Joined Harvard Sportsmans Club

[rwl1955]

Done with, gasp, an AR.

*****
congrats, I need to buy that spotting scope.

 

[Warm_Garand]

Done with, gasp, an AR.

Don't beat yourself up. Everybody's got to start somewhere.

 

[kalash]

Don't beat yourself up. Everybody's got to start somewhere.

Well I qualified with an AR with a 16" barrel (which got an eyeroll from Ed) and iron sights (another eyeroll from Ed), chambered in 5.56 (which is only good out to 100 yards according to Ed), shooting commercial 62gr ammo (which someone else told me is no good), and using a tipped over ammo can for a rest (which got some laughs). No one seemed to be laughing when they were telling me how well I did...

It was a good experience overall, honestly. If any of you grumpy curmudgeons were there, you're a lot nicer face-to-face than online Ed's set in his ways but he has a chuckle about it so it's all good. Everyone seemed to want to give advice (even if I disagreed with it) without lecturing or being holier-than-thou. I'm glad I finally found the time to go.

 

[MichaelJames1971]

Interesting.....

I was thinking I would need a Match-Grade barrel and a quality round from Hornady before attempting this.....

 

[kalash]

Interesting.....

I was thinking I would need a Match-Grade barrel and a quality round from Hornady before attempting this.....

I used a BA barrel and ZQI ammo. Don't get me wrong, I was all over the target, but all my rounds were accounted for. I also put some thought into where to zero the gun versus where to aim and the trajectory out to 200. You do need a good idea of what you're doing because you definitely don't want to skip a round over the berm (that's not to say you need to be a marksman - like I said, know ahead of time where your rounds will impact).

 

[Pafanasiev]

I used a BA barrel and ZQI ammo. Don't get me wrong, I was all over the target, but all my rounds were accounted for. I also put some thought into where to zero the gun versus where to aim and the trajectory out to 200. You do need a good idea of what you're doing because you definitely don't want to skip a round over the berm (that's not to say you need to be a marksman - like I said, know ahead of time where your rounds will impact).

since I was to your right and also shooting 5.56, it was pretty impressive job with Iron Sights.

if you have self doubts on AR platform, no need to worry. I did it with 16 inch 1/9 barrel using 55 grain xm193 with an ACOG. 4 inch group from 200, 1 inch from 100, and last week was the the first time shooting over 50 meters in 10+ years.

so, yes, it is possible

 

[Warm_Garand]

since I was to your right and also shooting 5.56, it was pretty impressive job with Iron Sights.

if you have self doubts on AR platform, no need to worry. I did it with 16 inch 1/9 barrel using 55 grain xm193 with an ACOG. 4 inch group from 200, 1 inch from 100, and last week was the the first time shooting over 50 meters in 10+ years.

so, yes, it is possible

I was actually about to cite your performance inre: "high-quality ammo" vs. strong fundamentals.

You basically shot that ammo (XM193) to its performance envelope. If I recall, you weren't particularly happy with the overall size of the group--but the problem was the ammo, not your funamamentals. You'll quickly find that a better cartridge will shot a group half that size given the same fundamentals. It doesn't make a huge difference at 100 yards--but at 200 and 300 it certainly does.

Ed is a bit of a caliber curmudgeon, he hails from the day of the M14, but nobody else looks down on the AR carbine. It is an inherently accurate platform, and it reloads beautifully.

 

[Warm_Garand]

Interesting.....

I was thinking I would need a Match-Grade barrel and a quality round from Hornady before attempting this.....

If all you've got is Dad's old hunting rifle and you can make a group, you'll pass the qual.

Everybody helping on the line understands the limitations of gear and ammo.

 

[CattleDog]

Well I qualified with an AR with a 16" barrel (which got an eyeroll from Ed) and iron sights (another eyeroll from Ed), chambered in 5.56 (which is only good out to 100 yards according to Ed), shooting commercial 62gr ammo (which someone else told me is no good), and using a tipped over ammo can for a rest (which got some laughs). No one seemed to be laughing when they were telling me how well I did...

It was a good experience overall, honestly. If any of you grumpy curmudgeons were there, you're a lot nicer face-to-face than online Ed's set in his ways but he has a chuckle about it so it's all good. Everyone seemed to want to give advice (even if I disagreed with it) without lecturing or being holier-than-thou. I'm glad I finally found the time to go.

I was on your left, and never had any doubts. Don't know if my eyes are that good anymore (and my front post blocks out the entire target at anything more than 50 yards), but job well done! I don't remember, was your barrel free floated? And it was 1:7 twist, right? My LMT is not (currently) free floated, is 1:7, and shoots very tight at the 100 with a 3x optic. I will say, for my particular set up, XM855 has been accurate, but the least accurate of anything I've used. Prvi 75gr BTHP's have worked the best for me in terms of consistency. Some cheaper IMI stuff worked pretty good, too. I think it was 60-something grain.

 

[gerrycaruso]

Ed just wants you to be safe. If you can get past the Parris Island facade, there's a nice guy underneath.

 

[kalash]

I was on your left, and never had any doubts. Don't know if my eyes are that good anymore (and my front post blocks out the entire target at anything more than 50 yards), but job well done! I don't remember, was your barrel free floated? And it was 1:7 twist, right? My LMT is not (currently) free floated, is 1:7, and shoots very tight at the 100 with a 3x optic. I will say, for my particular set up, XM855 has been accurate, but the least accurate of anything I've used. Prvi 75gr BTHP's have worked the best for me in terms of consistency. Some cheaper IMI stuff worked pretty good, too. I think it was 60-something grain.

Free floated and 1:7, yes. One of the guys recommended IMI 77gr rounds so I'll see if I can find those at some point. I have regular Magpul BUIS so I can definitely relate to the front post being the size of the target - my trick was to zero the rifle so that at 200 yards I had a 6 o'clock hold.

 

[Warm_Garand]

Free floated and 1:7, yes. One of the guys recommended IMI 77gr rounds so I'll see if I can find those at some point. I have regular Magpul BUIS so I can definitely relate to the front post being the size of the target - my trick was to zero the rifle so that at 200 yards I had a 6 o'clock hold.

Cabelas has IMI 77- and 69-grain (Sierra Match King) "Razor Core" ammo in stock for $15.99 per box.

Probably isn't worth the premium for iron (or plastic) sights--but I figured I'd mention it, if you wanted to see how it shot.

 

[bigblue]

PPU Match is about half that price and fairly decent for the money.

 

[Warm_Garand]

PPU Match is about half that price and fairly decent for the money.

Good call. Apparently it is a can of whoop-ass as a defensive round as well.



Who carries it locally?

 

[bigblue]

Cabelas carries it for one, I'm not sure who else. I prefer to buy ammo by the case which precludes local sources for the most part. Some shops will order for you by the case, most apparently don't need the business.

 

[rwl1955]

Yes, that scope is an excellent value. It is a very good compromise of weight, waterproofing, ruggedness, and useful features. You'll want to find a tripod of some sort, as the one that comes with is absolutely useless. Optics planet has it for $202 after 12% discount. Amazon also has competitive pricing--$197 with free Amazon Prime shipping.

https://www.amazon.com/Konus-7120-2...?ie=UTF8&qid=1497987067&sr=8-5&keywords=konus

Cheapest I've seen it is $179, a price which comes and goes every six months or so depending on where the vendor is in their purchase cycle, trying to accomplish tiers of discounts.

If you have Amazon Prime it probably isn't worth waiting to save the $15.

I think Bushnell offers a spotting scope from the same factory (based on the scope body) and it costs about $30 less, but it lacks the sun shade and the mounting ring which allows you to rotate the scope/eyepiece for most comfortable viewing.

******
Just purchased this spotting scope from Midway for $202.00 w/free shipping.