Collecting and Shooting the Military Surplus Rifle (2008)

Article Published Date: 03/31/2008

Article by R. Ted Jeo

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Well folks, yet again you find me returning the issue of putting that modern target scope onto my H&R M12 target rifle. If you recall, it started WAY back in 2004 when Mark Trope and I came up with the idea of making a homemade long rail system to put the scope on this rifle (and in effect any other target rifle with barrel mounted scope blocks). That mount went a long way. Even today, we get an email or two every so often asking about the mount.

Figure 1

The original idea that got the whole thing rolling. This is the homemade M12 mount that Mark and I came up with. It worked quite well over the years. You can see the article at:

http://surplusrifle.com/shooting/hr12scopemount/index.asp

I used the so called �Mark I� mount in my .22 4-P league shooting for 2 or so years to pretty good results, always shooting in the neighborhood of 280�s out of 300 with it. Of course, one of its downfalls was that the scope was fairly far off the barrel and I had to crane my neck to get a good sight picture in some positions. But if you did not do position shooting and instead was a benchrest shooter (i.e., Mark), the scope height did not have as great of an effect on you.

Then about a year a go or so, I reviewed a second mount for the M12 made by BKL. This mount is a cantilever type and mounts to the rear most scope block on the barrel. It is solidly built and works quite well. I used this mount to shoot 50 yard and 100 yard targets outdoor off the bench to great effect. I did not get to use it for 4-P shooting because our indoor range was shut down until just recently.

Figure 2

The BKL cantilever type mount. Note how it attaches to the rearmost sight block on the barrel. You can read my article at:

http://surplusrifle.com/articles2008/frc_bkltechnologies/index.asp

Now we get the latest mount to grace my M12. I found this mount on Ebay, or more correctly Mark found it on Ebay and I bought it to try it out. The maker is Chuck Stepp.

Chuck�s mount uses the existing rear sight mounting block on the rifle receiver. Now here is where it gets sticky. In MY case, when I bought my M12, the gun came with the rear sight block in place, and included the Redfield rear sights and Palma front globe. Those, of course, I took off and set aside (no, I�m not selling them). If your rifle does not have this rear sight block, you will have to get one. Possible sources may be Champion Shooter or Champion�s Choice.

Figure 3

Chuck�s M12 scope mount uses the rear sight block where normally your iron sights would mounted to. Make sure the two bottom screws (the ones that hold this sight block to the rifle) are nice and tight, perhaps even putting some Locktite on them.

Chucks�s mount uses four screws to attach itself to the rear sight block along the left side of the rifle. Here is a sticky part, make darn sure that the holes line up properly and attach it like you would a car tire, that is, tighten each screw a bit at a time, not just torquing down one screw and then moving to the next. You may want to use some Locktite on the screws as well. The mount itself is aluminum in construction, fairly light and comes with a flat top Weaver rail. In my case, I took the rings (same ones that I used before) and just mounted the scope to the Weaver rail. I had to adjust the distance for eye relief, but otherwise it is a straight forward mounting job.

Figure 4

You can see that I used �some� Locktite on the screws. The mount is basically an �L� shape, where one leg goes at a 90 degree angle to the rifle�s rear sight mounting block and then the other �leg� of the sight has the Weaver rail mounted to it. I used the same Millett rings that I have been using all along.

With this mount in place, I now shot the entire 2007 league season. Not only was it easier to sight through the scope, owing to the fact that it is MUCH closer to the barrel than the Mark I mount that I used to use for 4-P shooting, but it also was much more stable and robust than the Mark I mount that I used previously. How do I know this�? Ask my shooting league. The very first night of match shooting, this rifle, with this mount and this scope fell off of a table (30� high) and landed on its side on the floor. The ENTIRE room fell to a dead silent hush. I was across the room, but SOMEHOW, I KNEW that it was my rifle�.you could have heard a scope�uh�.pin drop�

I picked the rifle up, oddly enough, the two screws that hold the rear sight block to the rifle were a bit loose, but other than that, everything else seemed okay. I tightened down those two screws and sighted the rifle. The scope had to be fine-tuned adjusted, but it has been shooting just fine through the rest of the season.

Figure 5

On opposite side view. You can see the Stepp mount with the Weaver rail on it. The mount just barely floats above the action, but does not touch it. As with the Mark I mount, the ejection port is partly covered. I have to sometimes help a shell casing out of the rifle when I do not operate the bolt fast enough for ejection.

I have used all three of the mounts, each has its own pluses and minuses. The good thing is that for those of us using these neato target rifles, there is no need to go and spend a $1000 to get an Unertl type scope. There are now alternatives. Both in terms of affordability as well and functionality. There are so many modern styled target scopes out that that you are bound to find exactly the one that you want for the type of shooting you do. Be it popping squirrels or punching out bull�s-eyes. There is no reason now not to take these out of the closets and go shooting with them. Enjoy them!

Contact info: Chuck Stepp at

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