This is the final avatar of my little project. I wasn't sure if I should post this under gun smithing or red rifles. I'd posted a thread before on the earlier version I'd made, but like anyone who tinkers I gave it some thought and decided I could improve on the original design. I used the Choate design as my jumping off point and proceeded from there. I used 1/8" angle iron and cut and filed to suit the dimensions I had in mind. You may note the long nose on the mount. I designed it so that I wouldn't need a shell deflector to keep the expended brass from dinging off the bell of any scope I chose to use. Therefore, I wasn't limited to short tactical style scopes. As an unexpected bonus, it tends to concentrate the ejected brass in a smaller area and since I reload my own, I hate hunting for the brass. You may also note that I went with dome-headed hex screws as opposed to the hex head cap screws I often see on scope mounts. I find the cap screws tend to hang up on clothing and are uncomfortable if they catch on your hand or skin. As a final step, I drilled some lightening holes in the steel. I don't have access to or knowledge of a milling machine so I just drilled some pilot holes where I deemed appropriate and then stepped up the drill bit size until I was satisfied with the result. So there ya go guys!
