Product Reviews
Montana Vintage Arms
column By: Steve Garbe - Photos by Sheryll Garbe | September, 24
Unertl-Style Mounts
These mounts are a direct copy of the Unertl “coin-slot” mounts that were frequently ordered by the military for use on sniper rifles. They differ from the civilian version in that the coin slot on top of the rear mount may be loosened to rotate the drum and set the drum to zero. On the civilian version, there are small screws in the drum itself that must be loosened to accomplish the same thing. In my opinion, the coin slot adjustment is much preferable, as the tiny screws can be easily damaged or lost. I’m sure the military specified coin-slot mounts for the same reason. The coin-slot mounts also omitted the locking screw that when tightened, locks the windage and elevation.
I found the MVA Unertl mounts very repeatable with virtually no discernable back-lash. When I moved 3-minutes, that was exactly what I got in impact change. This is very important in matches when sight adjustments must be made during record firing, especially in Vintage Sniper matches where no sighting shots are allowed. An old rule amongst rifleman when using vintage Unertl or Lyman scopes was to always work from either the top down or bottom up, going past a setting by a couple clicks and then moving back to the correct setting. Done this way, one minimized the variation introduced by a mount having excessive back-lash. I did not use this technique when testing the MVA scope as I wanted to see if there was any back-lash variation present. The groups show that there was virtually no error present and repeating a setting put the shots right back in the test group.
MVA is really filling a need with their new Unertl-style mounts and I already have plans to fit them to an otherwise excellent Unertl scope which has a severely damaged rear mount. The price for the mounts is $475, with blocks. Contact information for Montana Vintage Arms: 61 Andrea Drive, Belgrade, Montana 59714. Phone: 406-388-4027 or MontanaVintageArms.com. Browse through their wide selection of sights, mounts, scopes and accessories on their website. You will not be disappointed with the quality and all products are backed up by MVA’s excellent customer service and warranty.
SPG Sales Cheekpiece
While perusing the SPG Sales website I saw they offered a good-looking detachable cheekpiece that was tasteful in design and would look appropriate on a single shot rifle. The price of $35 was reasonable enough that I couldn’t justify taking the time to make my own. I fired off an order and in a very short time one was on my doorstep.
When looking at it, I was immediately impressed with the quality of construction of the SPG Sales cheekpiece. I ordered the brown leather version and the workmanship was flawless. You can customize the height of the cheekpiece with the removable foam inserts that come with it. These inserts actually give one quite a bit of adjustment to get your head position on the stock just right. Three Velcro straps hold the cheekpiece firmly in place on the stock and there is a rubber liner and Velcro under the cheekpiece to prevent slippage as well. After using it for about a month, I checked the position and it had not moved at all. A cheekpiece that moves with use, is worse than no cheekpiece at all.
Simply stated, the cheekpiece worked perfectly. By using the two inserts that positioned my head at the right height, I was able to get a proper cheek weld. Keeping my head on the stock, without moving through the trigger break was much easier, as I didn’t feel like I was holding my head up in the air to see through the scope.
If you need an add-on cheekpiece for your rifle, this one from SPG Sales will fill the bill, without looking obnoxious. Contact information for SPG Sales: P.O. Box 745, Kirksville, MO 63501. Ph: 660-988-4099 or BlackPowderspg.com.