. At that price, I figured why not.

 

[moxie]

If you want a good solid QD, go with a one piece unit. The Burris PEPR is probably the most affordable. It's $75.99 right now at Amazon. Make sure you get the right size rings for your scope. I think it's 1".

 

[rbernie]

If you're willing to sacrifice QD capability, the Leupold Rifleman see-thru weaver mount rings are a great budget alternative. I've thrashed them pretty heavily in the field and they work very well.

 

[Moparnut]

Delete.

 

[henschman]

Lots of people happily use one-piece mounts, but I think that if most of them would get in position, close their eyes, completely relax their neck and let their head rest on the stock, they would find that they are below he eye of of the scope, and are seeing black. The fact is that most one-piece mounts are 1.5" or higher, which is a good bit higher than the iron sight plane (which is already too tall itself on a flat top), and do not lend themselves to great cheek weld, unless you have a face like a horse.

I have played around with several setups, and have settled on this YHM extended riser http://www.midwayusa.com/product/26...atinny-style-riser-mount-ar-15-flat-top-matte plus some Vortex low rings for $20 a piece. The rings have coin slots in them, and can be detached very quickly with a coin, knife blade, etc. if needed. That setup puts my TAC30 scope too low to clear a flip -up rear sight, but it has great cheek weld. You can always keep a rear sight in your gear if you're worried about it. I ended up deciding that being a or to use proper fundamentals with my main optic is more important than having quicker access to irons in some kind of long shot situation where I need them.

 

[Armor Snail]

I have the Primary Arms cantilever. Very solid for the money.

 

[VVelox]

I have a similar pair of 1" UTG rings holding a NcStar 2-7x32 pistol scope and it holds zero very nicely. I've not tried deattaching and reattaching it yet, but leaving it attached it stays nice and firmly zeroed under the recoil of 7.62x39mm.