Marstar has a new scope mount for the M14

[woodchopper]

I call them lepper mounts. Whatever is on there will eventually end up falling off for no reason.

funny thing taking it off I had so much blue locktite on it and the side of the reciever I needed a hammer to take it off

Still was crap even with a few modifications to make it fit properly and the locktite.

Perhaps now I will look at the new marstar mount. I was going to just shoot it iron sights.

 

[agit-prop]

My mount arrived today, and I'm impressed so far. It's definately a heavier piece of kit than the older scope mount from Marstar.

The main part of the mount is a single piece of milled aluminum, and the side mounting plate is 5 or 6mm thick. The top is ~8mm, and even thicker where the rail is. Unlike the older design, this new mount has ridges milled into the inner side of the lower part of the mount. These ridges mate perfectly with the horizontal and vertical slots on the left side of the receiver.

The mount comes with an insert that replaces the clip guide on the top rear of the receiver. The insert is made of steel and is threded for a mounting screw, and has a hole bored for a roll pin, which secures it to the receiver, just like the charging block.

The mount itself has 2 attachment points. There is a forward thumbscrew that fixes to the threaded hole in the receiver, and a rear thumbscrew that threads into the replacement charging block. The hole in the rear of the side plate is threaded for a collar that is included.

To install, follow these steps:

1. Remove the charging block and roll pin from the receiver.
2. Install the replacement block by hammering it into the charging block dovetail slot from the left to right, until centered.
3. Hammer the roll pin into the charging block and receiver.
4. Screw the front mount thumbscrew into the threaded receiver screw hole until hand tight.
5. Screw the threaded collar into the rear mount hole until it is stopped by the charging block, and then instrall the collar locking nut and tighten with a wrench. while preventing the collar from turning with a large screwdriver.
6. Loosen the front mounting screw one or two turns
7. Insert the rear screw through the collar and screw it into the threaded hole in the charging block. Tighten it until finger tight, then back it off one to two turns.
8. Tighten the front screw finger tight and then tighten the rear mount screw as tight as you can by hand

Here are the pics:

 

[LeftFootOfDoom]

Please give us an after action report on this mount. I am very interested, but I'm one of the wimpy ones who wants lots of user evaluations before I invest.

Im sure that I aint the only one waiting with baited breath for an A+ rating so that I can get it, only to be told sorry temporarily sold out!

 

[Craftsman 441]

Bolt carrier assy removal

Is it difficult to remove and replace the bolt with the deluxe scope mount attached?

 

[Splatter]

Wow, it looks much higher than I was expecting. Are the Irons still usable at all?

 

[HPL]

Wow, it looks much higher than I was expecting. Are the Irons still usable at all?

No. They are blocked by the mount.

Is it difficult to remove and replace the bolt with the deluxe scope mount attached?

I had a hard time with the bolt, but your mileage may vary. For me it's a case where the bolt almost goes in and out okay, but the back end of the firing pin may need a little filing. Anyone know if it's okay to file off part of the firing pin where it bends downwards?

Agit-prop, was the screw that goes into the stripper clip guide mount threaded off-center? Mine was and I was wondering if it was supposed to be that way or not. Also, you may want to put some Loctite on the washer holding in the steel sleeve where the stripper clip guide screw goes through as well as the threaded outside of the sleeve. Mine was a bit rattly but it's fine now.

 

[Splatter]

Not a good idea to file the "tail" on the firing pin.

 

[agit-prop]

Agit-prop, was the screw that goes into the stripper clip guide mount threaded off-center? Mine was and I was wondering if it was supposed to be that way or not.

I'm guessing that the sleeve/collar is designed to have a larger inner diameter than the rear thumbcrew to account for slight variations in the location of the dovetail. Mine was slightly off center to the rear. That's why I added step 6 to the instructions.

 

[mdbuckle]

Wow, it looks much higher than I was expecting. Are the Irons still usable at all?

Yeah it looks a lot higher then I was expecting too. I have one of them on order. I guess I will see when I get it if I like it or not...

 

[Mudpuppy]

Anyone know if it's okay to file off part of the firing pin where it bends downwards?

Like Splatter said, do not file the tail of the firing pin. It is designed so that the tail catches on the receiver bridge, to prevent the firing pin from going foreward, if the bolt is not locked up.

That tail is actually a safety device.

 

[hfp75]

metal type?

john,

what ype of aluminum is the mount made from? and if you know its temper 'Tx' rating?

Hans

 

[Claven2]

FWIW, I've never met an Alumuinum M14 mount I liked. Smith Enterprises. Brookfield Machine. ARMS18. Those are good mounts. The rest... well... they are "the rest".

EDIT: The Sadlak mount is good too

 

[buckbrush]

That thing is MUCH higher than the arms 18's I have used. It isn't that much cheaper than an arms 18 either, I think I will buy another ARMS.

 

[PoFF]

Dammit... I'm having a hard time hammering the stripper clip guide roll pin from the reciever. I couldn't find any 3/32" straight punch so I'm using a sawed-off nail, but so far, I've only managed to bend the nail... and the rollpin didn't move at all.

Any tips?

 

[HPL]

Any tips?

Hmmm. The pin came out fairly easy on both of my M305s. Make sure the stripper clip guide is lined up properly so it's not making a "shelf" for the soft pin to snag up on. You could also try disassembling the rifle and driving the pin out from the other side. If all else fails, you could try drilling the pin out.

Where I ran into trouble was getting the stripper clip guide off of the dovetail on my neweset M305. That took a lot of hammering.

 

[agit-prop]

So, I took my M305 out yesterday for a sweaty session of load development. The mount seemed to perform OK, but it's hard to tell what's really going on. My groups were bigger than I had hoped. That said I still haven't had my cartridges checked for headspace.

 

[agit-prop]

OK, I have an update. The new scope mount works fine, but you must locktite it or it will work its way loose after several rounds. Once I had mine dialed in and locktited it showed it is capable of contributing to sub-MoA groups.

 

[Sharkson]

Dammit... I'm having a hard time hammering the stripper clip guide roll pin from the reciever. I couldn't find any 3/32" straight punch so I'm using a sawed-off nail, but so far, I've only managed to bend the nail... and the rollpin didn't move at all.

Any tips?

I used WD-40 to loosen things up.

Maybe obvious to some, but I learned the hard way that the bolt must be closed for the pin to come out!!

Drift punches are important, so I picked up a cheap set at Princess Auto. Also available from Le Baron - saw them in the latest catalog that arrived yesterday.

I also had fun getting the 3/32 pin out of the bolt stop (replaced with Rooster's version), as the channel is curved - this bent my punch. I also tried to do this AFTER I had put on my ARMS 18. Had to remove the mount.

Good thing I bought two of these rifles. The work on the second rifle will go more smoothly for sure. And no damage to the first one other than cosmetic stuff.

 

[RevolverRodger]

Do you need to modify the M-305 in any way in order to add the ARMS 18 mount ?

 

[LeftFootOfDoom]

Do you need to modify the M-305 in any way in order to add the ARMS 18 mount ?

gotta remove the charger clip guide. Got one on the way from the us, I'll let you know how hard/easy it is to do once it gets here.