I first saw the Bennie Cooley Sniper Assault Mount (BC-SAM) in action when I shot on the same squad as Bennie Cooley at the MGM Ironman. At first glance, the mount looks like many of the other AR style one-piece scope mounts. However, in function, it is unlike anything else available and is probably the most advanced and well-designed AR mount in the world.
Proper Eye Relief
Improvements in optics technology have led to better eye relief in scopes. Greater eye relief means that you have to mount your scope farther away from your face to obtain a proper and ergonomic sight picture. The BC-SAM allows you to get the optic far enough away from your face to get proper eye relief.
Adjustable Front Ring
The Sniper Assault Mount allows you to make adjustments to the forward scope ring so that it is in the best possible position on the scope. Many of the currently available mounts don’t give enough room to move the scope forward and you end up with the forward ring too close to the turrets. When the forward ring is too close to the turrets it can bind the scope adjustments and it won’t properly support the scope. Because the Bennie Cooley Sniper Assault Mount allows you to position the forward scope ring anywhere along the scope tube, it alleviates the aforementioned issue.
In designing the adjustable forward scope ring, Bennie moved away from a standard picatinny or weaver style attachment in order to achieve maximum strength. The mounting system looks similar to a picatinny system but due to the rounded channels, is much stronger and has a very appealing cosmetic appearance.
15 MOA Long Range Base
Another excellent feature that is difficult, if not impossible, to find for precision AR style rifles is a base that has long-range adjustment built-in. The BC-SAM has 15 MOA of upward adjustment built into the mount. If you are shooting long-range with either your AR-15 or AR-10/SR25 rifle, the extra 15 MOA may prevent you from “topping out” your scopes elevation adjustment.
Stress Free Base Design
Finally, for ultimate accuracy, you want a mount that does not add stress to your receiver. Many benchrest and F class shooters feel that a stress free “rigid” action is as important as a good barrel in maintaining consistent accuracy. The Bennie Cooley Sniper Assault Mount is designed with 3 steel torque-able cross bolts that will allow you to evenly tighten the mount to your receiver without marring or adding stress. The exceptional design of the mount may actually aid in accuracy by “stiffening” the receiver if properly mounted and torqued.
Built-in Torx Tool
Another unique feature of the mount is the Torx 25 wrench attached to the mount. Although the Torx wrench isn’t quite as fast as a quick release lever, I prefer it for several reasons. (1) Quick release levers, while convenient, are notorious for inconsistent pressure on scopes and receivers and it’s possible to add stress or damage to your receiver with throw levers. (2) Quick release levers are also scary because they make it very fast and easy for a stranger to steal your optics while at the range; they can literally “walk off” with your optics.
In an emergency, the Torx wrench would allow you to mount or dismount the scope without any additional tools. The wrench doesn’t wiggle or make any noise and is held in place by a spring-loaded detent. It is one tool that you can always count on being with your rifle.
Optimal Ring Height
The BC-SAM mount is an optimal height for proper cheek weld and will fit a variety of shooters perfectly. I have used other brands of AR Mounts that were too tall or too short and it was difficult to get a proper and consistent cheek weld. Additionally, the mount leaves enough room to allow a flip-up iron sight backup option. If your AR is mil-spec, the scope centerline to-bore is 2.75 inches.
Lapping
All rings, unless pre-lapped from the manufacture, should be lapped before mounting optics. Almost no manufacturers pre-lap so you should plan on doing this no matter what mount or rings you use. Failure to lap your rings can cause fliers, problems with scope tracking, point of impact shifts, stress on your scope, ring marks on your scope, and scope failure. Lapping some mounts will require you to remove material from the edges of the ring so you can tighten the rings down on the scope after lapping. The Bennie Cooley Sniper Assault Mount was intentionally engineered with enough tolerance for lapping so that you can lap the rings and still have enough material to properly torque the rings.
Finish
The BC-SAM Mount is CNC Machined from 7075 aluminum bar stock and then tumbled, polished, and anodized. The mount I received was an earlier prototype and was not tumbled. As you can see from the pictures it still has a few machining marks left on it.
In my opinion, this is the best mount currently available for AR platforms. The features are unmatched by any other mount. Since using this mount I have noticed a difference in the way my rifle shoots. While sighting in I shot a 150 yard 5 shot .7 inch group prone off of magazines (no bi-pod or bags). I recently shot Carl Carbon’s Ephrata 3 Gun Match and did extremely well on the long-range stage going 12 shots for 11 hits. While I can’t give complete credit to the mount, it’s part of a complete system that is working extremely well and I can highly recommend it.
Rings should be torqued to 20-25 inch/lbs and base should be torqued 40-45 inch/lbs.
The Bennie Cooley Sniper Assault Mount is available in 30mm and 34mm ring sizes.
You can purchase the BC-SAM directly from Bennie Cooley’s website.
12 shots for 11 hits on the long range stage of the Ephrata 3 Gun
Bennie Cooley shooting rifle (with BC-SAM) at MGM Ironman