TA51 Mount for TA31

[No Bananas]

I know we all orefer the QD mounts. I'm not needing one for my application. Is the TA51 Mount (with some loctite) a decent mount that will hold zero?

[BooneGA]

All of the military issued units are issued with the TA51 mount. I have only ever seen problems when they were not set up properly.

With proper tension and loctite the mount is perfectly acceptable.

Rick

[masakari]

The TA51 is a good solid mount, just be sure to locktite the bottom screws as I see them come loose all the time out on the range; I think the armorers loosen them on purpose haha
if you're lookiing for one, I have an extra TA51 laying around...

[No Bananas]

How do I gauge the proper tension?

[JSantoro]

Knobs to hand-tight (for you; some folks can Mongo it further than others). Tighten another 90 degrees beond that (initially) with a screwdriver that fits snugly in the slots on the knobs. Example: the tip of the flat-ended rasp found on most Gerber Multitools fits perfectly, if you don't want to haul a BFS with you...

(Tip: Prior to tightening, you can put blue loctite on the exposed threads of the knob screws, if you like.)

At that point, make temporary witness marks and test, so that you can see if it backs off under recoil impulse. give it a couple/few hundred rounds. If it doesn't, skip to the last step. If it does, tighten to 180 degrees past hand-tight and re-mark. Shoot some more....

If it stays (it freakin' BETTER!), make the witness marks at least semi-permanent. With mounts that don't force you to attain a consistent tentsion every time, you need to provide something for yourself so you can do so without guessing, should you have occasion to take the thing off.

Consistency is the key.

[BudJr]

The factory mounts are also slightly taller (which I prefer) than any of the aftermarket mounts. Some folks prefer lower, others prefer taller; I'll take the extra bit of height over a QD option.
The knobs could be lower profile though. Are there replacements? Anyone know?

[BooneGA]

You could pull the nobs all the way off and simply use standard nuts to reduce the profile.

Rick