Aimpoint micro scout
No electronic site is suitable for a barrel mount EXCEPT the Ultimak scout mount . They specify the mount causes NO problems with high quality optics and my Aimpoint micro on an ultimak works just fine no matter how hot I shoot the barrel. The aluminum Ultimac IS a giant heat sink with 4 large barrel clamps , the optic never gets warm. Accurate also due to direct barrel connect of the sight. No problem with barrel stretch either (from heat) so far. Am very pleased with the set up.
Brobee - u are absolutely right !No damage to the micro that I could see, but it was definately too hot to touch for a couple minutes and I was sufficiently worried that with prolongued use it would melt some of the soldered circuitry that I "regressed" back to a 2moa aimpoint comp M3.
I think the ultimak rail would be ok with the micro....it has a huge surface area that I bet dissipates heat pretty quickly whereas the small scout mounts I like to use only have a small fraction of that kindof surface area. I don't have any experience with the ultimak rail though, so I don't know how much contact area there is between the rail, mounting system, and the barrel.
With respect to the SA standard scout rail....I didn't try it with the micro but I suspect it would not be that different than the steel rooster rail. Mind you the SA rail has about 2 to 3 times the surface area of the rooster rail...so maybe it would be ok. I've never seen the SA cluster rail, so can't comment.
Re: technically too heavy to be a true scout....true (and I have a lovely real-deal scout rifle that kills deer every year), however as a handy short range big bore semi (300 yards or less....not that much of a short range gun!) a "scout" configured M1A is, IMHO, king of the heap. Despite it's increased weight over my bolt action scout, I take my M1A out hunting way, way more. To each their own I guess....
I just wish more people made scout-style intermediate eye relief optics.
No electronic site is suitable for a barrel mount EXCEPT the Ultimak scout mount . They specify the mount causes NO problems with high quality optics and my Aimpoint micro on an ultimak works just fine no matter how hot I shoot the barrel. The aluminum Ultimac IS a giant heat sink with 4 large barrel clamps , the optic never gets warm. Accurate also due to direct barrel connect of the sight. No problem with barrel stretch either (from heat) so far. Am very pleased with the set up.