Scope Options for a Mossberg MVP Scout?

[SIG FAN]

Hey guys,

I’ve been looking for a used Mossberg MVP Patrol, and I ended up finding and buying an MVP Scout 7.62 instead. The Scout has a factory Picatinny rail which extends the full length of the receiver. This rail is much larger than the Patrol rail.

Does anyone here have an MVP Scout? I’m trying to find scope options for this rifle. I was looking for a 4x12-40mm. However, I think mounting that scope would require really high rings in order for the scope to clear the full length Picatinny rail. I’m trying to keep a good cheek weld without having to buy padding or whatnot for the stock.

I’m looking for a rear mount scope, and not a forward “Scout” type scope.

Suggestions? I know very little about scopes, and all ideas are welcome. I’ll be shooting paper only, at 50-200 yards. Budget is around $400.

This is the factory rail;

Thanks guys!
Matt

 

[Boomer]

You should choose your scope based on the conditions under which the rifle will be used, and the targets it will be sighted on. Now its none of my business how you scope your rifle, but a 4-12X40 is a pretty big scope for a small carbine that was intended to be a general purpose rifle. The advantage of a scope sight is not magnification, its that the target and reticle are in simulations focus, whereas with irons you must adjust your focus from sight picture to sight alignment, to front sight; thus the scope is more precise and in some cases faster. Magnification is necessary to see the target, but a balance must be found between magnification and field of view. If you sight on a moose and all you see is it's eyeball, you'll be able to hit the moose, but if all you see is brown hair, you won't have any idea of what part of him you're aiming at. More shots in the field are missed due insufficient field of view than are missed due to insufficient magnification. Now my pal Dogleg prefers to err on the side of magnification, and his argument is a good one, particularly since long range shooting is a reality in his part of the world. If your target is in a shadow on a bright sunny day, or if your target is obscured by branches where you must thread the needle, higher magnification provides a solution. Higher magnification though is usually packaged in a larger and possibly more delicate scope, that is mounted further away from the rifle, where a scout style rifle screams for resilient, compact glass mounted near the bore. Shooting paper can mean nearly anything, since paper can be shot deliberately from the bench in search or pure accuracy, but it is also shot in dynamic shooting drills that simulate real world shooting scenarios in the game fields or in combat, where speed is in balance with practical accuracy.

A long Picatinny rails provide the greatest latitude for mounting the scope. If it were me, I'd remove the ghost ring while the scope was mounted, so the scope could be mounted nearer the bore, as you allude to though, the objective bell must still clear the rail and the barrel. Once your scope is placed on the rifle so that the eye relief is correct, you could cut off the excess length of the rail, thereby allowing the scope to be mounted closer to the bore, while still clearing the barrel. The other dimension that must be considered with respect to the mounting height of the scope is the height of the comb on the stock. If your cheek has to mash down hard on the comb in order for your eye to align with either a scope or the irons, recoil even in a moderate chambering like a .308 will become uncomfortable. Either your sights, iron and/or scope, must be raised to accommodate the height of the comb, or the comb has to be lowered or raised to bring the sights into alignment with your eye.

 

[emerson]

Boomer said it better. Find scope, set eye relief, cut front of rail short so it doesn’t interfere with the bell and allows lower mounting. I have a 50mm VX2 on a short rail that is set up this way.

 

[SIG FAN]

Thanks for the help, Boomer. I didn't even think to cut down the factory rail - that's an interesting option.

I think I'll look for a Nikon Prostaff 4-12x40mm, and see if it will fit on this rail using medium rings. If not, perhaps cutting the rail would be my next step.

Thanks!

 

[RatFink]

Thanks for the help, Boomer. I didn't even think to cut down the factory rail - that's an interesting option.

I think I'll look for a Nikon Prostaff 4-12x40mm, and see if it will fit on this rail using medium rings. If not, perhaps cutting the rail would be my next step.

Thanks!

For what it's worth, when I tried to mount my Zeiss Terra 3-9x42 on my Ruger Scout, I did have to remove the forward rail when using the Ruger medium rings over the receiver. You might want to remove the rail in general just to get the scope down low enough.

 

[SIG FAN]

Bump .... still checking to see if anyone has one, and what your scope setup is.