I am going to get a bolt action soon and would like to know if I can share my scope and scope mount I am using on my AR with the bolt action rifle. Thanks.
Sharing scope and scope mount with AR?
- Thread starter cpatbay
- Start date
You can and I have before, try to find the lowest mount you can get on the ar because it will be high on the bolt action and could be a little bit of a pain if you don't have an adjustable cheek rest.
I tried to move a Leupold Mark 4 8.5-25x50 that is sitting in Medium height rings from a rem700 to an AR for load development and it would not fit as the front of the scope (50mm part) was too low, I was unable to secure the rings.
I also have a Larue mount that allows that same scope to fit perfectly on the AR, but puts the scope awkwardly high on a bolt gun.
So to answer your question, it can be done, but is not ideal, IMO.
I also have a Larue mount that allows that same scope to fit perfectly on the AR, but puts the scope awkwardly high on a bolt gun.
So to answer your question, it can be done, but is not ideal, IMO.
To make this work well, and fit you comfortably on both rifles, it helps if you have an adjustable cheek riser on your bolt gun. There are stock packs and homemade cheek riser options as well, so it can be workable. Consider that a typical Medium ring is around 0.9" and 1.0" (from top of rail to centerline of optic) and a typical quick detach AR mount is 1.5" to 1.65" above the rail. That half inch can seem like a mile when trying to get a comfortable cheek weld/sight picture from a standard bolt action stock.
It can work but as others have said it's a pain. For my face shape i usually get by on ARs with lo rings and a riser( preferably one with 20 moa). Gg&g make a nice one and weaver makes one that is definitely solid enough for hunting&range use. Run a 20 moa rail on the bolt gun, preferably one that is not tall, like tps, seekins, or BO. This will let u get bty with out having to rig up a cheekpiece, or buy a new stock.
If he's considering bouncing a scope between rifles, I doubt he's wanting to drop the $$$ on Spurh type mounts.
OP, a Karsten cheek piece is much cheaper than a new scope...just something to keep in mind.
+1.
While you can get it to work, it's not optimal. My AR's typically use a lower powered scope (3-9x max) with a canted mount (to clear the charging handle), my bolts (which I shoot a lot) use a much higher magnification scopes (usually 8.5-25) optimized for light gathering and longer ranges. Once you zero a scoped rifle with a given load, you're probably not going to want to remove it to shoot on another.
Let's be honest guys 2 scopes is always the best option but not everyone can afford 2 scopes, it may be a pain but I'm sure he could save some coin. Also you could try to shoot one gun half the year and then the other the second half to avoid constant rezeroing. Just an idea to make the best out of what you have got.
While the AR setup will be much higher on the bolt, use a Bradley Cheek rest and all is good. Best cheek rest I have seen.....
Just remember your zeros when swapping rifles. I use a NF on several rifles
Just remember your zeros when swapping rifles. I use a NF on several rifles
^^^^^^^ +1. In a perfect world we could all afford to put $2k scopes on enery rifle we got. Hell I'd be happy with a $500 scope on every rifle I got. But it doesn't always work out that way. I ran into this problem with having an M&P 10 .308 and my custom .300 WM, but I could only afford one scope. So I got my Viper PST and put it in a Larue LT120 mount, and it has worked well for me. It was the lowest one piece QD mount that I could find at the time, and my objective just barely clears the rail on an ar platform (so low that lense caps are a no go without modification) without being too obnoxiously high on a bolt gun. To be fair, my bolt gun does have an adjustable cheek rest, but that's easily fixable on a stock that doesn't come with one. I'm a huge fan of Sphur mounts, but I like the qd setup on the Larue. And in the mild testing I've done, return to zero has been consistent with removing and replacing the scope on my bolt gun (I rarely transport the scope on the rifle as I don't have a hard case for it). testing on the ar-10 hasn't happened as I hung it up and haven't shot it in months.
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As like Phezzik, I had completed a 6.5 Grendel build in a semi platform. For that particular build I purchased a Nightforce NXS 5.5x22 for it and that is mounted in a JP mount. About a month after completing the Grendel build, I started on a bolt gun build in a .338 LM configuration. Obviously after just completing the Grendel build and purchasing the Nightforce and then jumping right into another build, funds were a little tight so I held off on the purchase of a scope for the .338. Lucky for me, both builds have adjustable cheek welds. With the Nightforce on either weapon, my sight picture was set. Once zero was established with the scope on each weapon, all dope settings were notated. When the scope would get moved from either weapon, I would simply go to the proper dope and my zero was pretty damn close each time. Never more than 1 MOA out at 100. Now I am currently waiting on a USO ER-25 to be delivered for the .338. Should be here in about a week then I will no longer have to play the swap game. Do what you can for the time being and when you can get that second scope, life will be much easier. Below is the Nightforce on both weapons.
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