Millet LRS 6-25x56mm ATAC mil/mil

My M14 has never really had any permanent optics on it, because everytime I buy a new rifle, the M14 surrenders it's glass to the new rifle, or I take whatever is on it and sell it to raise money for another scope.  So I finally decided to get a scope that I couldn't really use for any other rifle, the Millett LRS 6-25x56mm, in ATAC camo, haha!  I've had some really good luck Millett scopes, despite it being made in China and on the entry level end of optics.  That being said, I've tested mine out to 300m very accurately and Millett is owned by Bushnell and comes with Bushnell's lifetime warrantee.

Anyway for some strange reason, the ATAC pattern LRS was cheaper than the plain black one, so I snatched it up and mounted it to my Norinco M14.  The only problem was, and seems to be with all Millett LRS scopes is, the rings that came with the scope are way too damn high.  Yes, they would be perfect if you were to mount it to a flat top so you can clear the 56mm objective, but just way too high for a traditional scope set up. 

As with my other Millett, it came neatly packaged, and when you pull the 35mm tube, you're thinking either Titanic or Red October.

The rings that come with the scope look great, but would only be suitable for a flat-top setup, not so much for a standard rifle set up with a raised rail or scope mount above the barrel.  The scope also comes with black scope covers, which makes no sense whatsoever, but nothing a blast of Krylon won't fix.

The ATAC pattern scope rings that came with the Millett.  It's a shame they won't work for this particular rifle.

I purchased a used Millett from CGN and it came with a set of 35mm low rings from TPS, so I ended up giving them a blast of Krylon on it went to the M14.CA mount to hold the ATAC Millett in Place.

It's hard to tell in this picture, but here's where Millett's made-in-China stamp starts to shine.  Typical mainland China quality control....which essentially equates to "what can I get away with?".  The massive sunshade that is included with the scope is thankfully dipped in ATAC pattern, unlike the scope covers, however it would have been nice if it lined up with the rest of the scope, with the seam-line indexed to the bottom of the scope rather than the top.  Brutal, but whatever, the scope didn't cost me $2k or even $1k so I can't complain.

 A simple blast of Krylon spray paint resolved the black flip cap issues.  These caps are alright, but I prefer the feel of the Butler Creek ones, so one of these days, I'll go grab some BC ones and give it the Krylon treatment.

 For an entry level scope, it sure comes with a decent amount of perks.  Aside from the clear glass, 35mm main tube, 56mm objective, this particular model comes with .1mil clicks.  It seems like the trend where most scope manufactures are steering away from the 1/2 MOA and 1/4 MOA clicks and going over to mils.

Anyway, this scope will be hard to move to another rifle being ATAC pattern.  I don't know if I will hydro-dip my M14 stock in ATAC, but we'll see.

Colt M203

Well, I went and blew $5k an M203 launcher, though I won't be able to get any rounds for it other than flares and chalk rounds.  Looks great on my Norinco CQ-A, and I'm sure it's going to turn a lot of heads at the range.....just kidding, I didn't buy a real one.  I found this toy at a local airsoft shop in Richmond for $130 on sale.  I know, it's a total waste of money, but I never meant to even mount it on my AR.  My plan was to build an M16 with M203 as a wall-hanger decoration, but just for fun, I threw it on to see what it looked it.  It came off right after I took these pictures and when I get around to building the wall-hanger, I'll post pictures.

Pretty realistic roll marks, and it'll look great on the wall.

Savage Mark II TRR-SR

I’ve been eyeballing the Savage Mark II series for a while now, just because I want an inexpensive bolt-action plinker. Actually, I was originally looking at the Savage Mark II FV-SR and the plan was to drop it into a Boyd’s Tacticool stock. After a little research, I found that it was going to be more of a pain to find one in Canada than just buying a rifle that already comes with it, so I started looking at the Savage 10TRR-SR. The only problem with the TRR-SR is the price. At about $539-599, depending on who carries it, I was hesitant because its big brother, the Savage 10TR in .308 only cost me $599.


I was at Italian Sporting Goods with the wife and she egged me on daring me to see if I would/could buy it (haha, credit card was damn near maxed at the time). I took the challenge and walked out of there with a new Savage 10TRR-SR.

On opening the package, I was reminded of the time when I just got my 10TR, the packaging was virtually the same.  The rifle came in a plastic bag, no Styrofoam packing, only cardboard.  The rifle came with the bolt, a 5 round magazine, owner’s manual, AccuTrigger adjustment tool a cable lock, and the hideous monstrosity of a scope rail (my opinion anyway). 

 

The stock is not a Savage AccuStock, but what appears to be a laminate wood stock coated with some sort of textured finish that looks like undercoat. 

The muzzle on this model is threaded with ½ x 28tpi threading and a thread protector.  For the US, buyers can toss on a sound suppressor, but up here in Canada, folks will probably add a muzzle brake, compensator, flash hider, or fake suppressor, all in the name of looks.

I’ve read some complaints about the magazine plate being thin and warping easily, but I’ll see once I get this rifle out there to play. Even if it does turn out that it sucks, I’ve read that there is an aftermarket replacement available. The rifle comes with a 5 round magazine, and it’s curved to accommodate single stacked .22lr rounds. I’ll probably stick to the 5 rounders because having that curved 10 round mag sticking out of the bottom of the stock just looks too weird.

 

The stock comes with two studs in the front for either bipod, or sling or both, and one more stud in the butt stock.

This model also comes with Savage’s now famous Accutrigger that apparently comes set from the factory at 2.5 lbs?  Anyway, the first thing I did was crank it down, bottoming it out to the minimum weight.  Not running and gunning with this, not hunting with it, will not carry it while loaded, so I don’t see it being an issue for my uses. 

The rifle comes drilled and tapped for scope mounts or a one piece rail, however this model was equipped with that hideous tri-rail monstrosity that you’ll see at the end of this post.  I would have been happy with an EGW 0moa rail that came with the 10TR over this thing.  Anyway, going to flip it when I can.

Though the barrel is a heavier profile than standard Mark IIs (it’s fluted too, but not really sure if that’s going to make a huge difference on a bolt-action .22lr), the stock will accommodate it and free float the barrel. 

Here’s the tri-rail. Seems to work for some folks, others, not so much. I’ve heard stories that it has sharp enough edges to draw blood if one is not careful. I mounted it once, but decided it wasn’t for me so off it came and I promptly ordered an EGW 20moa replacement.


When that comes in, I’ll throw on a Millett LRS. At least it’ll have enough magnification to spot the tiny splashes of the .22lr.