I posted this over on the M14 forum and figured I'd share here too. At first glance I was a little disappointed until I actually tried it out and I really like it now.
It is a mount made by Midwest Industries for the M1A's that have the scout rail although it can be fit to any one of them with the proper handguard. The mount has been $109 for some time but Brownell's has/had them on sale for $79. I got the Burris Fast Fire II version as it is the most affordable.
The red dot co-witnesses with the irons in the lower 1/3 of the window and is still useable when looking over the rear sight(hooded in my case), although the window is obviously smaller than traditional red dots. With my head slightly elevated and both eyes open it was not a problem to use the dot. The dot in the picture actually appears larger than it really is and the brightness is auto adjusting.
Installation was easy but you must use the mounting screws provided by MI. The ones that came with the Fast Fire were a finer pitch and began screwing up the threads in the mount. I cleaned them up with a 6-40 tap and they were good to go with the MI screws. I don't really think heat will be too much of a problem as it is a good hunk of aluminum and the red dot is mounted away from the barrel mount. Maybe it it was a machine gun there would be a problem, plus the sight sits on a little gasket too.
It is a mount made by Midwest Industries for the M1A's that have the scout rail although it can be fit to any one of them with the proper handguard. The mount has been $109 for some time but Brownell's has/had them on sale for $79. I got the Burris Fast Fire II version as it is the most affordable.
The red dot co-witnesses with the irons in the lower 1/3 of the window and is still useable when looking over the rear sight(hooded in my case), although the window is obviously smaller than traditional red dots. With my head slightly elevated and both eyes open it was not a problem to use the dot. The dot in the picture actually appears larger than it really is and the brightness is auto adjusting.
Installation was easy but you must use the mounting screws provided by MI. The ones that came with the Fast Fire were a finer pitch and began screwing up the threads in the mount. I cleaned them up with a 6-40 tap and they were good to go with the MI screws. I don't really think heat will be too much of a problem as it is a good hunk of aluminum and the red dot is mounted away from the barrel mount. Maybe it it was a machine gun there would be a problem, plus the sight sits on a little gasket too.