Type 97 Sight Rail (Solid type) range report

petermoo999

petermoo999

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Just want to share some of the my findings on sight rail for T97.

Picked up my T97 yesterday, installed the solid T97 sight rail (ordered from CANAM long time ago), went to the range this morning, the T97 performed well, both stock Mag and LAR15 Mags were good, no FTF or FTE (250 rounds of Norc 223 ammo).

Now the sight:
The sight rail is 5 inches long (I posted the photo before under CAMAM forum), it slips onto the little weird looking rail (2.7 inches?) inside the T97 carrying handle, then install 4 screws from the top to secure the mount in place.

The Good:
-Offer anyone who doesn't like iron sight to attach an optic to the rifle.

-Good for Red Dot (micro) or small scopes.

The Bad:
-The sight rail is only 5 inches long, so mounting a bigger scope may not work.

-You will need to remove the scope/RD, then the sight rail every time you need to take the carry handle off (Clean the gas piston), the carry handle will not come off with the sight rail installed, (not sure how long the screws will last, I personally clean the piston every time I shoot, way too much carbon built up in there.)

-I mounted an Red Field 2-7x33 on my t97, it worked well for about 50 rounds (1 - 1 1/2 at 50 meters), then the groups started to open up (I did cool down between shots :) ). Then I realize that the front of the sight rail was bouncing a bit? Due to the length of the scope, the scope base mounts were at the very far end of the rail (2 ends), the back portion of the rail is solid, but the front portion of the rail is only resting on the plastic carry handle assembly.

-The Rail is 5 inches long, but the rail on the rifle is only 2.7 ? the 4 screws installed will only secure 50% of the sight rail, the other 2.5 inches of the sight rail is free float, and if you push on the front of the rail, it will flex/bounce a little, and that is the problem I noticed.

Solution?
- I think I will go and get a RD Micro or a compact scope with scope base mounts fits into the 2.5 inch length, this way, the scope base mounts will be resting on solid portion (where the 4 screws meet the rifle rail).

-Stay with iron sight (after dial in the front iron sight), 2 - 3 inch groupings at 50 meters. (shooting from bench rest/sandbag)

Anyway, just want to share this info for all you happy T97er out there. Happy shooting!
 
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petermoo999 said:
Just want to share some of the my findings on sight rail for T97.

Picked up my T97 yesterday, installed the solid T97 sight rail (ordered from CANAM long time ago), went to the range this morning, the T97 performed well, both stock Mag and LAR15 Mags were good, no FTF or FTE (250 rounds of Norc 223 ammo).

Now the sight:
The sight rail is 5 inches long (I posted the photo before under CAMAM forum), it slips onto the little weird looking rail (2.7 inches?) inside the T97 carrying handle, then install 4 screws from the top to secure the mount in place.

The Good:
-Offer anyone who doesn't like iron sight to attach an optic to the rifle.

-Good for Red Dot (micro) or small scopes.

The Bad:
-The sight rail is only 5 inches long, so mounting a bigger scope may not work.

-You will need to remove the scope/RD, then the sight rail every time you need to take the carry handle off (Clean the gas piston), the carry handle will not come off with the sight rail installed, (not sure how long the screws will last, I personally clean the piston every time I shoot, way too much carbon built up in there.)

-I mounted an Red Field 2-7x33 on my t97, it worked well for about 50 rounds (1 - 1 1/2 at 50 meters), then the groups started to open up (I did cool down between shots :) ). Then I realize that the front of the sight rail was bouncing a bit? Due to the length of the scope, the scope base mounts were at the very far of the rail (2 ends), the back portion of the rail is solid, but the front portion of the rail is only resting on the plastic carry handle assembly.

-The Rail is 5 inches long, but the rail on the rifle is only 2.7 ? the 4 screws installed will only secure 50% of the sight rail, the other 2.5 inches of the sight rail is free float, and if you push on the front of the rail, it will flex/bounce a little, and that is the problem I noticed.

Solution?
- I think I will go and get a RD Micro or a compact scope with scope base mounts fits into the 2.5 inch length, this way, the scope base mounts will be resting on solid portion (where the 4 screws meet the rifle rail).

-Stay with iron sight (after dial in the front iron sight), 2 - 3 inch groupings at 50 meters. (shooting from bench rest/sandbag)

Anyway, just want to share this info for all you happy T97er out there. Happy shooting!
Click to expand...

So any time you clean up the piston and need to remove the sight.
after that and put it back the sight and rezero.
that is sick...
 
Yes, that is the biggest drawback I can see with the t97 sight rail. I am very tempted to cut my sight rail down to 2.75 inch (cut the front portion off) so I can keep the sight rail attached and still able to remove the carrying handle. However, I still need to get a quick release mount for the scope/rd so it can be re/re quickly without the need to re-zero.

Update: played with the rail some more this morning, it looks like you may able to remove the piston and the spring without taking the sight rail/ carrying handle off. The trick is to pull the carrying handle backward (it will not come off) but it gives about 1/2 inch room to allow the gas setting plug to be turned then removed, then you will need a very thin wire to move the piston and the piston spring out, you will not able to get to all the parts covered under the carrying handle, but at least you can clean the piston.

One thing to note is that the piston will not come out freely after the shooting, I had to loosen it up with solvent then pull and push it out, this is due to the carbon built up around the gas piston, so with the 1/2 inch working space and limited access under the carrying handle it will be tough.
 
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I haven't thought of that and it kills a mounting solution I had in mind for a longer scope. Forward offset mount it is. Have one on the way, will post a report.

Edit: The forward offset mount might be out for delivery, we'll see or I'll beg the post office people to hand it over tonight if it's not. The other idea came from our rifle director and involved just putting 2 rings on the same part of the tube and moving the scope forward, but that would have put it on the part of the rail that's unsupported.
 
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1.5 inch groups at 50 meters???
For a $1,000 plus semi-auto???
WoW! guess the mini-14 and the Su-16 meet there match eh???
So at 100 it would be between 3 to 4 moa?
 
Managed to work something out that SHOULD do the trick (sighting in tomorrow). 2" forward mount, moved so the back screw is between the rear-most and second mounting screws on the CanAm rail and the front one is just in front of the Chinese rail. Some flex but should return to the same position if bumped (the Chinese rail itself is designed with a bit of flex in mind). This moved it forward about 1", which means it's only about 1/2" too far back (still compromised for stability so most of the mount clamps above the Chinese mount), which I can deal with. Can't wait for my "Magpul" cheekpiece to arrive so I can work on mounting it with some velcro straps, but for now, low chin weld it is.
KmCyikG.jpg


The Arkansas elevation will be HUGE.. When it was sitting on low rings and about 1" back of where it is, zeroed at 50, it was -3" at 20, +5" at 100 and then it should start dropping very soon.. Still good enough to stop the Japanese invader should they start looking China's way again :cool:
 
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Holy buck there's some high scopes mounted... I ran a cheapo 4x mounted on my Nork-carry handle for a while - and it worked pretty well (1" at 50 yards with 3 round groups, 2" with 5 round groups) - but I don't know if I could go back...

Thanks for clarifying Jeff that you can't take the carry handle off with the scope - that's a big concern for me too, as I also like doing a thorough cleaning of my guns. Guess I'll have to work in a bi-annual gas piston into a maintenance schedule.

If only that bar on Canada post would change from in-transit to out for delivery :(

Would be awesome if someone posted a field strip/detail strip video... maybe a pony themed one will end up being the first :)
 
Somebody need to make a carry handle rail that runs the length of the carry handle and drops down between the front of the carry handle and rear of the front sight post. Much the same as the AR system to allow for co-witnessed red dot sight.

This has probably already been mentioned and I've missed it.
 
fireball said:
Somebody need to make a carry handle rail that runs the length of the carry handle and drops down between the front of the carry handle and rear of the front sight post. Much the same as the AR system to allow for co-witnessed red dot sight.

This has probably already been mentioned and I've missed it.
Click to expand...

I have a few barrel clamp mounts and risers I plan on putting a TRS-25 on. I think I can use some quarters one one of them to shim it to adjust it's height so I can get it to cowitness with the irons. I'm surprised no one else hasn't tried it yet.

It will have to be forward of the front site a bit, but I figure it's short enough of a rifle and rear heavy already - a few oz up front won't be the end of the world.
 
Canada Ammo has something similar for $50 but instead of 2, uses 4 screws, which is better for a real firearm. The Clobb rail from SFRC costs double but you can use your peep. Very nice setup and there's a good chance I'll be buying one at some point.
 
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