markthenewf wrote:Wow. That looks smurfy. You've added just about everything I'm intending on putting on mine! I'd kinda like to replace:
- that big bird cage at the front with something like a Smith Industries vortex hider and/or brake
- original standard front sight with a night sight
- stubby mag release with the larger tactical mag release
BTW, how did the install of the Sadlak rail go? All this talk from them about how stuff could be outta spec (and then not fit up properly) has me a bit spooked on spending $250 on a mount that doesn't fit. I know they offer a fitting service, but that'd bring the
rail only up to $300 and I'd still be out a scope! I'm not worried about actually doing it myself (I fiddle with 1911 guts on a relatively regular basis), but it'd be a real bummer to not have it fit.
I'm also curios to hear how that cheek rest works as compared to the basic strap-on one.
Have you tried off-hand shooting using a sling to steady? Soooooo much more fun than bench shooting at 100 & 200 yards; gets you concentrating and gives you the fulll 308 kick experience!
I have a Ruger M77 MkII All Weather bolt rifle in .308 that weighs about 6.5 lbs. I am
WELL familiar with the offhand recoil available from .308 in a light rifle - particularly a bolt rifle.
I also have a 11 pound Remington 700 in .308 (see pics on page 3 of this thread), and it kicks harder than the Springfield too. I think that the semi-auto action soaks up a bit of the recoil, because it just doesn't seem that bad to me... ...either that, or I'm just so used to it that I don't notice it anymore. I haven't tried a sling yet with it, but I have one. I just haven't attached it yet.
Regarding Sadlak's mount, I didn't have any of the troubles that some people have reported. My receiver was well within mil-spec for the mount. The mount included a testing kit to make sure that the grooves in the receiver are the correct dimensions, and that the receiver width is correct. I found the directions for testing a little bit confusing at first, but I'm no kind of machinist or it would have been probably simple. It does require a good dial caliper, which I have. Once I determined the fit to be correct, the mounting was fairly straightforward. You have to remove the stripper clip guide from its dovetail, but that is the only "modification" required to fit the Sadlak mount to the receiver.
The Karsten Cheek Rest was a breeze to install, and it works better for me than either of the "strap-on" ones I own, neither of which are high enough. I like the range of adjustability, which takes seconds, plus it stays put very solidly, and it comes with a piece of black neoprene rubber you can glue onto it for comfort. Mine is the "A" model, which has the large adjustment knobs on the side for easily changing the height. At the height in which you see it in the pictures, it puts my eye in the perfect spot for height, and for the eye relief on the scope.
I would make one suggestion: Measure as many times as you need to feel confident, because once you drill, it's too late.
Me? I spent nearly an hour measuring, over and over and over again, and then about 5-10 minutes drilling the holes and mounting the cheek piece. But all that is required is a hand held drill motor and a 1/4" drill bit. You don't need a drill press if you don't have one. I took the stock and laid it on its side on my bar top, and then my son held it in place while I drilled the holes. One thing... Don't drill straight through. Drill first from one side, and then from the other. Once both holes on either side of the stock have been drilled, then you can run the bit back and forth through both holes to make sure they are perfectly squared up to one another.
Regarding the flash hider... I deliberately left it on because the dovetail which holds the front sight is actually part of the flash hider. Replacing either the flash hider OR the front sight would require re-indexing the front sight. According to the literature that comes with the rifle, moving the front sight
0.008" will move the point of impact 1" at 100 yards — and that is for a 22" barrel. I expect that the shift would be even greater for the 18" and 16" barrels. That is a tiny, tiny amount of adjustment for a fairly significant shift in POI, so I prefer to leave it alone. I did look at the vortex unit. My son has one on one of his AR15s and it is a pretty nifty unit, but the irons on my M1A are zeroed now, so I'm not going to fool with it.
“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”
― G. Michael Hopf, "Those Who Remain"
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