January 28, 2011
By Joseph von Benedikt
Including all attachment hardware, it will add only 10.2 ounces to the overall weight of your rifle. And it's not as expensive as some mounts.
By Joseph von Benedikt
A little over a year ago, we ran a story on scope mounts for M1A rifles. Our criteria for the mounts required all those tested to be (1) receiver mounts and (2) have three points of contact with the receiver. Springfield's 3rd Gen mount didn't make the cut because it had only two points of contact.
The company's new all-steel 4th Generation mount makes the cut with style. Pictured here on a Springfield Custom Shop rifle, it employs all the best virtues of the various mounts we tested in that feature article, plus the addition of a cutout for enhanced ejection reliability. Like a lowered and flared ejection port on a 1911 pistol, it simply provides better clearance for empties clearing the action at blistering speeds.
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It's relatively simple to install, too. Once you've removed the stripper clip guide (after conscientiously referring to your owner's manual, of course), simply install the floating dovetail insert in its place, orient the mount against the side of your M1A receiver, place the cam washer in its orifice, and screw in the side bolt. Adjust the cam and follow the included instructions for torquing said bolt, dovetail insert screw, and the front receiver contact screw. Other than the correct 3/8-inch socket or wrench for the side bolt, the mount comes with all needed mounting tools.
Nicely constructed of solid steel, the mount lines up with the iron sights on Springfield's rifles (by far the most prolific and available of today's M1As) perfectly, which can't be said for all mounts. It makes use of the iron sights via the channel milled in the top of the mount specifically for that purpose a cinch. It also provides just the right amount of 1913 rail surface for mounting your optic--generous but not in excess. It's a fine-looking, well-made piece of equipment that will do any M1A rifle proud.
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Including all attachment hardware, it will add only 10.2 ounces to the overall weight of your rifle. And it's not as expensive as some mounts. Though the suggested retail price listed on Springfield's website is $262, it occasionally goes on sale (currently for $184), and that, my friends, is a steal.
CONTACT: Springfield Armory, 800-680-6866, www.springfield-armory.com/store
Joseph von Benedikt
Raised in a tiny Rocky Mountain town 100 miles from a stoplight or supermarket, Joseph von Benedikt began shooting competitively at age 14, gunsmithing at age 21, and guiding big game hunters professionally at age 23. While studying creative writing at the university he began publishing articles about firearms and hunting in nationally distributed magazines, as well as works of short fiction about ranch life. An editorial job offer presented an open door into the industry, along with an eye-opening two years stationed in the Petersen Publishing building in Los Angeles.
A position serving as Editor in Chief of Shooting Times magazine took von Benedikt and his young family to Illinois for four years. Homesick for the great Rocky Mountains, von Benedikt swapped his editorial seat for a position as a full-time writer and moved home to the West, where he's been writing full-time ever since, along with hosting the Backcountry Hunting Podcast.
Favorite pursuits include high-country elk and mule deer hunting, safaris in Africa, deep wilderness hunts in Alaska, and wandering old-growth forest in Europe for stag, roebuck, and wild boar.
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