I have been hunting, shooting and reloading since I was a kid. I am 59 now. About 6 months ago I broke down and bought my first AR15. This gun has been a lot of fun. I am like a kid with a .22. Nothing special a palmetto arms $750 gun. Put a ectech sight on it and am having a blast.
Well this gun spiked my interest in AR’s began reading a lot and got the fever to try putting one together myself. Want something for the range that is a little more accurate. Spent about the last 2 months putting together the parts list. Parts List did I say. Never knew there were so many small parts. Just found out last night about the safety detent and spring under the grip. Holy Cow!
Anyway here is a list of major parts I picked for the lower. First try so I would like to hear from you guys about my decisions. I really didn’t know all these different AR15 variations have names. Wonder what this one is called. Probably a mutt. Turned out a little heavier than I expected but that will be good off the bench.
CMT billet upper and lower receiver
Geissele SSA-E trigger
vltor A5 receiver extension
Vltor A5 Extension, spring and buffer
Magpul ASC stock
Magpul MOE grip
Now for the upper. I noticed shilen had a barrel that comes with a bolt matched to it. Right up my alley. I had a .222 bench rest rifle built by shilen years ago and that thing shot like a dream. Picked my barrel.
Upper Parts
CMT Billet upper receiver
Shilen 20" match 1 in 8 twist wilde chamber ratchet rifling barrel
Spikes bolt carrier with shilen bolt
Vltor gas block
Raptor charging handle
Precision Reflex 15" Delta forearm
Have it all assembled now! Quite a job for a first timer. Put a Leopold vx-6 2x12 on it for now. I don’t really understand the whole tactical scope thing but I am trying to learn. The scope will go on a rem. 700 that bartlein is rebarreling now. My deer rifle.
Going to the range tomorrow. Have a selection of Ammo to try both .223 and 5.56. Standard 55gr federal 5.56, 62gr lake city 5.56, Black Hills 77gr sierra matchking. Standard 55gr .223, 69gr hornady match, 69 gr Black hills sierra matchking.
My expectations are high. I’ll post pics of the gun and hopefully some good groups tomorrow.
One of the most valuable parts of my recent build experience was really beginning to grasp the genius of Stoner’s design, and how it all goes together. Welcome to the 20" rifle family. That said…
Interesting results at the range. Sorry no pics just too busy. Going back tommorow with a more relaxed attitude. Pics will follow.
shot a lot of different ammo today. From 55 to 77 gr .223 and 5.56. Some of the results surprised me.
One in particular. I thought the black hills 77gr sera matchking would really shine and it performed poorly compared to some others
and the standard federal 55gr 5.56 had almost all groups well within the 1" squares on the targets
gun really didn’t like lake city 62gr. Now when I say that groups were more inconsistent some under an inch some over
now several loads in the 69gr range were great performers
one of the most surprising things to me was the difference in trajectory of these different rounds. Quite a difference at 100 yrds. I am talking several inches
This…it’s a new barrel, so it needs to be broken in before it will settle down to give good groups. I wouldn’t worry too much until after a couple of hundred rounds.
Rascal
If guns kill people, why do people go to prison for the crime…?
Yeap followed shilen break in reccomendations. Cleaned after every shot for 10 shots. Then 10 3 shot groups cleaning between each one. Somewhere in there was a distinct change in fouling. Then 5 shot groups cleaning between each one. 4 hours at the range and i am nackered. My consentration was gone and I was hungry. Giving it a good cleaning now. I am using hope ’ s elite. Didn’t want to use anything real harsh. Should I use one of the copper fouling products?
I think the answer to this depends on what kind of shooting you plan to be doing with it, and what you’re trying to achieve. Rather than try to type a bunch of stuff that maybe gets lost in translation, I’ll just point to “Sniper 101 Part 43” and “Sniper 101 Part 44” on Youtube. Might want to settle in to watch that, it’s long. But good stuff…
Watched the videos. made lots of sense. kind of what i have been thinking but the guy in the videos was a lot more technical
Well i certainly did not use the bench rest break in procedure
and I was reluctant to use sweets and other harsh chemicals
so I am just going to let the copper build up and see what happens
use my hoppe’s elite for now
as for what I am going to use the gun for. Fun! after I get it dialed in I would like to try some long range stuff if I can find a range around here
wish I lived out west with all that open public land. I do visit out there at least once a year and plan to take advantage of it. I love wyoming and montana
Well more interesting developments at the range today. Pics to follow.
Last night when I was cleaning the gun i decided to remove the scope. When I undid the levers on the larue SPR15 removable mount i noticed that the tension on the levers seemed light. Read the directions and tighten up the levers.
This is my first target today with a cold clean barrel. I am not displeased but I think I can do better
After 5 five shot groups and the worsening results I checked the mount again. The front lever was tight but the back one had losened again. I took the mount off, reattached it and shot another 5 shot group . You can see it is another tight one burried in the larger group in the second pic.
Could it be the mount? or is it just the barrel going away as the fouling starts? I didn’t clean at all at the range today.
