Shown above is a Springfield M1A standard rifle equipped with an UltiMAK prototype M8 optic mount and the excellent Leupold 2.5x Intermediate Eye Relief (I.E.R.) "Scout" scope. The scope's 9.3 inch eye relief is perfect for this forward mounting arrangement. The generous length of the Picatinny style rail will acommodate any pistol scope or any reflex or holographic sight. Design Objectives Fulfilled Taking the functional utility of the M1A/M-14 to a higher level, the new UltiMAK M8 optic mount is by far the lowest, and is looking to be the most stable forward mount ever designed for this famous rifle. The forward mounting position allows faster targeting, extremely forgiving eye relief, better field of view and greater mounting versatility. It also maintains full access to the receiver mechanism and stripper clip guide with optics in place. The rifle can be completely field stripped in the normal manner without removing the mount or optic, and ejected brass will no longer hit your optic mount. Now for the first time, a 1X optic such as an Aimpoint or Tripower, will co witness the factory iron sights on this potent rifle. In addition to having your iron sights available as a backup system without changing anything, the lower scope axis also gives you a better, more natural hold without using a comb riser. The mount is easy to install in the field with nothing but the included hardware, and no gunsmithing or alterations of any kind are necessary. Fits standard weight M-14 and M1A barrels only. Completely CNC machined, hard anodized aluminum alloy with attach points made of 4140 steel. The Testing Process; An unprecedented inside look at the trials procedure used at UltiMAK to prove one of our designs. Feb. 7 / 06: Initial test results look good. A total of about 200 rounds were fired in the process of zeroing, unloading several magazines, and then retesting for zero. Everything is solid in place and in one piece, and the zero is exactly where it was after initial sight-in. More testing will be conducted in the ensuing weeks, followed by any minor changes and then tooling for production. Update Feb. 14 / 06: A second range test (about 100 rounds fired this time) duplicated the results of the first; Zero has not budged. It also confirms that ammo is critical; Some foreign Mil. Serp. ammo we tried could not be kept in a 4.5 inch circle at 100 yards. Going back to the commercial ammo (Federal "Power Shok" in this case) put us right back inside the bull's eye, with honest and consistent 2-inch, five-shot groups, often with two or more shots overlapped (from that, some would conclude that they're getting multiple one-holers and therefore have a sub 1/2 MOA rifle, but that would be an exaggeration). Next time out we'll install a higher power scope and go for some longer ranges from the bench. Initial tests were conducted at 100 yards. Update Feb. 24 / 06: 170 rounds fired. The groups shrank only slightly - the smallest 5-shot, 100 yard group was 1.65". The largest was 2.04". Their aggregate (superimposed targets) 10 shot group size was 2.65" (how many gun testers are going to give you 10-shot groups?). This session involved a high heat test. 80 rounds were fired about as fast as one could jerk the trigger, reload, and resume firing. Some vertical "walking" of the POI was observed, though group sizes did not change. Zero returned when the barrel temperature went from scorching to merely hot. With a barrel that hot, aiming through extreme mirage, it's hard to be sure whether the effect is physical (due to unequal dimensional changes) or optical (due to the abrupt temperature difference in the air within the line of sight - ambient was about 35F) or chemical (the result of a hotter burn of the powder as the chambered round is pre heated before firing) or if it’s a combination of effects. More testing will be done on that. With the more practical firing rates used in all the other testing, this "walking” phenomenon was not observed. Update April 23 / 06: Several test sessions were conducted over the last month, and no movement of the M8 mount has occurred. We were able to repeat the results of the previous tests every time. The last experiment involved removing the UltiMAK M8 prototype, reinstalling the factory handguard, and zeroing the iron sights at 100 yards. A five-shot group was fired at 100 yards to confirm zero, then 60 rounds were fired as fast as possible. With the barrel smoking hot, I immediately settled into the bench and shot for group once again at 100 yards. Once again, this time with the rifle in its factory configuration, the point of impact shifted down about 2.5 MOA with a smoking hot barrel, but it had also spread out horizontally, confirming that the walking POI is inherent to the rifle, and suggesting that installation of the M8 mount had been keeping the groups from spreading sideways at the same time. After eight minutes of cooling (ambient was around 55F with a light breeze) another group was fired, and zero had returned to normal. After speaking with several M-14 smiths (Springfield did not return our message) we were told that significant walking of POI from a hot barrel is very common with the standard weight M-14 or M1A rifles, and that it can go in any direction depending on the individual rifle. It is hard to imagine a scenario, however, wherein this phenomenon would be a serious problem. Two or three magazines fired full auto in rapid succession, followed by the immediate need to make a shot at long range with high precision from the same rifle? Maybe. After failing to achieve a sub MOA 5-shot group from our out-of-box Springfield M1A standard, we did some research on the history and specifications of the M-14. It turns out that a rack grade M-14 was required to put 5 rounds into a 1.8" or smaller circle at 1000 inches (27.78 yards) using M80 ball ammo. This translates to a 6.48 inch group at 100 yards. We were getting better than that every time, even with the worst imported surplus ammo. The military M-14 National Match rifle was required to place 5 shots into a 3.5 inch or smaller circle at 100 yards using the M118 Match ammo. We were consistently getting better groups than that with our run-of-the-mill standard model M1A and commercial ammo. The best 5-shot, 100 yard group was 1.42" using Black Hills 168 gr BTHP Match and a Leupold Vari-X pistol scope at 8X (with decent lighting conditions you can see your bullet holes at 100 yards with this scope). The preceding 5-shot group measured 2.25". Those 10 consecutive shots all landed within the same 2.25". The two targets are here and they can be seen superimposed here Update May 13 / 06; With our "production prototype" M8 mount (the final, tweaked production version) I ran a final test, achieving the same performance all around, with one exception; sub M.O.A. accuracy. After running the high-heat test, with the usual results, and waiting 10 minutes, I shot a 0.86" group at 100 yards. The 2nd and 3rd targets after the 10 minute cooling period are here (yes, they are both five-shot groups). They can be seen superimposed, forming a consecutive, 10-shot group of 1.89" here. Shooting for groups was done from a bench using sand bags and the same out-of-box Springfield M1A Standard with Black Hills 168 grain BTHP Match ammo. The bottom line: We won't sell it if we haven't used it, and the UltiMAK M8 optic mount is now available. UltiMAK - Give it your best shot Main Page