Some ?'s for our AR shooters

[Skinny Shooter]

What ammo have you found to be accurate in your AR?
I was looking at Hornady's TAP and thought I'd give it a try.
That ammo looks like their Vmax bullet.

Anyone with a 1in9 twist? Have you tried bullet weights up to 70grs?

I have a Bushmaster 20" postban with carry handle. Any suggestions on an asking price if I sell it?

Would like a varminter-style gun instead. Doesn't matter if its RRA or Bushie.

Maybe I should keep it and buy a new varmint upper, new trigger and some other mods and install them myself.

Should I be concerned with upper to lower fit if I buy an upper?

Some guns are tight, some wiggle a bit. Does that really affect accuracy? The Bushmaster Predator and Varminter are both tight guns as they come from the factory.

thanks,
Allen

[Catfish]

Skinny,
I bought a heavy barrel varminter, a RR, and while being a tack driver, it was just to heavy to carry around, 16 1/2 lbs. without ammo. I picked up anothe flat top upper, lite weight RR, took the frount sight off and put on a 3 x 9 Leupold. Ideal carry gun for coyote hunting with dogs or for any carry situation. I bought some of the cheapest 55 gn. bullets I could find and, not knowing what I had, I loaded 5 rounds with a mid range charge. I took them out and shot a .700 group at 100 yrds. Not a bench gun group, but this ammo is for coyotes when shots will be off hand and usually at running targets, so I never went any farther with load development.
This is the only AR I have ever owned, but I do know afew guy that are really into them and the consences of oppenion seem to be you can beat RR, but Bushmaster and DPMS are both righ there trying.
My lower had a super trigger for a hunting AR so I did not want to let it go. I would let the heavy upper go, but not cheap as it would make a great PD rig. If your happy with your lower just get another upper. If not just get another gun. Do alittle looking, there are some AR that look more like varmint rifles than military gun. ;) and shoot like them too.

[Rottweiler]

I have AR uppers with 1 in 7 and 1 in 8 twist. They do fine with 77 grain match bullets. They will outshoot me. Your 1 in 9 would probably be at it's limits with 70 grainers. Best advice I can give there is is try a few.

How many rounds has that upper seen? I'd say about 350.00 would be a fair price unless it's seen over 1000 rounds, then start lowering the price.

As long as the parts are milspec(rare to find some that aren't) any upper should fit any lower EXCEPT colt They use a different sized front pin which requires either an offset pin or a reverse offset pin depending on which part is colt and which one isn't.

Wiggle? are you talking about play between upper and lower? Don't matter. LOTS of discussion has been over this and been proven that play between these two parts has nothing to do with accuracy. The guys who make the "accuwedge" or whatever it is called (a little piece of rubber meant to hold them together tightly) are the firearm equivalent of a snake oil salesman.

[Skinny Shooter]

Catfish, I held a DPMS "super varmint" with scope at cabela's and that thing was a beast for weight. I believe the barrel was a fiull inch at the muzzle. I don't mind carrying around a heavy varmint bolt gun with scope and bipod and have been known to carry two in different calibers but that AR was heavy... :eek:
It may have been a package for Cabela's cause I couldn't find it on the DPMS site. It reminded me of this one: http://www.stagarms.com/rightrifles.htm

Rottweiler, I have a buyer who is interested in giving me $500 for the entire gun and the round count is under a thousand. A cantilevered forward mount and reddot mount along with tactical sling are included.
Good to know about the play between the upper and lower.

Remmy has the new (Bushmaster) R15 but it has a slow twist. I believe its a 1 in 12.
Bushmaster made their Predator with a 1 in 8 but it has a 20" barrel. Their 24" Varminter has a 1 in 9.

If you had two barrels with a 1 in 8 twist in 20" and 24", would you see a big velocity difference between the two in shooting out to 600 yards or so with heavy bullets?

[Rottweiler]

500 for that entire rifle???

Heck of a deal for the buyer. They are going in the 750 to 1000 range round here for a new one

[Skinny Shooter]

Yeah he is getting a good deal.
The buyer is a good friend and I'll have "visitation rights" if I miss her. :D

[Catfish]

Skinny,
Your correct when you say heavy. My RR with the varmint upper is just over 16 lbs. brfore I put the clip in it. Now you know why I bought the lite weight upper. I`ve never worked with eather upper to see how accurate they are, but when I bought 2,000 of the Mid-South super cheap bullets I loaded 5 rounds with a mind range load of AA 2230-C and seated the bullets out as far as I could and still get them to feed well through the clip. The first 5 round went in at .700 at 100 yrds. and since these rounds are for coyote hunting with dog and most shot will be off hand and at running targets I figured that was good enough and never worked up a load.

[Skinny Shooter]

Catfish, talked with these folks the other day http://www.ar15sales.com/rracomp.htm who are stocking dealers for RRA.
From what they are saying, AR platforms are going out as soon as they come in. Orders are taking up to 9 weeks. Their belief is that the election is causing it.
As we get into summer and then fall, there may be a rush on black rifles and prices may skyrocket.
I definitely will be using my economic stimulus "government handout" to stimulate the balance sheet of an American AR builder.

[skeet]

Have been helping a uy build these rifles and the parts are getting harder to get all the time. Actually not harder but there are some real delays. Mostly getting parts from one of the major makers It costs less than 700 bucks to make one of them from parts. Some of the companies are just doing a little price gouging now.

[Catfish]

Skinny,
I think that if you get an standard RR flat top it will be what your looking for and you`ll be happy with the accuracy. The only think you might want to change would be the trigger. Mine is supposed to have a better trigger since it was put out as the varminter, but I reall y don`t know the difference, all I knoe is I like the trigger for off hand shooting better than those on my bolt gun, which are about all to lite for an off rifle.

[Skinny Shooter]

Originally posted by Catfish
Skinny,
I think that if you get an standard RR flat top it will be what your looking for and you`ll be happy with the accuracy.

Too late... I ordered a RRA 24" A4 Varmint. My Bushie post-ban sold yesterday. I've got the lighter rifle set-up already covered too. ;)
Now if only Pa would legalize semi's for varmints/predators. I wouldn't care if there was a two round limit in the mag. Problem is, when the orange army hits the woods in November they don't instill confidence when you hear the pumps and lever guns being emptied on running deer...
:rolleyes:

[fabsroman]

Skinny,

How did you go about ordering the RR 24" Varminter? That is the exact rifle that I am looking at right now, but I have no idea where to get it in my area (i.e., anti-gun Montgomery County, Maryland), or at least where to get it at a decent price.

Is it possible to buy RR guns through a FFL, or does it have to be a dealer?

[Skinny Shooter]

Hi Skeet. I plan on putting one together maybe over summer but right now I don't have the time. Wanted to make sure I have a complete rifle now. Fun stuff comes later.

Hi Fabs, was hoping you'd be reading this. I went with these guys: http://www.ar15sales.com/index.htm
They will only ship to an FFL and arranged for a local gunshop to receive the rifle. I'll undergo the normal paperwork and background check at that time and off I go.
Go to the "Ordering" page and look down on the right side of the page for "Check FFL's on file". There are 12 who already have copies of their FFL on file with them.
You can use one that isn't listed, you'll just have to get that FFL to fax them a copy of their license.

That A4 24" is going to be heavy after scope and mounts are added but imagine shooting at 600 yards or more and the rifle hardly moving when you drop the hammer. :cool:

[Catfish]

Fabs,
With the 24 in. varmint barrel your gun will weight in at just over 10 lbs. and be extreemly nose heavy. If you put the 6 lb. weight in the stock it will ballance alot better, but then your over 16 lbs. They will shoot with most of the off the shelf bolt varmint rifles though. Heck my lite upper will shoot with most of the off the shelf varmint rifles.

[Skinny Shooter]

Catfish, did you try shooting off a bipod? If so, how did it handle?
Mine will have a Harris installed and was only planning to shoot from prone or sitting/kneeling, etc.

[Catfish]

Skinny,
It is just like any other heavy varmint rifle. Great, as long as you don`t have to carry it around. It would make a great PD rifle if you get into a place where you could just keep shooting. :D

[Ridge Runner]

order it in halves, order the upper sent to your house and have your ffl order a NM lower, saves ya 12%. adco is a good place to order, prices are really reasonable.
Skinny now ya need a wssm upper so's ya can deer hunt with your black rifle. you did get the 8 twist didn't ya? try ultramax reman ammo, it shoots in the .2's pretty often from my 24" 8 twist RRA varminter.
RR

[Skinny Shooter]

Its here. :p
Picked up the rifle last night at the Big C on the hill.
Not too bad weight-wise and am pleased with the green furniture and bead blasted SS barrel.
Am now saving up points for a 4.5-14 or 6.5-20 Leupold.

Ridge Runner I did get the 8 twist. Can't hunt yet with semi's in this state but I think its inevitable.
Looking to try some heavy bullets at distance and need to get educated on loading for an auto.

And of course this rifle won't get blooded till I can get to another state that allows semi's... ;)
Heard Maryland allows them, hmmm.

Sure glad I ordered it when I did. Wait times are now about 12 weeks.

[Ridge Runner]

congrats skinny, your varminter is chambered in 223 wylde, its a generously cut 223 chamber with .619 leade, so it'll run anything from 50-80 grains and you don't need small base dies, they may work fine just neck sizing, it'll really shine single fed with 75 gr a-max loaded to the max. mine shoots ultr-max reman 55 gr sp's very well.
try the BH's 69 gr smk, they work well in most wylde's.
RR