Scope on M1 Garand

[jaeger45]

I have a soft spot for the venerable US Rifle Cal. .30 M1, the Garand, and I'm thinking of putting a scope on mine by a gunsmith for hunting. Mine has been rebarrelled by CMP.

Any advices/comments?

--JAEGER

[jaeger45]

I have a soft spot for the venerable US Rifle Cal. .30 M1, the Garand, and I'm thinking of putting a scope on mine by a gunsmith for hunting. Mine has been rebarrelled by CMP.

Any advices/comments?

Hi, Bullseye-

Well, I finally did it: I got a B-Square mount for my M1. What scope would you recommend that should be adequate in the chaparral in case of a face to face encounter with Porky Pig? I've got a good 2X-7X Burris scope on my .243- easy acquisition, but it's too long really.

[Bullseye]

Jaegar,

Did you get one of these B-Square M-1 side receiver mounts?




What is your main complaint? Eye relief? Scope hitting rifle because rings aren't tall enough? Scope diameter obstructing the loading of the rifle?

R,
Bullseye

[jaeger45]

Jaegar,

Did you get one of these B-Square M-1 side receiver mounts?




What is your main complaint? Eye relief? Scope hitting rifle because rings aren't tall enough? Scope diameter obstructing the loading of the rifle?

R,
Bullseye

Hi, Bullseye-

Yes, I got that B-Square side receiver mount. Unfortunately, the cradles of the mounts are very low, unlike what are shown in your illustration.

That's why it took me quite a while to get back to you, as I tried to find my way around the problem first. Been rasslin' with the objective lens sitting just the tiniest bit on the rail, but still enough that a piece of paper can't pass through once clamped on the mount.

Solution seems to be-

1) Put a shim- say cut up a piece off the neck of a Ball M2 brass; or a piece of soda can on the forward edge of the mount where the scope sits so that there'll be daylight between the objective lens and the rail; or,

2) file off the forward edges of the rail where it touches the scope objective lens right where it pinches the paper.

Which do you think is the lesser evil?

Otherwise, I just might have to look for a scope very similar to that shown in the inset of your illustrations showing the WW2-type scope as mounted, with the objective lens seeming to be inside the tube itself. Almost like the B4 Weaver scope of old. I doubt if there's anything like it in the market now. However, that'll mean a very restricted field of view. And I plan to use it only for short ranges primarily in heavy brush and needing easy target acquisition. I'm also leery of using a bolt action in such a situation which might even need some hip firing, or some fast footwork, or both!!! You get the picture.

And thanks for that excellent close-up photo of the B-Mount Square. Believe it or not, B-Square takes the cake for having the most user-unfriendly Installation Instructions sheet I've ever seen, barring none.

The Installation Instructions that came with the mount is a POS! At least for this particular product that I received. It is just a small piece of paper reproduced in a cheap photocopier and the ink and part of the instructions were smeared and illegible. To top it all, THERE WAS NO ILLUSTRATION WHATSOEVER explaining which part was what so that I was left fuming and wondering for a long time WTF it was talking about or referring to.

Honestly, if there were any other such mount in the market, I would have returned that B-Square mount right then and there. I'll hate to buy another B-Square product after this harrowing experience.

Learn from my experience, guys...

[jaeger45]

Bullseye-

1) According to Cheaperthandirt, there is only one model of the M1 Mount- the one they sent me. Although they are willing to give me a refund, I really don't want to do that.

2) According to B-Square, there is only model.

3) However, your blown-up picture of the scope mount and rail shows the lower portion of he rings (which I'm calling "cradle") to be thicker and therefore higher that what I have which measures .164" on the caliper. In fact, the base screw is much bigger than what I have on mine.

COULD THE SCOPE RINGS IN YOUR ILLUSTRATION NOT BE THE ORIGINAL ONES? If they are, that means the rings have been changed at CDT and it's only the rail that is the original one in the box sent to me.

At this juncture, I don't know which are the original items.

[Bullseye]

I have seen pictures of other M-1 B-Square mounts with shorter scope rings too.



Funny, that picture I posted of the mount with the taller (med/high) scope rings is a direct link from The Cheaper than Dirt Website.




Both of these scope mounts have the same part number BSQ-18554. You may have the complete set but B-square may have changed their suppliers and started shipping out these with the lower rings.

The positive part is that is a Weaver rail and you can still get taller rings for that mount. Don't sweat the shorter ones as you could likely use them on another firearm with a Weaver rail and different scope. B-Square also offers a variety of rings at a reasonable price. http://secure.armorholdings.com/b-squar ... ility.html

Ring sizes vary with the size of the scopes. Scopes with 32-40mm objective can use a set of low rings; scopes with 40-44mm objective require a medium set of rings, and scopes with a 50-56mm objective require high scope rings.

Hope this helps.

R,
Bullseye

[jaeger45]

Yup- the upper photo is the ring they sent me, and as I said, seats the scope with the 40mm objective lens smack against the rail with no daylight. Is the ring on the lower photo a medium? If so, then that's what I'll need to order.

[Bullseye]

Yes, the lower photo has medium rings. B-Square also has high rings available but those are all see-through. Your scope should work fine with the medium height rings.

R,
Bullseye

[jaeger45]

I have seen pictures of other M-1 B-Square mounts with shorter scope rings too.



Funny, that picture I posted of the mount with the taller (med/high) scope rings is a direct link from The Cheaper than Dirt Website.




Both of these scope mounts have the same part number BSQ-18554. You may have the complete set but B-square may have changed their suppliers and started shipping out these with the lower rings.
(Snip... Snip...)

It's becoming clear now to me: I think there's a light-fingered gent in the CDT warehouse, and I'm writing them about it in my request for replacement.

What happened was:
1) When I opened the moulded plastic container, I noticed that the plastic bag containing the smaller hardware aside from the rail itself was slit open.

2) I didn't give it any significance since all the smaller parts seem to be complete, including the allen wrenches.

3) I never gave the online picture any attention (not until you mentioned it) and hence did not notice that the scope rings that came with mine are the short ones, instead of the taller ones as shown in the illustration.

In view of the slit plastic bag, and the different scope rings, I can only surmise that the original taller rings must have been exchanged with the short ones.

I'm sending it back today. I told CDT today that I don't want a refund, but I insist on their giving me the rings shown in their catalog.

Thanks, Bullseye!