McMillan Cheekpiece selection
- Thread starter Jayph
- Start date
- Location
- Virden, MB
I have the thumbwheel on mine. Although I use low rings so I don't really take advantage of it much.
Personally I think the saddle type looks cheesy. If you are shooting with a scope for the most part once you have set it you never need to adjust it again. If you plan to shoot target rifle with iron sights that is were you will adjust it up and down as you move the rear sight.
Steve David
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Oshawa, Ontario
None, get low rings and use a nice cheek piece from Eagle or Blackhawk.
Lets not forget 50mm+ objectives on a 34mm tube mounted on a tapered base... That'll make the ocular lens way high!
Thumbwheel gets my vote
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
I'd go with the saddle if I were buying one. The Old Man has the Saddle on his McMillan A4 (I believe but it might be a 5) stocked 7Mag (he uses it for coyotes, but not gophers or grizzlies). The cheekpiece is notched at the front to allow fo rremoval of the bolt without fooling with the cheekpiece. I'd go with it because you could always add the Blackhawn or Eagle cheekpiece to it (put it on over the cheekpiece) and it would still fit with a minimum of foolign around. The others would be too short for the pad to fi tproperly.
I have 3 A-5's that have the thumb wheel cheekpiece.
The notch on the cheek piece is not long enough to allow removal of a long action bolt, but the real problem is that you have to lower the cheek piece in order to clean the rifle.
I hate winding the little buggers up and down every time I clean the rifles....Then trying to reset the proper hieght again.
Of the three you mention I think the thumb wheel is the best, but there must be something better out there?
The notch on the cheek piece is not long enough to allow removal of a long action bolt, but the real problem is that you have to lower the cheek piece in order to clean the rifle.
I hate winding the little buggers up and down every time I clean the rifles....Then trying to reset the proper hieght again.
Of the three you mention I think the thumb wheel is the best, but there must be something better out there?
- Location
- calgary alberta
That is precisely why I typically use saddle type cheek rests, faster to use, and easier to work with.
I also found that bonding a nice soft piece of burnished leather to the rubber saddle kept my beard from getting tugged.
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
Shouldn't you be babysitting the mill? Get back out to the shop!
I think Ian Robertson makes a cheek piece/hardware that attaches with very strong magnets.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
The saddle in adddition to looking ugly will, due to its thickness, change the position of your eye in relation to the centerline of the rifle. This isn't a big deal as you will probably always shoot the rifle with the same amount of offset.
The height of the cheek piece is dictated by the height of the scope above the bore, the idea being that your eye is centered in the scope while you are afforded a good cheek weld. If you have a large scope, you will be unable to use low rings. If the cheek piece prevents you from withdrawing the bolt for maintenance, it must be adjustable to drop it out of the way. Once the rifle has be cleaned, the cheekpiece can be returned to its proper height, so speed of setting the height is a non-issue.
The height of the cheek piece is dictated by the height of the scope above the bore, the idea being that your eye is centered in the scope while you are afforded a good cheek weld. If you have a large scope, you will be unable to use low rings. If the cheek piece prevents you from withdrawing the bolt for maintenance, it must be adjustable to drop it out of the way. Once the rifle has be cleaned, the cheekpiece can be returned to its proper height, so speed of setting the height is a non-issue.
I have an A-5 with a saddle type cheek piece. If I had my time back, I would have ordered the integral cheek piece. Also when I got the saddle piece, I didn't specify to get the front cut out so I could remove my bolt (Rem700) w/o removing the cheek piece. I cut it out myself and it looks like ####, should have left it. I am satisfied with the saddle cheek piece but I personally would prefer the integral. Just goes to show, ask 5 guys and you will get 7 opinions. It usually boils down to personal preference.
one of the shooters I met had the integral mount on an H&H stock the difference with his was that he machined metal shims to the exact height needed for prone shooting using irons at varies distances. it seems the best of both if the screws come loose the cheek piece can not lower because of the shim.
Yes, our thumbwheel version is removable to remove the bolt clean etc. The cheek piece mechanism is held together with a rare earth magnet. It must be strong enough as we have never had to replace a lost cheek piece. It also does not have lock screws as it does not need them to prevent the wiggles.
For REAL tactical use I would not recommend this type of mechanism but one of our various clamp types. When you pack it full of sand you may not be able to adjust it and with some that need to be screwed out to remove the bolt you would be screwed!
For REAL tactical use I would not recommend this type of mechanism but one of our various clamp types. When you pack it full of sand you may not be able to adjust it and with some that need to be screwed out to remove the bolt you would be screwed!
