I'm purchasing the Bushmaster “VARMINTER”, 24" Barrel, model PCWVMS 24FVAR9. Primary use is varmint and coyote hunting in Arizona. Also planning to equip it with a Zeiss Scope.
Zeiss Conquest, 6.5-20 X 50mm (1" dia tube)
Any comments or opinions on how it should be mounted? The rifle does come with scope mounts. Quote from their website..... "Bushmaster Modular Accessories System Mini-Risers - add 1/2" height to scope mounting on the flat-top receiver for correct sight picture and comfortable “cheek-weld” on the stock"

They are 'risers' not scope mounts. They give you can extra 1/2 in on top of the flattop. You still need rings, mount, etc. I used the armalite one piece mount on my varminter. Works well, scope is further forward as it should be. It also has a recoil lug in it, most of the similar mounts lack this. Of course, this was without the use of the 'risers'.  :)

Roadrunner:  I think that you will be much happier with the Armalite scope mounting setup, then you would by mounting rings to the BM risers.  I went that route initially, and it's just not near as stout as the Armalite type setup.  Two very good alternate setups is the Rock River and (believe it or not) the Model 1 Sales flat top scope mount.  With a top notch Rig (Zeiss/Bushmaster Combo.), it would be almost criminal to use those two piece riser blocks on your setup.  I have a similar setup to yours (minus the 3 million dollar optics), and have been using the Model 1 mount.  It's been outstanding.  It's big, and sturdy, and very similar to Rock River's mount. Bottom line is to go with the Armalite first, Rock River or Model 1 second, and the B-Square third.  Good luck and let us know how it shoots.

I also have an Armalite one-piece mount.  The trouble I have is that it [b]still[/b] isn't mounted far enough forward enough to give me a good cheek weld with a high eye-relief scope.  This is with a Leupold VariX-III 3.5-10x40 Tactical scope.

Now I've bought a Leupold 6.5-20x50 VariX-III for the same same I rifle.  To accomodate the scope I picked up a GGG GS-1 rail that pokes out over the float tube a good three inches.  Then I mounted ARMS#22 medium rings and now when I snug in with my eyes closed and open them up I get a perfect sight picture.  Of course this changes with magnification but I shoot most often at max mag.

In any case be prepared to deal with eye relief issues and consider a scout rail to alleviate it.

    Be sure to consider eye relief as well as height - the Picatinny rail on a flat-top may not let you mount the scope far enough forward for a comfortable position, especially in prone. I use an extended riser (1/2" high) made by Accuracy Speaks (available direct or from Brownell's) combined with standard-height rings.  There's now a similar one available from Compass Lake Engineering.  This gives me an extra 4" of rail and lets me mount a Leupold 6.5-20x50 LRT (a rather long scope) and gives me the option for an extra 15' of built-in elevation for long range work. I'm using Wiegand Combat rings (available from Brownell's) - they were inexpensive and work well, even though they don't have the macho look many seem to like.

If I understand it correctly there are 5 separate components in this configuration. 2 risers, 1 mount and 2 rings. Would there be any advantage in machining a one-piece unit that functions as riser, mount and lower "ring" halves? I ask because I'm an Engineer and also run a machine shop in which we have full CNC machining capability. I can design, fabricate and anodize just about anything I need. Would there be an advantage in a one piece unit or would one loose flexibility?
Thanks for any feedback or design ideas. --RR

I have a new Bushmaster Varminter that I mounted a Bausch & Lomb 6-24x40 scope on. This scope has a 1" tube. I used the mini-risers and a set of >low< Leupold QRW rings. This put my scope about 1/2 above the float tube and the eye relief came out just right!

>>it would be almost criminal to use those two piece riser blocks on your setup.<<

Oh, I don't know. I have the Armalite "one piece" mounted atop the BM supplied 1/2" risers and it works perfectly. What's the "criminal" aspect of this?

I tried the Armalite one-piece with and without the 1/2" risers - I like it without the risers - just preference.
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