[amstel78]

Hello everyone... new member here. Just picked up a brand new SA Scout Squad. I haven't taken it to the range yet but I noticed that the front NM sight assembly isn't centered. It's drifted to the right. Does Springfield boresight and test fire the rifle prior to leaving the factory, or did the assembler just not center the front sight properly? Should I recenter?

BTW, what's the size of the allen wrench needed to loosen the front sight screw?

Thanks!

 

[Different]

Shoot it first at 25 meters to see were it impacts. It's not unusual for the front sight to not be centered when sighted in. It's likely a 7/64 " hex head cap screw on your front sight. Early USGI front sight screws took a 3/32 " hex head wrench.

 

[RET DEP 04]

Congratulations on the new rifle. The Scout Squad configuration is becoming more and more popular. Now it's time to get it out and shoot it and get back to us afterward. Then buy mags and ammo!

 

[amstel78]

Thank you for the replies. I looked around for my SAE hex wrenches and found all except the one that fits. Doh! Murphey's law I guess.

Anyway, will go to the range tomorrow to sight the Scout in.

In the interim, a few pics:

 

[amstel78]

Bummer. Just checked and it seems the barrel is slightly overtimed. Front sight also looks slightly canted to the left because the barrel isn't TDC. Perhaps that's why the front sight assembly is drifted over to the right.

Anyway, will test fire tomorrow and if it groups good, then I might wait to send it back to SA...

 

[amstel78]

Perhaps I'm overreacting? Have a look at the attached photo. What do you guys think? Also, it's very hard to tell if the front sight is canted; it appears to be very slight - perhaps 1-1.5 degrees?

BTW, searching the forums it seems many with Scout Squads have the exact same issues.

 

[biped]

It will take some shooting to know the answer. Your pics don't look any different than my rifle. My Scout is pretty close to perfect. I've never sent anything back to Springfield Arms but am told they are very good at customer satisfaction.

 

[Dave67k]

Sq Scout sights

my new scout has the same thing happening, it looks to be about a quarter to half a degree off as well (left), and it shoots just fine. kinda makes me wonder just how many get out the door like that.
I recently saw a socom w/vltor front end that looked cool and all, until you sighted down it and noticed the front sight appeared to be too far left as well. so I guess you're in the same boat as a lot a folks.

 

[Ron J]

Really kind of a minor thing and is inconvenient ... but once running you will be very happy with your Scout.

I really enjoy mine. I recently put an Eotech XPS2 on it. Having some issues with some 150gr loads not racking the bolt far enough to load the next round but when I shoot 168gr loads it runs great.

 

[amstel78]

Well, just got back from the range. I tried centering the front sight post and rear windage but that shot far right. Moved the front sight post a little to the right but not as far over as when I got it and pushed windage over 2 clicks to the left and now am hitting dead center at 50 yards. It's sort of a compromise where I have enough mechanical windage at both front and rear sights without having either one near the extreme end of travel.

Rifle ran well on 7.62 Radway with no failure to feed, fire or extract. My scout is a good shooter but now that I see the slight cant in the front sight, it bugs me a little. I guess I'll live with it for now or until I can't stand it anymore and then send it back to SA for adjustment.

This is a Birchwood Casey 12x12" target at 50 yards with a mixture of free hand and prone shooting. Bullseye hits are from prone:

 

[amstel78]

my new scout has the same thing happening, it looks to be about a quarter to half a degree off as well (left), and it shoots just fine. kinda makes me wonder just how many get out the door like that.
I recently saw a socom w/vltor front end that looked cool and all, until you sighted down it and noticed the front sight appeared to be too far left as well. so I guess you're in the same boat as a lot a folks.

Makes me wonder how SA could let these things out the door given the price they're sold for.

Anyway, still undecided as to whether or not to send back to SA for service. Perhaps I'll call or email just to get the issue on record considering the rifle is brand new. What would you do if you were in my shoes given the sample target above. Rifle shoots good even if it is "-eyed."

 

[Different]

I would call Springfield Armory, Inc. Customer Service and discuss the over-indexing of the barrel.

 

[amstel78]

Welp, got a call tag from SA. Rifle is going back to them to have the barrel properly timed. Nice folks on the phone. They told me something like this usually has a 30 day turnaround. Hope it doesn't take that long.

How is SA on fixing their stuff to customer's satisfaction? Has anyone sent back their rifle to have an over-timed barrel corrected and received it back not to their satisfaction?

Since it is going back, is there anything else you can suggest that I have them check before returning to me?

 

[Thrak]

not to jack your thread but.....I'm real curious about that OD Green Synthetic stock. Your opinion/experience on it much appreciated! I'm getting ready to place my order for a new Scout but can't decide between walnut or Synthetic.

 

[amstel78]

not to jack your thread but.....I'm real curious about that OD Green Synthetic stock. Your opinion/experience on it much appreciated! I'm getting ready to place my order for a new Scout but can't decide between walnut or Synthetic.

My stock is actually black, not OD green. FWIW, the stock is nice. Has a rubber but pad instead of the usual steel hardware with trapdoor. I'm actually thinking of replacing it with a USGI synthetic or perhaps one of the urban cammo stocks from SA.

 

[TheTinMan]

My SAI Scout barrel is slightly over-indexed and I had to move the front sight almost all the way over to the right to hit dead center. I don't know how Springfield could fix this problem short of re-barrelling the rifle and that seems like an unrealistic expectation.

not to jack your thread but.....I'm real curious about that OD Green Synthetic stock. Your opinion/experience on it much appreciated! I'm getting ready to place my order for a new Scout but can't decide between walnut or Synthetic.

I have a green SAI synthetic stock and it reminds me of Gumby. The forend is too flexible & there's virtually no tension between the stock ferrule and the front band. It gets looser over time too. Also the area around the magwell is starting to look chewed up.

If your rifle is for hunting or some other "practical" application, by all means get your own Gumby. If you want maximum accuracy, IMHO almost anything else would be better.

 

[amstel78]

My SAI Scout barrel is slightly over-indexed and I had to move the front sight almost all the way over to the right to hit dead center. I don't know how Springfield could fix this problem short of re-barrelling the rifle and that seems like an unrealistic expectation.

I'm assuming you lived with it as is then?

I got the shipping tag from SAI earlier, but am not sure if it's worth wasting their time and my time on this problem.

The cant is very very slight; you really have to look hard to notice the tilt in the front sight. When I went to the range yesterday, she was shooting about 3" or 4" to the right at 25 yards when both sights were mechanically zeroed and centered. What I did was to move the front sight back over to the right, but not as far as it was when I got it out of the box. The front sight isn't hanging over the dovetail, and there is still enough room to move it over more if I so desired. I then dialed in 2 clicks left windage on the rear sight and she was hitting the bullseye at 50 yards prone.

I don't know what SA would do to this thing when they receive it, but as of this moment, apart from the funky aesthetics, my Scout is a very good shooter. I don't want to send it back to them to only have it come back with something else wrong.

 

[Different]

The front sight isn't hanging over the dovetail, and there is still enough room to move it over more if I so desired. I then dialed in 2 clicks left windage on the rear sight and she was hitting the bullseye at 50 yards prone.

As long as the front sight is not hanging off the base, it meets the military requirements. This is very normal for a M14 type rifle. IME, different makes of ammunition will cause the windage to shift a click left or right. FWIW and HTH

 

[amstel78]

As long as the front sight is not hanging off the base, it meets the military requirements. This is very normal for a M14 type rifle. IME, different makes of ammunition will cause the windage to shift a click left or right. FWIW and HTH

Thanks. It does help to know that. I just got off the phone with SAI again and described to them pretty much everything I've written here. Their tech suggested that if I'm shooting accurately with the way it is now, is to leave it be for the time being. I've decided to cancel the service request for now and will send it back to them at a later date time or if something breaks, whatever comes first.

 

[Daddy13]

I had the same problem with my standard too. the barrel needs just a slight turn to align to. Looks exactly (like your photo). As for the front sight it came mounted way right too. I centered it at the range and then adjusted the rear sight to bring it to center ( was only like 2 or 3 clicks) then with a sharp point i scratched a reference zero. barley noticible but it allowed me to bring it towards the middle...