Scope and scope mount for M&P15 Sport

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smlake

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Last week I bought a M&P 15 Sport from Gander Mountain (had to use up a Christmas gift certificate). This is my first AR style rifle, although I have many other rifles. This AR thing is all new to me. The front sight that came on the rifle appears to be permanantly fixed to the barrel and the elevation adjustment is in the front sight, although no tool was included to do so. The rear sight is removable from the Picatinny rail. This rear sight is adjustable only for windage (right and left). I desire to put a 2X7 or a 3X9 scope on this rifle. How do you get around the problem of the front sight? This front sight is 2.25 inches tall from the barrel to the top of the sight. Will I have to remove the rear sight from the rail? What are the limitations in terms of scope objective lens size, in millimeters? What recommendations do you have for mounts and scopes? Incidentally, I shot it once last week. From sandbags, it shot 1.5 to 2.5 inch 3 to 5 shot groups at 100 yards using the supplied sights and Remington/UMC cartridges with 55 gr bullets. This rifle is very impressive so far. I can't wait to see what it will do with a scope! Thanks in advance.
 
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smlake said:
Last week I bought a M&P 15 Sport from Gander Mountain (had to use up a Christmas gift certificate). This is my first AR style rifle, although I have many other rifles. This AR thing is all new to me. The front sight that came on the rifle appears to be permanantly fixed to the barrel and the elevation adjustment is in the front sight, although no tool was included to do so. The rear sight is removable from the Picatinny rail. This rear sight is adjustable only for windage (right and left). I desire to put a 2X7 or a 3X9 scope on this rifle. How do you get around the problem of the front sight? This front sight is 2.25 inches tall from the barrel to the top of the sight. Will I have to remove the rear sight from the rail? What are the limitations in terms of scope objective lens size, in millimeters? What recommendations do you have for mounts and scopes? Incidentally, I shot it once last week. From sandbags, it shot 1.5 to 2.5 inch 3 to 5 shot groups at 100 yards using the supplied sights and Remington/UMC cartridges with 55 gr bullets. This rifle is very impressive so far. I can't wait to see what it will do with a scope! Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

The front sight will not be visible in scopes powered above about 2X so usually not a problem. A red dot type scope can be "co-witnessed" to the front sight with the correct height of mount and this works at any power where the magnification isn't too high to "ghost" it.
 
It's really amazing that the front sight does disappear. I have a 4x16x40 scope on mine, the Objective lens is about 3" away from the front sight, and with a PERP mount, just from looking at the rifle, it appears to be in perfect co-witness. However, the front sight cannot be seen at all while looking through the scope.
 
I just ordered a riser mount from Tapco for mine, I'm hoping that will make the scope clear the front sight.
 
Capt Crunch said:
I just ordered a riser mount from Tapco for mine, I'm hoping that will make the scope clear the front sight.
Click to expand...

What size/power scope? About 3X and up you don't need to clear it and extreme high mounting presents it's own problems. Most opt to change the front sight/gas block or use a red dot optic instead. A bit taller mount for co-witnessing is about the limit you want to go. " Stacking" mounts with a riser device is not a good idea, IMHO.

Please don't think I am criticizing your efforts, just trying to help.:)
 
MPDC said:
What size/power scope? About 3X and up you don't need to clear it and extreme high mounting presents it's own problems. Most opt to change the front sight/gas block or use a red dot optic instead. A bit taller mount for co-witnessing is about the limit you want to go. " Stacking" mounts with a riser device is not a good idea, IMHO.

Please don't think I am criticizing your efforts, just trying to help.:)
Click to expand...

My current scope is x4 but I just ordered one that is x2 - x9. I'm pretty sure it's not a huge rise but yeah I was wondering if that would not cause me to have to aim higher???
 
Capt Crunch said:
My current scope is x4 but I just ordered one that is x2 - x9. I'm pretty sure it's not a huge rise but yeah I was wondering if that would not cause me to have to aim higher???
Click to expand...

No, you just will need more parallax correction. The longer the distance, the more parallax effects the adjustments.

A general rule is to keep the scope's axis as close to the bbi.'s axis as possible. For low powered optics the taller mounts make more sense than for higher powers used at longer distances. However, things like holding zero and even fitting in a case can be compromised with stacked (by nature less stable) mounting devices. Completely clearing a scope would take a pretty tall mount or combination.
 
I have a 3-9mag/40mm scope that has a 1" tube on a 3/4" flat top riser. The scope rings also have a 3/4" rise so the center of the scope is about 3" above the center of the barrel, and this works great. Also they make 2" rise scope rings, which would work if you didn't want a riser. If you want to have iron sights as well, maybe an A-2 style carry handle with a scope on top is an idea. I'm changing to a carry handle, one is on the way. The riser was 15 bucks at a gun shop. The carry handle w/rail was 45 bucks online. Hope this helps.
___________________

Sport 5.56 w/ leapers 3-9 illum. scope
magpul miad grip
tapco stock pad
 

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The Fire Field looks interesting, but the weight seems very heavy. A light carbine should be kept light and a 4-8 oz Red Dot makes more sense to me, althought I am thinking along the lines of a Lucid HD II @13ozw/ a 2X multipier for my Sport.
A Vortex SPARC is also on my short list.
 
P-223 3-9x40 Scope on Sport with front sight

Will this work for me? Should I get a riser? Also, what length of scope is too long for the Sport (16 inch bbl). This scope is 12 inches...is this too long for the rifle?

Should I get the PEPR forward inclined mount?
 
Before I changed my front sight/gas block to a railed gas block I have ran 4-16x42 like Crracer with no problems. I even had a 8-32x42 scope using the same tall rings (1") and 1/2" riser. I have found that raising the scope too high really limits your ability to adjust your scope to shoot reasonable distances. There is no limit to the length of a scope to the rifle my scope is 18 1/2" long. Note the following pictures with the original sight and with the railed gas block. Worked great both ways. I just put the railed gas block on to move the scope forward a little ways. These pictures were taken in just a 6 week time period, still trying to find my style with it.
DSCF3783.jpgDSCF3893a.jpg
DSCF3926a.jpg
 
smlake said:
This rear sight is adjustable only for windage (right and left).
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Unless they are using different rear sights it is also adjustable for elevation.

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The front sight allows for very small elevation adjustments as well. Push down the pin and rotate the sight. A FMJ bullet works for this adjustment.
 

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DEG said:
Unless they are using different rear sights it is also adjustable for elevation.

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The front sight allows for very small elevation adjustments as well. Push down the pin and rotate the sight. A FMJ bullet works for this adjustment.
Click to expand...

The newer sports come with a Magpul rear sight that is only adjustable for wind. I sell a Matech that is about half the size of that, that you just flip a lever to adjust for elevation and turn a knob for windage.
 
oneyeopn said:
The newer sports come with a Magpul rear sight that is only adjustable for wind. I sell a Matech that is about half the size of that, that you just flip a lever to adjust for elevation and turn a knob for windage.
Click to expand...

I just saw it on the S&W website. Must not have stuck with the style on mine for very long. I don't think I need a smaller one at this time since I use optics more than the open sites.
 
batmann said:
The Fire Field looks interesting, but the weight seems very heavy. A light carbine should be kept light and a 4-8 oz Red Dot makes more sense to me, althought I am thinking along the lines of a Lucid HD II @13ozw/ a 2X multipier for my Sport.
A Vortex SPARC is also on my short list.
Click to expand...


Just ordered a Vortex SPARC and got it for 179.95 with free shipping. Use promo code SPARC for the $20 discount

JoeBobOutfitters.com
 
I purchased the UTG Max Strength LE Grade Quick Detach rings for around $40 and they work great.

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DEG said:
I purchased the UTG Max Strength LE Grade Quick Detach rings for around $40 and they work great.

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I purchased a set of them also...just arent using them yet
but they are solid and I really like them
 
MattyStocks80 said:
Will this work for me? Should I get a riser? Also, what length of scope is too long for the Sport (16 inch bbl). This scope is 12 inches...is this too long for the rifle?

Should I get the PEPR forward inclined mount?
Click to expand...

The PEPR mount isn't mandatory, but it is nice. It assists in getting the proper eye relief and still holding the scope more towards the middle to allow for eye relief adjustment. A 12" scope would fit fine. No riser would be necessary, typically with your cheek on the cheek rest, your eye would be aligned with the scope, using just scope mounts. If you use a riser, you might bet more of a lower jaw on the cheek rest.
 
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