Remington 788 Aluminum Pillars - profiled to action radius

[Elric]

At this time, about $30US and $8.30 S&H.

I >KNEW< these shifty Canadians were up to no good! Wish they showed a list of actions their stuff can be made for....

http://www.mcrstactical.com/index.html

Aluminum Pillars (set) - Remington 788 Long Action & Short Action.
(CNC profiled to match the radius of the action)

* Grooves - for anti pulling and improvement grip
* Knurling - for anti twisting and tight grip bond.
* CNC profiled to match the radius of the action for perfect bedding
* Made of Aluminum Alloy 6061 for extra strength and rigidity.

* Guaranteed will not turn or move (after proper bedding) - OR MONEY BACK!
* Cut to Length for Perfect Fit Remington 700 Long and Short (???)
* No need for gunsmith adjustments or trimming.
* Just drill 0.5 in hole, add Bedding compound (Devcon, Marine Tek, etc) and insert the pillars.

Pillars Dimensions
* outside diam 0.48 in
* inside diam - 0.29 in

2 Pillars / per Set

 

[freebullet]

Ace hardware sells little aluminum bushings that can be made in to pillars for anything pretty easy.

 

[Josh]

The hardest part is making you 0.500" holes in the stock perfectly square.

 

[Pistolero]

I made mine for my Rem 700, but had to borrow a friend's mill to cut the
correct radius on top of each pillar.

Sounds like they are getting you just what you need, already done, and a
real decent price.

Bill

 

[Ian]

The hardest part is making you 0.500" holes in the stock perfectly square.

That's why you make them 9/16"

That radius is a real bugger. I draw-filed a set once, then made a fixture to hold them square while I lapped them against a piece of emery paper wrapped over the receiver. Not quite the perfect radius, but close enough for what I was doing.

Speaking of Canadians and well-kept secrets, if any of you have an M-14 and want to put a scope on it, there's a Canadian company that makes M-14 goodies and the best scope mount EVER, called a CASM mount. Google it up if you need one.

 

[Pistolero]

WAY easier to use an adjustable boring head, set it to the correct diameter and just machine the
curvature. You can quickly get addicted to a good mill.

Oh, yeah. Good news. I have never found an acceptable mount for the M1A/M14. Will take
a look.

Bill

 

[Pistolero]

Just checked out the CASM mount. Looks interesting, but I would be much happier if it was made
of steel. Not that 7075 isn't way strong enough, but aluminum has a modulus of elasticity of 10 million
while steel has a modulus of 30 million. What that means, in practical terms, is that for two identical
pieces of equipment, with identical loadings, the aluminum one will move (flex) exactly three times as much,
compared to the steel one.

Given that they are using the mount basically as a spring (solidly bolted to one point, tension screw behind)
forcing it to rotate to contact, with NO real attachment to the front receiver ring, basically making the mount
a long leaf spring pivoted on the (very strong) rear sight ears.

I wonder what the problem is with drilling and tapping the front receiver ring on the M1A? Seems like it is
NEVER done. Just "not permitted, not cool" or too hard to drill and tap (hard to believe) or what?
I would think that this mount with a front, screwed down receiver ring mount would be great. Might be good
enough without it, but I wonder about spring type single point attach mounts.

Perhaps it is the same thing that made me go to such lengths with the Mauser rear sight mount - not
wanting to drill and tap an old military rifle. Except that no M1A is an old military rifle, zero history there,
it is just a repro.

Looks nicely made, and probably will work.

Bill

 

[Ian]

If you put a mount on the front ring, you'd still have to make a base for the back that replaces the sight components, and that would be a lot of custom work. Probably a matter of economics for the scope base manufacturers. The multitude of basically junk side-mounts and the few good ones like the Badger (IIRC??) made in Dripping Springs, Tx (been through there, haven't you Bill?) that the rifle was intended to use seem to do well enough that a receiver bridge mount isn't much called for. The CASM mount actually works a lot better than you might think, and it only adds something like three ounces to the rifle after you subtract the weight of the deleted sight components.

The entire M-14/M1A is a floppy, spring-loaded mess of flexible parts held together by one end or the other, all slapping and slamming around in some sort of chorus. Oddly, the CASM fits right in with the action moments and harmonics and stays absolutely put if properly installed. I think being cantilevered and pre-tensioned actually helps it stay in place as the action flexes and it doesn't stress the scope tube much under recoil. I used Burris Posi-Line rings and inserts on mine partly so they would "gimble" and ease the stress from the mount having a slight bow when pre-tensioned.

 

[Pistolero]

Good to know it actually works. I think the Posi-Line are a good idea, esp if the mount
will be flexing.

Thanks for the info. I have only had the M1A for a short time, still exploring how well I and it
can shoot with the stock irons. Eyes being a bit of a challenge makes me think more of scopes,
but I seem to be able to use peeps reasonably well--- still learning what I can and cannot do
these days with new eyes.

It looks like that you could drill and tap a single hole in the front ring for this mount
and not use the front screw as a pushing pad, but pull it down solid. Of course, if it works
without that hole.... no need.

Bill

 

[Ian]

I inspected the finish on my front receiver ring with a loupe during a teardown after a few hundred rounds had been fired and discovered some very light axial fretting from the front pad screw. I wouldn't want it fastened solidly there after seeing that. I'm using an SWFA fixed 6X scope that weights a little over a pound without rings, plus steel rings, so there's a lot of stress on that mount, but it does a wonderful job and has a 200-yard regulated peep aperture for backup IF your scope bell doesn't sit too low to obstruct it. If you decide to go with a scope, please don't waste $800 on different junk side mounts (SA, ARMS, etc.) like I did before finally finding one that works, just skip to the end and enjoy never knowing the 'fun' you missed.

 

[Pistolero]

Very interesting. I have seen a number of online reports that the ARMS #18 is the "hot setup".

Bill

 

[Ian]

The ARMS #18 is a total disaster. What happens is ejected cases get caught by the head between the bottom of the mount, the back of the front receiver ring, and the op rod, causing a hard jam that will end your shooting day with a live round partially in the chamber and a bent op rod. Did it to me twice after three rounds. Supposedly you can fix that by tuning the ejector (filing a second bevel on it to make brass eject more to the side than up), but I wasn't interested in the risk of a jam like that when hunting piggies. If you want one, I have an extra that I'll sell you cheap due to some attempts to clearance it with a Dremel to no good effect. The only good thing I can say about it is it is the lowest mount you'll find, and I really hated to give that part up.

 

[Pistolero]

Check your inbox here, Ian.

 

[Intheshop]

It,....aluminum vs poured epoxy,"pillars"...gets a touch complicated.

IMO,get past the expansion ratio's....that's with a big fat but.

Aluminum has,or exhibits a bit more "snappiness'"....which ain't a bad thing.The reason to go with poured pillars is if you're trying to slow the recoil pulse down.

How each of these interface with the stock can be 180* apart to an individual shooter.Basically,the more you leave on the table,both,the hard and soft side of your position shooting....the more difficulty you're gonna find discerning any minor differences in bedding.

All of which,hammers back to the fundamental foundations of shooting.