I built this, my 1st AR, at Christmas and finally got a chance to shoot it today. Couldn’t shoot it sooner due to lots of hours at work, plus extra Army NG training, but that ended a few days earlier than expected.
So, I headed to the range with the only 40 rds I had on hand to get an initial zero and see how it functions. Sorry, this will be a crappy report with no pics since it was totally a last minute thing.
The ammo was stamped Federal .223 and given to me in a plastic bag by a friend who was moving to Hawaii. I assume it is 55gr American Eagle. I’m getting ready to order a bunch of my own ammo soon.
The rifle functioned perfectly with the lighter loads. It has the H2 buffer that came with the upper installed. Recoil was a lot lighter than my issue M4 and sight recovery faster.
I got the barrel hot enough that I couldn’t hold it, but the bolt was cold to the touch, ambient temp about 50 degrees. Granted, 40 rds ain’t much, but there was no residue on my finger when I rubbed it in the receiver and on the BCG, just clean CLP.
The lip of the receiver extension has minor finish wear where the back of the BCG makes contact. I don’t anticipate any problems due to tilt, I’ll watch it carefully.
All I can say after 40 rds of lower power than NATO 5.56 ammo is: a) I put it together properly. b) no initial issues at all with the LMT MRP Piston, it ran without a hint of any problems and c) the thing runs very clean and cool.
I’ll post a proper range report if and when I get a good chance to wring it out before my deployment.