Steiner eOptics MBS-AA Borelight

FOG HORN 2015

Twobirds Flying Publication

Copyright 2014, Towbirds Flying Publication. All Rights Reserved.

MBS-AA Borelight From Steiner eOptics

FOG HORN 2015

Twobirds Flying Publication

Copyright 2014, Towbirds Flying Publication. All Rights Reserved.

MBS-AA Borelight From Steiner eOptics

By: Sal Palma

With the state of flux in both availability

and cost of quality ammunition, anything a

shooter can do to reduce the amount of

time he or she spends zeroing a rifle or

pistol translates to lower costs, and

certainly much more fun shooting. How do

you accomplish that? You do what the

military has done for years and that’s bore

sight your weapons.

There are a number of ways to bore sight a

rifle or pistol. The most basic method is

optical alignment of the bore centerline

with a distant target. On a bolt action rifle

for example, the shooter removes the bolt

from the action and from a stable steadied

position sights through the bore and

optically aligns the bore with a distant

target such that the target is centered on

the bore axis. The shooter then adjusts his

or her optic so that the crosshairs are

centered on the target. This approach has

worked for years and is particularly

effective for bolt action rifles like the M24

but it is far less helpful when we start

looking at bore sighting a carbine like the

M16, M4 or SCAR weapon systems.

Nonetheless, optical bore alignment is an

acceptable approach and when properly

performed will get you on paper. However,

it does have a number of limitations

notwithstanding that it’s generally not

successful when bore sighting thermal or

MBS-AA Borelight From Steiner eOptics 2015

Copyright 2015, Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights Reserved

night vision weapon sights, pistols or the

AR-15 patterned rifles.

A second method, and by far the most

flexible, is to use a mandrel based bore

sight like a laser bore sighting tool.

However, over the years, in spite of its

flexibility, laser bore sighting has gotten a

bum rap from shooters.

In working on this review, I spent quite a bit

of time speaking to shooters to gain an

understanding of the sentiment and walked

away from that experience with a sense

that most dissatisfaction with laser bore

sighting tools result from a lack of

information and poor product selection.

There are huge

differences

between

professional

grade laser bore

sighting tools,

like Steiner’s

MBS-AA

Borelight, and retail box store borelights.

Most shooters expressing dissatisfaction

with laser bore sighting tools based

opinions on their experience with

inexpensive commercial devices - I’m

referring to the $30 - $50 off the shelf units.

Although their price may be attractive,

you’re giving up a great deal in quality, ease

of use, reliability and repeatability. There

are major differences between these units

and professional grade devices.

Another factor is lack of knowledge, a major

contributor to shooter negative

impressions. Interestingly, most shooters

don’t seem to understand the need to true

up the laser with the mandrel. It’s an

important step in the bore sighting process

that has to be performed or you’ll never

achieve a

reliable and

more

importantly

repeatable

bore sight.

The erroneous assumption among shooters

that manufacturers ship the bore sight

already aligned to the mandrel could not be

further from reality.

To validate my assertion, insert your new

bore sighting tool in your rifle’s bore, and

while projecting the laser dot on a blank

wall rotate the bore sighting tool. In most

cases what you’ll see is the laser dot trace a

large or oddly shaped circle rather than a

stationary and clearly defined dot. It applies

TO ALL laser bore sighting tools regardless

of price point.

Trueing inexpensive lasers with the bore is

problematic at best. In most cases, the

process requires independently adjusting 4

set screws to achieve concentricity of the

laser with the bore – easier said than done

and it’s quite likely you’ll experience your

embalming before you successfully

complete the process. In the mildly vulgar

vernacular, it’s a gargantuan pain in the ass!

So, if you want to reliably bore sight your

weapon, you’ll have to accept the need to

spend a few bucks on a quality borelight.

The upside is accuracy, repeatability,



platform independence and compatibility

with night optics and thermal sights, which

brings me to Steiner’s MBS-AA Borelight.

At first glance, the MBS-AA is a precision

quality tool. Originally designed by Laser

Devices Inc., Monterey, CA. it entered

Steiner’s product portfolio with the

acquisition of Laser Devices, Inc. in 2014 -

military and government readers should

reference NSN 4933-01-564-2609.

The kit ships with two stainless steel

mandrels, one for use with pistols the other

for your long guns. Included in the kit are

inserts for the following calibers:

1. .22 / .223 /5.56mm

2. .223 / 5.56 OVERSIZE

3. .270 / 7mm

4. .30 / 30-06 / .308 / 7.62mm

5. .38 / .357 / 9mm

6. .40 / 10mm

7. .44 / .45

8. .50

9. A single AA battery and a small

screw driver are also provided.

The mechanics behind “mandrel style” bore

sighting tools is concentricity of the bore

sight with the bore, which is achieved

whenever alignment is based on two points

of contact. In this case, the appropriate

insert for the caliber aligns in the bore and

the cone shaped mandrel provides the

second point of contact at the muzzle. With

this arrangement anything short of a bent

mandrel assures concentricity with the

bore. However, a concentric mandrel does

not translate to a concentric laser. The user

must also align the laser to be concentric

with the bore.

Unlike devices that require independent

adjustment of 4 set screws radially

dispersed, Steiner provides two laser

adjustment controls similar to those found

on weapon sights - one for elevation and

one for windage – this feature alone makes

alignment of the MBS-AA laser a cakewalk.

As with any laser bore sighting tool, the

laser must be checked for proper

alignment, fortunately this is a procedure

that’s usually performed only once.

To center Steiner’s Borelight, I used a spare

barrel from a Ruger 10/22. I placed the

barrel in a bench vise adjusting it so that it

was completely level and parallel with the

floor. I placed a target 10 yards directly in

front of the muzzle and at the same height

then powered up the MBS-AA.

Next, using a black marker, I placed a dot on

the exact laser spot, which will serve as my

reference for the balance of the procedure.

I moved on from there following Steiner’s

recommended procedure1.

1 Steiner devotes several pages of the owner’s

manual to describing the procedure.



Per the owner’s manual, I rotated the

Borelight clockwise 90° and marked its

position on the target; I designated that

point as P1. If there is no noticeable shift in

the laser dot’s position from your reference

you’re done. However, if there is a shift as

in my case, rotate the Borelight another 90°

in a clockwise direction and again mark the

target accordingly. I designated the second

point P2. Steiner then suggests using a

straightedge to draw a line connecting the

two dots and determine the exact center of

the P1P2 line segment. Once this is done,

use the windage and elevation adjustments

to shift the laser to the midpoint of line

segment P1P2. You’ll need to repeat the

procedure until you observe no shift in the

laser dot position. I ended up having to

repeat the process a second time to bring

the laser dot into alignment with the bore.

Once you’ve performed the alignment, your

laser should be concentric with any bore

thereafter, so I encourage you to be as

meticulous as possible when performing the

laser alignment procedure that I’ve laid out

for you . Now you’re ready to bore sight

with accuracy and repeatable reliability.

Conditioned by prior experiences with laser

bore sighting tools, I approached the MBS-

AA with a healthy dose of skepticism and to

assess reliability I checked Steiner’s

Borelight against a rifle that was perfectly

zeroed. The vertical reticle split the laser

dot in half and the horizontal reticle was at

its appropriate sight offset for the caliber

and range zeroed.

I then removed the MBS-AA, separating the

insert from the mandrel and the mandrel

from the laser, reassembled everything and

reinserted it several times with precisely

the same results. You will never see this

level of performance with retail bore

sighting tools.

One of its many excellent attributes is

weapon platform independence. You can

use Steiner’s MBS-AA Borelight to bore

sight your AR with its A2 birdcage still

installed. Use it to dial in your magnified

optic, Aimpoint, EOTech or BUIS. The MBS-

AA will perform equally well across a variety

of long guns and handguns.

The bad news is its $424 M.S.R.P., which

could dampen some of your enthusiasm

until you frame it with some eye-opening

numbers like the following;

1. .308 Federal 168 = $26 per box of 20

2. 300 Win Mag 190 = $45 per box of 20

3. 338 Lapua = $90 per box2 of 20

4. 50 BMG = $60 to $90 per box of 10.

You don’t need to be a C.P.A. to understand

the financial dynamics. The potential

savings in ammunition costs alone make for

a very short payback period. Lastly, you’re

also getting a precision tool that will

provide exceptional results, for years to

come, when it is prepped and employed per

manufacturer suggestion.

-SP.

2 This is an average price calculated across 5

manufacturers. Lowest price found $65 highest $117.

Documents

Steiner eOptics MBS-AA Borelight