Troy M14 Battlerail Installation (lots of pics)

[Stevo]

This came in the mail today, a lightly used Troy M14 Battlerail. It didn't come with instructions so I had to wing it. The Troy website has instructions for installing the M14 chassis and the upper part of it is similar enough to the Battlerail that it helped out quite a bit. Some of the pics aren't so good as the shop lighting is crap and it was a different camera than I usually use.

Here's where I started. Rifle was field stripped and rear sight removed. Not pictured are the Loc-tite, flat-head screwdriver, or 3/4" wrench I needed to remove the flash suppressor. The oval-ish parts to the right of the rail are the pieces that anchor the front of the rail.

I was a bit surprised that I had to remove the front stock ferrule. To do that the gas system needs to come off the rifle. This pic shows the Vortex, the gas plug and the piston (not shown) removed. Also shows the gas lock front sight (GLFS) partially spun off. The rubber mallet got it moving.

Once the front sight was off, the gas block was tapped forward with the mallet. It moved quite easily.

All the front end parts removed. Caution: if the gas system is shimmed, take care not to lose the shim(s) when disassembling. Mine had one shim and I almost lost it.

Place the rail on top of the rifle and line up the holes in the rear sight ears and the side mount hole and loosely install those bolts. Install the front mount pieces. These are what replaces the stock ferrule. It's shown partially screwed in. Tighten the front two screws up tight and reinstall the gas system.

Gas system reinstalled. Note that the GLFS is not lined up. The rubber mallet took care of that. One thing to note when reinstalling the gas system: I initially put the shim back in but that did not allow the GLFS to thread on far enough. I removed the shim and it came up in the position shown in the pic. The Troy front end pieces are different thickness than the Chinese stock ferrule.

After the front end was tightened up I did the same to the sight ear and side mount bolts.

Voila! Installing the bolt and op rod is not significantly harder with the rail on.

In the stock:

Gratuitous gun #### with Falcon Menace 1.5x5-30 installed:

All in all it was pretty easy to do, even without the OEM instructions. The rear sight was a bit frustrating as it didn't come apart exactly the same way as the ones in the instructions I Googled. Removing the gas system was intimidating, but a piece of cake when I actually got to it. If you have a GLFS you may have issues indexing it properly, but nothing that can't be fixed by adding or removing shims. Now, if the weather would just warm up I could get out and shoot it!

 

[Winz]

Now you can lose the GLFS and not worry about index issues since you can't use it anyway.

And you likely need a cheekpiece unless you have a head the size of Frankenstein.

 

[Stevo]

Now you can lose the GLFS and not worry about index issues since you can't use it anyway.

And you likely need a cheekpiece unless you have a head the size of Frankenstein.

A normal gas lock still has to index, no?

It's a chin weld, but it's not too high to use. I like a more upright head position for 3 gun anyway.

 

[MustangFrank]

Troy Top end

Well that does it. I'm sick and tired of waiting for the Doc to get his new rail built. So, I shall sell my UTG Tri rail and get the Troy. Any ideas where to order one new and price ?

 

[Stevo]

cqbservices lists them for $329.

 

[MustangFrank]

cqbservices lists them for $329.

Sighhhh. I wish I had never found this site. Then I would not need an M-14 onto which I must now bolt on hundreds of dollars of crap and then go to M-14 Doctors clinics just to here about why I need to buy all this crap and how to clean it. Actually, I like the clinics better than the gun. I think I just got the M-14 to go to the Doc's clinics. Hello CQB. Can I be your new BFF. Sighhhh.

 

[Satain]

WoW!
Thanx Stevo. Never new that Troy sold them with out buyin the entire stock system. It sure looks alot better design than the "CASM Mount". Now I would ditch that front gas lock sight as it's now imposible to use and put it towards paying of that rail bill. One question though...
The front locking screw's are they flat heads?
If so that suck's cuz I always end up some how stripping my flat head screw's.
Also do ya mind doing a range report when it warms up for us, please. Cuz it looks like there is the same amount of ejection clearance that the "ARMS #18" ,ount has and I wounder if it will cause some ejection issues with out modding the bolt's ejector & extractor springs.

 

[Stevo]

WoW!
Thanx Stevo. Never new that Troy sold them with out buyin the entire stock system. It sure looks alot better design than the "CASM Mount". Now I would ditch that front gas lock sight as it's now imposible to use and put it towards paying of that rail bill. One question though...
The front locking screw's are they flat heads?
If so that suck's cuz I always end up some how stripping my flat head screw's.

It's not the same piece that comes with the Troy MCS. You can't use this Battlerail with the chassis stock.

There are just five (5) fasteners on the rail. All are slotted head except the side mount bolt which also has a 3/8" hex head. With the right size screwdriver there's no problem tightening them up properly without damaging the screws. Canadian Tire always has screwdrivers sets in their sale flyer if you don't have the right ones.

The slotted heads were a bit of a surprise to me, too. I expected hex or Torx. I imagine the reasoning for slotted is that wherever you go on the entire planet, you'll always be able to find a slotted screwdriver or something you can use as one. That doesn't go for other fastener types.

 

[rdelliott]

Sighhhh. I wish I had never found this site. Then I would not need an M-14 onto which I must now bolt on hundreds of dollars of crap and then go to M-14 Doctors clinics just to here about why I need to buy all this crap and how to clean it. Actually, I like the clinics better than the gun. I think I just got the M-14 to go to the Doc's clinics. Hello CQB. Can I be your new BFF. Sighhhh.

Yannow, I went this route. I wound up stripping all the crap off the gun, and found that I actually prefer it bone stock with irons?

 

[M14Doctor]

Yannow, I went this route. I wound up stripping all the crap off the gun, and found that I actually prefer it bone stock with irons?

that's where i ended up as well

i like the troy battle rail idea, they really thought it out.
questions though, how much does it weigh?
and for those, like me, who also would prefer to use torx or allen fasteners.... got to Fastenal , they can match the pitch and length in the appropriate "head"

and for those still waiting for me to get around to having the UTG spanner rail availlable, I'll be taking the drawings and prototypes to BC Tactical, a new manufacturer, who I'm confident will be able to work with me to get them done ASAP. The previous folks i was dealing with have had issues with a fellow who we all trusted that has essentially "stolen" ideas from my drawings and prototypes and is developing his own products. You can understand how this could affect the entire procedure of bringing this and other products i've blabbed on and teased you all about to market. I've bailed on my rear sight pocket mount for this very reason. those paying attention can connect the dots..... the guilty party is amongst us though not in this thread.


great post Stevo, are you going to follow up with a user review?

 

[Stevo]

It is a big piece, but it's really no different than installing a scope mount. In fact, I wish I hadn't wasted my time and money on an ARMS 18 and just installed one of these. Of course, the down side is you lose the irons, but you can install BUIS if you need them.

Thomas, I didn't weigh it but subjectively I'd call it "not that heavy". It's hard to tell it how much it added to the gun when it's in a USGI stock and the scope is installed. The whole package is fairly heavy.

As soon as it gets above -25 I'm going to shoot it.

 

[dagobert]

wow

 

[xcr800]

Would one of these fit on a 1st gen JAE stocked rifle?

 

[M14Doctor]

It is a big piece, but it's really no different than installing a scope mount. In fact, I wish I hadn't wasted my time and money on an ARMS 18 and just installed one of these. Of course, the down side is you lose the irons, but you can install BUIS if you need them.

Thomas, I didn't weigh it but subjectively I'd call it "not that heavy". It's hard to tell it how much it added to the gun when it's in a USGI stock and the scope is installed. The whole package is fairly heavy.

As soon as it gets above -25 I'm going to shoot it.

I've been weighing stocks and different accessories to try and come up with the lightest rig possible. I might contact troy for the weight and compare to the ultimak. so far these two are my favorite railed assemblies for the shorty m14.
and i hear ya on the weather my friend....... -30 here with a foot and a half of snow outside my house..... road into town is closed again today due to blowing snow and ice. major crash of a loaded logging truck......... winter is here big time and she's a doozy so far LOL