AR-15; AR-10 Recommendations

[fabsroman]

Okay, I think I finally have this figured out for the most part because I received an e-mail response from Dedicated Technologies. I am going to get the Rock River Arms lower, the V-Tac hand guard, and an upper from Dedicated Tech in .223 WSSM. He doesn't recommend using any other gas block other than the one provided because the WSSM round creates additional heat that the standard gas blocks cannot handle. He is willing to charge me the difference between the standard hand guard and the V-Tac.

Next set of questions.

What trigger should I get for my lowers? Should I send the lowers to JP and have them put their single stage trigger in the lowers, or should I just buy an aftermarket trigger and install it myself. If I should buy an aftermarket trigger and install it myself, what are your recommendation for an after market trigger.

To have an upper built for my lower, do I have to send my lower to Dedicated Technologies, or any other place that would build an upper for me?

[Ridge Runner]

All my AR's have RRA nat. match triggers in them, I like them ok, but most of the guru's swear by jewel, though I've never tried one.
Are you looking for a single or 2 stage trigger?
RR

[Lycanthrope]

You don't have to send your lower anywhere. The upper can be mailed to your house and you can pin it on in 45 seconds.

The lower parts in both rifles are pretty simple. Self installation of a trigger should be no problem (including the JP). Trigger selection is a matter of preference. I'm used to two stage triggers from shooting 1911 style pistols so I can make follow shots as fast as my single stage guns. Many traditional rifle shooters prefer the single stange. The advantage of the two stage is you can a have safer overall pull and stillhave the trigger break in terms of ounces.

I have a Jewell which is adjustable in terms of sear engagement as well as overtravel and first and second stage pull weights. The first stage pull can be adjusted down to 26oz on my rifle. You can go lower, but it gets sloppy in reset. Second stage can be adjusted to a few ounces more or a few pounds. I set mine at about a pound for a complete pull of around 2.5 lbs.

[fabsroman]

I don't know exactly what stage of trigger I want on the gun. I have a single stage Timney on my .300 Win Mag Ruger MKII77 and a two stage on my .220 Swift Ruger MKII77VT, and I like them both. My .270 Rem. 700 also has a single stage trigger. My 10/22 has a two stage trigger from Volquartsen.

I guess I would prefer a two stage trigger and will probably go with Jewell because according to the JP website, the JP trigger is only adjustable to 3.5 lb pull weight.

[fabsroman]

What a dillemma I have. I have been trying to figure out exactly what I want on these guns, and it seems like I want things offered exclusively by certain manufactures. Problem is that not one single manufacturer offers everything I want for the gun and other than Dedicated Technologies, they aren't very quick about returning e-mails.

Then, I showed my wife the new JP CTR-02, and she told me to go ahead and buy the gun if I want it. I love that gun, but the only problem is that it is only chambered in .223 Rem. I was hoping to get something in .223 WSSM or .243 WSSM.

The headache continues.

How did you guys go about getting your guns set up the way you wanted them? How long did it take?

[Lycanthrope]

Listen to yourself man! Pull yourself together! A dilemna over being able to afford a JP!!!! You could buy an AR10 AND a RRA varminter for the price of that gun......both would be inferior to it, but still.........

Stop thinking about the AR as a rifle. Don't search for the perfect "rifle". Search for a perfect platform.

Very few of us have just one. I always have at least three on hand in different configurations.

The JP is the CREAM when it comes to AR's. I am 99.9% sure they are chambered in 5.56 (it matters because you can't shoot 5.56 out of a .223 chambered gun, but you can shoot either out of a 5.56 chambered gun). They are amazing rifles for a first time AR. Absolute racehorses. Stick with the 5.56/.223 and learn the platform. Ammo is extremely cheap and you'll shoot thousands of rounds versus hundreds of a larger caliber. Not to mention that the larger calibers can be magazine finicky and are generally more expensive to feed. 5.56 pressures are nothing to sneeze at and your barrel is going to last a lot longer....and be cheaper to replace when you need to. All in all, do you want a higher risk of aggravation in trade for a larger ball for your first rifle? Exactly how often do you need that extra 600-700 fps of the WSSM? Is it worth losing capacity? Cost? Get to understanding the gun before you go wildcatting and ruining your taste for evil black rifles.

After you've shot 2000 rounds through that JP, THEN make a decision for another upper if you still want one to hunt large game with........I wager you'll just spend that extra grand on an ACOG.

[fabsroman]

Okay, I think I am going to pull the trigger, pun intended, on a JP CTR-02 and the DPMS .300 RSAUM. Like my wife said, all the hours I have spent debating all this crap was probably enough in billable hours to buy both guns, and I am plenty busy with work right now. In fact, the only time I have had to look over these guns is after midnight, and that has been almost every night for the past two weeks.

I am pretty sure that they are chambered in 5.56 too because they say 2.23/5.56 for their chambering and they have an article on their site about it, or maybe that was Olympic Arms' site. It is all starting to get a little blurry.

Now, what is an ACOG? If this is another gun, I might not even want to know about it. Heck, I might not even want to know about it if it is another mod.

[Lycanthrope]

Originally posted by fabsroman

Now, what is an ACOG? If this is another gun, I might not even want to know about it. Heck, I might not even want to know about it if it is another mod.

Oh my........you're in trouble.

Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight.

Link to ACOGs

[fabsroman]

Okay, I saw that on JP's website. Exactly what does it do? Is the bottom picture the reticle in the scope? If so, what good does that do me on a long range rifle? I could see put one of them on a carbine length rifle, but not a rifle with a 24" barrel that weighs 10+ pounds and is built for 100+ yard work.

[Lycanthrope]

Your JP is a racehorse. You'll be able to watch multiple bullet strikes in the scope. Yeah, you can put a long range scope on her (I'd do that with the .300), but the JP will shine at rapid fire inside 400. It's built for IPSC 3 gun.

Many ACOGS allow BAC (Bindon Aiming Concept) which means the bright internal dot/chevron/reticle (your choice) can be used both eyes open at very short distances and will allow you to align running game quickly. They use tritium and the reticles can be used at night. Optical clarity is excellent and the TA31 I listed has a built in bullet drop compensator for the 5.56. The "5" listed is the 500 yard aiming point.

The Accupoint is the variable power alternative.

http://www.trijicon.com/home.cfm

[fabsroman]

I might be able to afford the Accupoint at a mere $600 to $700. The ACOG is completely insane. It starts in the $1,200 range. Might just get Accupoints for both rifles. This is going to have to wait until tax season is over.