What is your "Long Range" Rifle Platform?

Grendizer138 said:
Yes, but there’s so much rail on an AR10 receiver that the scope can be in the exact position with lots of variance for where it mounts. See pic. I have the mount as far back as possible, maybe it doesn’t matter?

I had two levels, but in hindsight I should have created a plumb line to line up the reticle.
Click to expand...
I prefer the rings to be somewhat centered on the scope tube if possible. I don’t like rings too close to the ends or turret as inconsistencies could tend to bind things up.

Most important thing is that your reticle is plumb if you’re going to be shooting long distance.
 
Grendizer138 said:
Yes, but there’s so much rail on an AR10 receiver that the scope can be in the exact position with lots of variance for where it mounts. See pic. I have the mount as far back as possible, maybe it doesn’t matter?

I had two levels, but in hindsight I should have created a plumb line to line up the reticle.
Click to expand...
If your concern is how far forward in the mount the scope is sitting, you could always slide the mount forward a notch on the rail and shimmy the scope backwards in the rings, while maintaining same eye relief. Looks like you have room. I generally try not to crowd the turrets.

as for mounting scope, my process...
1. mount rings/mount to receiver.
2. level rifle.
3. place scope in rings and adjust eye relief.
4. level reticle with plumb line.
 
MC56 said:
If your concern is how far forward in the mount the scope is sitting, you could always slide the mount forward a notch on the rail and shimmy the scope backwards in the rings, while maintaining same eye relief. Looks like you have room. I generally try not to crowd the turrets.

as for mounting scope, my process...
1. mount rings/mount to receiver.
2. level rifle.
3. place scope in rings and adjust eye relief.
4. level reticle with plumb line.
Click to expand...
Have you had success doing this without a rifle stand? I’m using a Harris bipod and bubble levels.
 
Remote Camper said:
So Faxxon is crap?


RC
Click to expand...
No. Faxxon is decent. It's just not something that is biased towards accuracy.

Often accuracy and reliability work against each other. Fighting oriented rifles are chambered in 5.56 x 45 a/k/a 5.56 NATO. It's slightly different from .223 with a longer leade. Which translates into more bullet jump before it engages the lands than a .223 chamber.

Faxons are chambered in .223 Wylde, which is a kind of hybrid chamber that is looser than .223 and tighter than 5.56. The goal is for it to be more accurate than a 5.56 chamber but still safe to use with that ammo. It was actually developed as a way to accurize 5.56 guns that needed to shoot 5.56. (Think military service rifle matches)

So it's giving up something in accuracy being chambered in .223 Wylde in the interest of versatility.

A true target barrel is going to be chambered in .223 and may actually have the leade tweaked for a specific cartridge length. Reloaders play around with the length of jump when it comes to accuracy.

With all that said, Rock River Arms chambers their more accuracy oriented ARs in .223 Wylde and they are considered to be very accurate for the money.
 
dcmdon said:
No. Faxxon is decent. It's just not something that is biased towards accuracy.

Often accuracy and reliability work against each other. Fighting oriented rifles are chambered in 5.56 x 45 a/k/a 5.56 NATO. It's slightly different from .223 with a longer leade. Which translates into more bullet jump before it engages the lands than a .223 chamber.

Faxons are chambered in .223 Wylde, which is a kind of hybrid chamber that is looser than .223 and tighter than 5.56. The goal is for it to be more accurate than a 5.56 chamber but still safe to use with that ammo. It was actually developed as a way to accurize 5.56 guns that needed to shoot 5.56. (Think military service rifle matches)

So it's giving up something in accuracy being chambered in .223 Wylde in the interest of versatility.

A true target barrel is going to be chambered in .223 and may actually have the leade tweaked for a specific cartridge length. Reloaders play around with the length of jump when it comes to accuracy.

With all that said, Rock River Arms chambers their more accuracy oriented ARs in .223 Wylde and they are considered to be very accurate for the money.
Click to expand...
Most people who are chasing accuracy with .223 are going to be reloading in which case the chambering doesn’t matter as long as it’s got a long leade for the heavies.
 
Grendizer138 said:
Alright, I need an adult.

Over the weekend I mounted a Steiner T6Xi 2.5-15x50 to an 18” DD AR10 .308 using a Reptilia mount (0 MOA). I zeroed it to 100m, set the turrets, and confirmed zero, so it’s a functional gun, but I had a bunch of questions during the process that I wasn’t sure of.

1) when using levels for the mount, do you level the scope (level on the turret) to the upper receiver or hand guard? Does it matter? Is there any value to leveling the target and making sure the reticle is plumb/level to that?

2) Does placement of the optic within the mount matter? (E.g. how do you determine where the mount is on the receiver)

I had other questions but I’ll start there. Bare in mind this is my first dive into precision shooting.

Here’s the setup

View attachment 875023
Click to expand...

First to address #2.
I like to get my scope as centered in the mount as possible. When running non-cantilever mounts its never in the middle for me, but I don't like the scope mounted as close to the ring as you have in your picture. With your mount, it looks like you can move it forward a couple of slots and then slide your scope back within the rings of the mount.

As for #1
The "best" way would be to drop a plumb line, then level your receiver/mount, and then level the reticle in your scope to the plumb line.
For me, I level my scope turret to the rail on the receiver. I wouldn't use the hand guard rail at all to level a scope.
 
I go a different route when putting in a scope. I put my rifle into a vice that has the special rubber claws that are made for guns. I then use a short level to level the gun in the vice. Once done snuggly mount the lower parts of the rings into the slots where I estimate the scope to be mounted. Once snug I use the level on the top of the lower U of the scope mount to make sure both are level as well. If the rifle is level the rings will most likely be level as well. I then put the scope in the Us and slide it back and forth while I have a light cheek weld to get to a place where it has comfortable eye relief. I now put the level on top of the scope turrent and level that. I leave the level there as I put the top parts of the scope mounts in place and snuggly tighten them. All the while making sure the scope is still level. Once snug its just a matter of torquing everything down.

It's sounds difficult but I find this to be a very easy way to level the scope to the rifle. Just need a short/small enough level.
 
lukewarm_fuzz said:
Most people who are chasing accuracy with .223 are going to be reloading in which case the chambering doesn’t matter as long as it’s got a long leade for the heavies.
Click to expand...
The problem is that if you are reloading into the lands on a 5.56, you have a round that won't fit in a magazine.
It's easier to get into the lands with a .223 and still have a round that will fit in a mag.

I realize that that isn't always a priority. I shoot in the Eastern Ma rifle league, it's a springtime match. Single shot, slow fire, offhand, at 200 yards. I've shot it with some 80 gr A-Max reloads that didn't fit into a mag.
 
Well I wanted to build myself an AR 10 and I tried to do higher end items. So I went with the 18 inch Faxon 308 heavy gunner fluted barrel. It will be perfectly fine for what I’m doing I currently don’t even have a scope I have the primary arms SLX-X3 on it. It will work perfectly fine for what I plan on doing.
The only problem I’m having so far is out of two boxes of the same lot of federal 308 I think it was 130 grain ammo I had two rounds that looked like they chambered but trying each one twice, there wasn’t even a firing pin strike or even a light strike on the primer and there was a ring around the bullet near the shell. But I’m thinking that the ammo.
chris_1001 said:
Replace the interim carbine stock and installed a proper prs stock on the .308 M5.

View attachment 874850
Click to expand...
I got that same stock the only thing I don’t like about it is that gap by the castle nut. Makes it look sloppy.


RC
 
Remote Camper said:
Well I wanted to build myself an AR 10 and I tried to do higher end items. So I went with the 18 inch Faxon 308 heavy gunner fluted barrel. It will be perfectly fine for what I’m doing I currently don’t even have a scope I have the primary arms SLX-X3 on it. It will work perfectly fine for what I plan on doing.
The only problem I’m having so far is out of two boxes of the same lot of federal 308 I think it was 130 grain ammo I had two rounds that looked like they chambered but trying each one twice, there wasn’t even a firing pin strike or even a light strike on the primer and there was a ring around the bullet near the shell. But I’m thinking that the ammo.

I got that same stock the only thing I don’t like about it is that gap by the castle nut. Makes it look sloppy.


RC
Click to expand...

Can you take a picture of the ring on the bullet?

Perhaps those two bullets didn’t fully chamber. And if that’s the case, the bolt will not lock and the firing pin won’t ever actually make it to the primer.

That’s my initial thought anyway. I’m not sure why it wouldn’t chamber. Getting hung up on something it seems.
 
Unfortunately I tossed those rounds.
My thought is they weren’t seated into the shell fully.
With the first round, the rifle had to be “mortared”to open the bolt.
I figured it was bad quality control from federal.


RC
 
Custom built AR-10s seem to be the last firearm type that still requires a break in period.
If you just assembled everything give it 200 rounds before you start looking to change parts.

Mine took a while to stop locking up the bolt in the chamber after leaving it in the safe after a range session.
 
I found that the federal 130 grain ammo is going to be pretty good for breaking it in. It’s about $42 for a box of 40. I already put two boxes through it have bought another two boxes and I’m doing everything from shooting faster, shooting slow, aimed fire, fun fire. I know things need breaking in.
As far as the bolt goes for locking up, it only did it those times with those rounds that didn’t want to fire.
I may have one round in my range bag I’ll look later.


RC
 
Remote Camper said:
I found that the federal 130 grain ammo is going to be pretty good for breaking it in. It’s about $42 for a box of 40. I already put two boxes through it have bought another two boxes and I’m doing everything from shooting faster, shooting slow, aimed fire, fun fire. I know things need breaking in.
As far as the bolt goes for locking up, it only did it those times with those rounds that didn’t want to fire.
I may have one round in my range bag I’ll look later.


RC
Click to expand...

When I mentioned the bolt locking, I mean in the strict definition of a firearms functions. The bolt rotates into the star chamber and locks in place, making it safe to fire.

Cycling Steps:
1. Feeding
2. Chambering
3. Locking
4. Firing
5. Unlocking
6. Extraction
7. Ejection
8. Cocking

I’m not talking about locking like the brass is sticking and there is a failure to extract.

If the cartridge is not fully chambered, the bolt cannot lock, and if the bolt is not locked in place, the bolt carrier will be too far back for the firing pin to protrude through the bolt.

Edit: also it may not be the ammo’s fault. Faxon may not have done a good job reaming the chamber and accidentally made it undersized.
 
Last edited:
According to Gun Jesus, the Springfield Armory (the real one in MA) made accurate and reliable M14's. The others not so much. So shortcomings in manufacturing were greatly to blame for the demise of the M14. As far as it being fragile? Yeah- maybe a match prepped hand guard can be snapped loose out of its glue but there's another way to keep the hand guard from affecting accuracy. Otherwise it's a solid enough platform and can be made quite accurate though it takes a lot more work than a Legos gun (AR) will take.

I and one or two others on the forum have built one on Bula forged receivers. Mine makes 'as issued' weight and other limits for CMP and is in a USGI stock. You will hear me drop F-bombs as I did this Sunday if I drop any points in slow prone at 200 yards w/ irons. It is not the rifle's fault when I dropped that point. Shot a 99-98- and LOL I forget how bad my offhand was. Had a 'yip' and shot one just outside the 5-ring. Duoh but still got the bronze.

XLqYAnMh.jpg


This rifle stays accurate even when blazing hot. I can do mag dumps on 200 yard torso plates and still hit 400 yard plates with boring repetition- I just can't mag dump as at 200. I really like the ergonomics too- it just feels good to shoot.
 
IMG_7203.jpeg

I pulled this apart for a paint refresh so I may as well, don’t *think* I’ve posted this one.

This is a .223 Atlas Tactical barreled by Charles Largay up in Maine. Really remarkable guy, does great work.

Barrel is a Bartlein, which turned out to be REALLY slow. 27” inches and it’s slower than my wife’s 24” Criterion, interestingly.

It’s in the new-ish MDT JAE which is garbage tier, unfortunately.

Shoots well though! Mostly 75 ELDs around 2850.
 
lukewarm_fuzz said:
View attachment 875497

I pulled this apart for a paint refresh so I may as well, don’t *think* I’ve posted this one.

This is a .223 Atlas Tactical barreled by Charles Largay up in Maine. Really remarkable guy, does great work.

Barrel is a Bartlein, which turned out to be REALLY slow. 27” inches and it’s slower than my wife’s 24” Criterion, interestingly.

It’s in the new-ish MDT JAE which is garbage tier, unfortunately.

Shoots well though! Mostly 75 ELDs around 2850.
Click to expand...
How did you come across Charlie L as a gunsmith to do your work? Do you shoot matches in Scarborough?
 
lukewarm_fuzz said:
View attachment 875497

I pulled this apart for a paint refresh so I may as well, don’t *think* I’ve posted this one.

This is a .223 Atlas Tactical barreled by Charles Largay up in Maine. Really remarkable guy, does great work.

Barrel is a Bartlein, which turned out to be REALLY slow. 27” inches and it’s slower than my wife’s 24” Criterion, interestingly.

It’s in the new-ish MDT JAE which is garbage tier, unfortunately.

Shoots well though! Mostly 75 ELDs around 2850.
Click to expand...

Unfortunate about the barrel speed and chassis quality. I dig the paint job though and luckily it does the most important thing well.
 
Remote Camper said:
Well I wanted to build myself an AR 10 and I tried to do higher end items. So I went with the 18 inch Faxon 308 heavy gunner fluted barrel. It will be perfectly fine for what I’m doing I currently don’t even have a scope I have the primary arms SLX-X3 on it. It will work perfectly fine for what I plan on doing.
The only problem I’m having so far is out of two boxes of the same lot of federal 308 I think it was 130 grain ammo I had two rounds that looked like they chambered but trying each one twice, there wasn’t even a firing pin strike or even a light strike on the primer and there was a ring around the bullet near the shell. But I’m thinking that the ammo.

I got that same stock the only thing I don’t like about it is that gap by the castle nut. Makes it look sloppy.


RC
Click to expand...
This^^^ !!!!!!

I had a BCM QD end plate on mine. Test fitted the stock, noticed the gap. Blamed the end plate, swapped it for a mil spec plate and same issue and gap.

I stake my (castle) nuts so a bit more work for no return

Was thinking it was a defect. Guess not.

Rip the bolt apart and give it a good cleaning. Seems like a light or non strike.

Also check the trigger. I doubt it’s the ammo with no evidence of a strike. My .02
 
LuvDog said:
Tell me more about Charles. Website? Prices?
Click to expand...
I think the company is Nonesuch Precision Services.
PatMcD said:
How did you come across Charlie L as a gunsmith to do your work? Do you shoot matches in Scarborough?
Click to expand...
He ran a couple PRS style matches way back in the day. Never shot SF&G but I’ve been to the range. Beautiful facility.
 
So I had one round not fire from each box. One round locked up the bolt so I couldn't eject it until I hammered it on the table.
I tried both rounds a second time with both still not firing and still no marks on the primer.

30801.jpg

The first round is brand new out of the box. The next 2 are the ones that didn't fire.
You can see the mark on the second round, plus you can see that they are sitting lower in the shell.
Those are within the first 80 rounds of the rifle's life. There will be more shooting.

You can see the quality isn't very consistent, but they are low weight varmint rounds so whatever.
30802.jpg



RC
 
Remote Camper said:
So I had one round not fire from each box. One round locked up the bolt so I couldn't eject it until I hammered it on the table.
I tried both rounds a second time with both still not firing and still no marks on the primer.

30801.jpg

The first round is brand new out of the box. The next 2 are the ones that didn't fire.
You can see the mark on the second round, plus you can see that they are sitting lower in the shell.
Those are within the first 80 rounds of the rifle's life. There will be more shooting.

You can see the quality isn't very consistent, but they are low weight varmint rounds so whatever.

RC
Click to expand...
Those rounds look WACK
 
Remote Camper said:
So I had one round not fire from each box. One round locked up the bolt so I couldn't eject it until I hammered it on the table.
I tried both rounds a second time with both still not firing and still no marks on the primer.

30801.jpg

The first round is brand new out of the box. The next 2 are the ones that didn't fire.
You can see the mark on the second round, plus you can see that they are sitting lower in the shell.
Those are within the first 80 rounds of the rifle's life. There will be more shooting.

You can see the quality isn't very consistent, but they are low weight varmint rounds so whatever.
30802.jpg



RC
Click to expand...
Pics of the primers?

They look bulk packed. Not a good thing.
 
They are Federal.. So not remotely a quality round.
I won't even shoot Federal .22 because they are crap.
But these are cheap and the rifle needs rounds through it.
I only have a 100yrad range, but its nice to hit bottles at that range (3/8" AR500 steel in the shape of bottles, life size).
But yeah I know it should be hitting that with no problem. I'll move to 12ga shells later.

There is literally nothing on the primer.


RC
 

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