Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles AR-15

What a shock! I stayed away from those military types for years. Finally looked at an AR-15 Colt Match Competition HBAR II. Handles and shoots like nothing I ever touched before. Jury still out on 223 adequacy for coyotes running through this Sonoran brush, but it sure is easy to get off fast follow-up shots. I now see why they are used by swat teams and military! So amazed by it that I am looking at AR-10 with uppers in both 243 and 308! Simply amazing weapon! Fun and awesome!<BR>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR><I><B>Critr</B></I><BR> <A HREF="http://www.SaguaroSafaris.com" TARGET=_blank>www.SaguaroSafaris.com</A> <BR>

what kind of groups does it shoot at a 100 yards?

Minute-of-angle-coyote!!!! Actually, most groups ran 1.50 to 2.25 inches. Then I tried Varget with Berger 65-grain HP MEF, and got 3-shot groups in 0.75-inch. That bullet no longer available, but ordered some 64's, which I haven't tried yet.<P>The accuracy won't win any competitions, but don't tell the critters!<BR>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR><I><B>Critr</B></I><BR> <A HREF="http://www.SaguaroSafaris.com" TARGET=_blank>www.SaguaroSafaris.com</A>

I too have a colt HBAR, I too did not much care for the military type of weapons. Had no real reason to own one. I was going to get into competition shooting and picked one up, for the stock class of highpower shooting. That fell through, I moved, got married, etc... I went to CO to do some PD shooting and just thought about using it for PD shooting. While turning the bolt on my ruger I was dreaming of semi auto at 250 yds! Gonna have to try it soon. I get good groups with Hornady SPSX's in 55 gr.

Crit'r,<BR>Hello!<BR>Hey,you missed out for too long!<BR>My partner and I did up a couple of poodleshooters before the last pilgimage to SD on Bushmaster E3's.<BR>Chrome bore designed for full auto fire and adverse conditions...fouls so very little in 500 rounds you can't call it cleaning.<BR>I love the things myself,and have been known to build them now and again,and again,and again.<BR>Your Colt is pretty good out of the box,but might need some tweaks to max it out.<BR>Relax! they are cheap!<BR>get an "accu wedge" to get rid of the receiver slop.They will cost you all of 4 bucks and drop right in,and need relacing every 5 years or so when you feel guilty.<BR>Next,pick up a "Post ban Smith brake",and put it on.Cuts ALL muzzle jump so you can see your impacts.Figure on around $45.00.<BR>Next a good trigger from JP enterprises,and their hammer to compliment it,will drop the pull to a crisp 2lbs,safely, if your 'smith knows his stuff.<BR>Finally,try Sierra 52gr and 53gr Matchkings,and the Sierra Blitzking 55gr bullets,in that order,on top of 25gr H-335 in any case using CCI BR-4 primers.<BR>The throat of your rifle is a bit long,and the use of VLD bullets exxagerates the jump to the lands because of the bullets profile.<BR>The Matchkings have a lesser sloped profile and hit the lands earlier.The same for the Blitzkings.<BR>For Coyote's try the Hornady 60gr V-max seated so they will just clear the Magazine.<BR>I have had great luck with them on our Big Michigan 'yotes,and they do wonders on Big fat woodchucks as well!For these try 25gr of Varget,and the BR-4.<BR>Good accuracy can be had with milsup brass so when they get ejected into the weeds you don't care.<BR>One caveat on the AR-10,they are heavy,expensive and magazines are really expensive!<BR>One more Idea for you.Send me your rifles upper and I will fit a .17 Rem barrel to it,you can still use the magazines and existing bolt and carrier.....or I will convert the rifle to 6mmPPC or 6mmX45(6mm-223) for deer hunting.I have also heard from a fellow 'smith of his conversions to 6.5X39 using the 7.62X39 bolt,and .270X39 using the same bolt.The sky is the limit really,and if you don't like what you have it's only 2 push pins from a new toy.<BR>Gimme a holler if you need any help with any of this fun stuff,be glad to help.<BR>Also,my buddys "Talker" And "Henry J" will soon see this and drive you nuts with their ranting and raving."Big stick" Is also a convert,so you are in good company!<BR>Cheers!<BR>E4E<P>------------------<BR>Life is too short for inaccurate rifles,ugly women,and the webdoofus at shooters.com

Thanks for all the info, E4E. I found the AR-15 used, although I thought it was new until they told me. Looks new. Loved the handling, but what really sold me was when they had me try the trigger. Yeah, JP Enterprises!! And it has a muzzle break on it. Gotta protect the ears while hunting, but can cut down a running coyote rapid fire without losing him in the scope. These old eyes can't focus on iron sights anymore, so I mounted a spare Tasco 24X TS for accuracy testing, and a Redfield multi-reticle red-dot type for hunting. I like the 3-minute dot with the circle around it best. The dot is small enough for foxes, coyotes, or cats at any range I shoot in this country, and the circle makes for fast target acquisition. Awesome! In the quest for accuracy, I put in an AccuWedge, and then got the 0.75-inch groups. That's plenty good for these called-in critters. I seat all bullets I have tried so that they barely clear the mag. And about a year ago I got one of those buckets of mil brass, match prepped them, sorted by weight and case neck thickness variation into several groups. Some of the best are dedicated to my 223 Ackley; I testfire the AR-15 with a group of the good stuff, then hunt with some "rejects", and let 'em lay where they fall! Good to know I am not losing expensive brass. That's a good thought about the bullet ogives; I'll give some stubbier ones a try. I found AR-10s under a grand, but the weight issue still bothers me. Going slow there. I'm studing your other comments. Thanks again for all the info!<BR><P>------------------<BR>----------------------------------------<BR><I><B>Critr</B></I><BR> <A HREF="http://www.SaguaroSafaris.com" TARGET=_blank>www.SaguaroSafaris.com</A>

E4E,<P>Do they make a 'lefty' in the AR-15 type setup? What do you use. I figure I bet get one now while I can, even though I've never had much interest.

Spike,if you build a good one,you will have NOTHING but interest...........

Spike,<BR>Lefty,righty...same,same!<BR>A2 has a deflector.I'll fit the ambi safety for ya or talk ya through it on the phone if you wish.<BR>No biggie to shoot as is.Correct handed neutral at worst.<BR>Talker is a southpaw as well,and if you ask him,bring lunch!<BR>Cheers!<BR>E4E<P>------------------<BR>Life is too short for inaccurate rifles,ugly women,and the webdoofus at shooters.com

Somebody does make a "lefty" upper,but for the life of me,I can't remember who. I have zero experience with it. I have Southpaw buddies,that have zero troubles shooting up my ammo,in my A2's.......

Big Stick,<BR>It's DPMS,but the LH upper is just an ejection port mod.<BR>It's better to stick with the STD.AR upper IMHO.<BR>E4E

Back about 10 years ago I slapped together a CAR-15 with a HEAVY barrel 11.5" special chambered in 6x45 (.223 necked up to .243)It will shoot a 3/4" group at 80 yds with a medium load of 748 and a sierra 85 gr bullet.Not bad for a collapsable stock and a real short barrel.Fun gun to shoot and very accurate,but one of the most tempremental guns i have ever used when used under less than idea (dirty)conditions.~~~~toms<BR>PS:All the AR's have been like that.I've owned about 10 of them.

Just to let you guys know,in May, 2000, I ordered one of Les Baer's "ultimate ar-223" rifles. It may be a good gun, if you ever get one. With a 50% deposit, that is nearly $1000, first promised delivery date was June/July, nope. Then August. nope. Then September. nope. Then November. Nope. Got Les Baer personally on phone and he absolutely promised delivery in first 2 weeks of December. Nope. Called mid January 2001, and the girl said they were now shipping orders from jan/feb 2000. I gave up, asked for, and they immediately sent my money back. This is no way to run a business. It was not the delay, but the continued broken delivery dates. If they had said a year up-front, then I might or might not have ordered, but at least I would have known what I was in for. <P>Currently have a 15 on order from Evolution, should be here in a couple of months. Can't wait. Good Shooting.<p>[This message has been edited by If It Flies It Dies (edited February 05, 2001).]

E4E said if you got me started you better bring lunch. <P>First course, lefty problems. <BR>None. Zip. zilch. Nada. That's a big change from the M-16 A-1 I got to know and love/hate in the army a couple dozen years ago. The safety is on the left and accessable with the trigger finger. same thing for the bole release. No sewat. <P>Second course, Accuracy. <BR>Outstanding, and by bolt gun standards. My Bushmaster will shoot one inch groups with South african military ammo,,,the 55 grain ball loads. It will shoot .75 inch with handloads using GI brass and 55 grain softpoint bullets I bought in bulk. I use 25 grains of H-335 and CCI primers. The bullets are Speers. <P>With match bullets and careful handloads using Varget and BL-C(2) I've gotten groups of .4 to .5 inches and E4E fired a .3 inch group. He's right, despite a 1-9 twist rate, the chamber/throat dimensions favor lighter, pointier bullets. I've had 3/4 inch groups using 40 grain V-Max bullets and one inch with the 35 grain V-Max. Accuracy with that one falls apart after about 150 yards, though. It's just spinning too fast for the sectional density.<P>Third course, reliability. <BR>Mine hasn't had a misfeed or jam since the day I started breaking it in. You can shoot all day and not have fouling problems. I read above where Levergunz had problems. I'd suspect that was more from powder choice than anything inherant in the firearm, although the pressure curve for a super-short barrel is pretty far from the specs the gas system was designed around. I have a couple shooting friends with 16-inch shorties and they don't seem to have any problem. <P>Dessert, tweaks, tunes and experimentation. <BR>You can do most anything you like with the AR. Want to experiment with oddball wildcats like the 6x223? You don't have to get a whole new gun. Just have an upper reciever built and use your existing reciever, trigger group and shoulder stock, known collectively as the lower reciever. You can stay in .223 and have shorter or longer barreled uppers to suit your need. You can have one with a flattop, A-3, configuration and one with a conventional A-2 carry handle and sights. <P>E4E was right...I do get carried away. But my little darlin' is so eager to please she's picked up a rather course nickname simply because any boy who's with her is going to have a good time. I just got a start on what will probably be a long-term project to slowly build her little sister. I'm acquireing the parts a piece at a time. This one will be a 16-inch shorty with an A-1 buttstock that's 5/8 inch shorter than the A-2 and a lighter weight barrel. <P><BR>It's like eating peanuts!And it helps to have a friend like E4E on the other end of the phone to answer quesitons. <P>Talker