Leatherwood m14/m1a all steel mount with windage adjustment - Hi-Lux Optics M14/M1A Steel Mounts w/ Windage Adjustment

I purchased a Leatherwood M14/M1A all steel mount with windage adjustment for my M1A scout rifle. This was the first time I had any dealing with scope mounts for the M1A rifle and was surprised at the number of mounts offered at such a wide variety of prices. I selected the Leatherwood M14/M1A all steel mount because of recommendations provided by the store where purchased and based upon Hi-Lux, Inc. ad indicating 37 years of experience mounting scopes on the M-14 rifle.
The Leatherwood M14/M1A all steel mount with windage adjustment has three primary components:
1. clip guide replacement (1)
2. Front Bracket (7)
3. Rail (11)
These three major components must be aligned correctly when interconnected on the receiver to form the actual mounting surface for the scope. For the average shooter this presents a number of difficulties because of the alignment geometries of each component. As assembly of the kit progressed securing the rail to the front bracket I found the flathead screw to be to long and the screw bore into the top of the receiver.
I then placed the shimmes provided with the kit under the front bracket and this resolved the problem of the screw digging into the top of my receiver. Following the instructions closely I managed to complete the assembly of the Leatherwood M14/M1A mount. I then went to the range to try out this new rifle, scope mount and scope. What a disappointment.
The first two rounds fired were 6ft to the right of the target and 3ft high. Not good. Time to realign and try again! This process of a few shots and realignment led to the discovery that the replacement clip guide will not stay fixed in place. Set screws, 2 and 3 fail to secure the replacement clip guide. It should be noted that the Allen wrenches supplied are of poor quality and causes the Allen set screws to strip when tightening. Well several hours and 60 rounds later I was no closer to zeroing in my scope than when I first arrived at the range. To say the least I was very disappointed that I just spent $15.00 dollars in range fees and about $60.00 in ammo and could not hit the target. Returned home and immediately took the mount off the rifle and boxed it up and sent it back.
From my experience this mount requires installation by a qualified gun smith and not a weekend shooter who does not have all of the necessary equipment to perform a correct alignment of each of the components. Each component must be aligned individually and finally collectively to provide the correct platform mounting surface for the scope along with a good quality set of Allen wrenches are required as not to damage the set screws. From my experience with this mount I would not recommend this mount to the average shooter.

Pros: None
Cons: Difficult to setup

This review was written in the old system and had content requirements that are different than reviews written today.