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Posted: 12/30/2013 10:04:31 PM EDT
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Picked up my Christmas present at the LGS on the 27th. Figured I'd get one more long gun in before the ridiculous long gun registration deadline. Made changes to it immediately after getting it home with the parts I had ordered while waiting for the ten day wait to pass by. Replaced the stock with a Magpul UBR, grip with a Ergo Ambidextrious Deluxe grip, buffer and buffer spring with one of Slash's heavy buffer (CAR10) and spring, handguards with and Apex 9.18" free float, and adjustable gas block from SLR. Scope is a Bushnell 3-12x44 Illum MilDot Matte 30mm Elite Riflescope FFP, and bipod is from GG&G. I shot it on Friday before adding the free float tube, and was pretty dissapointed in the groupings I was getting at 100 yds. Had close to a 5" spread. When replacing the hand guards with the free float today, I noticed that I was able to turn the barrel nut with my hands. I torqued it down after I saw that, so hopefully when I test fire it again this Thursday, I will be closer to 1MOA.....
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5486/11658163893_228892d16b_b.jpg |
| That's a great looking rifle and I really like your upgrades! I'm sure you'll see a big improvement in your groups after tightening the barrel nut. (Nice catch BTW) I've got a DPMS LR308B (18" heavy bbl. w/ freefloat forearm) that shoots MOA all day with Federal match ammo and my handloads using H335 and 150 Gr. FMJBTs. |
| Yeah, I was doing a lot of research on this particular platform, and for the most part, the comments were all pretty good. Majority made claims of 1MOA or better. I did read one complaint about the flash suppressor being loose. I guess I just got the one that made it passed their quality control without a proper check. I'm glad I had planned to swap out the handguards with the free float or I might have gone through months of frustration with hand loads or even scope replacements. I certainly didn't expect the barrel nut to be loose coming straight from the factory. I'll know for sure in a couple of days how well this thing actually shoots and post up the results. |
| Decided to wait until my order for a DPMS Claw comes in. Though I did tighten the barrel nut, it still is nowhere near as tight as it needs be. Figured I'd wait till I had the proper tools and get it torqued to 70-80ft/lbs. It will be at least another week before I get to test this out now. |
| Finally torqued down the barrel nut today. Torqued it down to 70 ft/lbs. Seems like the general consensus seems to be anywhere from 30-70 ft/lbs. I didn't have to worry about any alignment of any holes for the gas tube since the gas tube sits just above the barrel nut instead of passing through as I'm used to seeing. Hopefully test it out this Thursday after work... |
Sorry it took so long updating this post, But I did finally get a change to get out and shoot. Acceptable, but I believe still quite a bit left for improvement. Now I just need to develop a load that it likes....
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2823/12020739465_3523ba7578_z.jpg |
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It will take a bit of time for the barrel to settle in. I made the mistake of letting my gunsmith assemble an upper for me recently and had the exact same issue you did. Quadruple torquing the barrel nut and then letting all of the new parts settle in with some juducious shooing now has me at 1 MOA and improving. I am running a White Oak barrel and a Geissle SSA-E trigger. |
| Hopefully that is the case. I did notice afterwards, that my parallax was a little off. Seems the markings on the side focus are not quite calibrated. That could possibly account for the larger groupings. I'll be going out to the range again this Thursday, weather permitting, and see if I can adjust the side focus to remove the parallax errors. I'll use a lead sled to eliminate any errors I might introduce and see if that helps. |
Weather has been pretty ugly especially this last Thursday. I usually hit the range on the way home from work on Thursdays, since I get off at 3:00PM and the range stays open until 6:00PM in the winter. Guess I'll have to wait until this coming Thurday to try out my new test loads. I have replaced the SLR adjustable gas block, not because I was not satisfied with it's performance, but because it just didn't look good on this rifle unless it had a longer free float that covered it. I replaced it with one made by JP because it had a longer lenght which covered the bands on the barrel along with the holes in the barrel from where the original gas block was pinned. I also changed out the trigger guard with a PHASE 5 Tactical Winter Trigger Guard. I'm done doing any other modifications to this rifle for now. Hopefully I'll find a good load to shoot in this thing or else I will be replacing the barrel next..... 
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3822/12400696475_5abc99aabe_b.jpg |
| I have been sitting in single digit temps, light disappearing at 5, and lots and lots of snow. I have an 18" hunter I am jonesing to shoot. I am going to start mine out with ppu 147 gr I got a deal on, then see how 168 Gold Medal Match go through it. I want to work up a load using 165 sgk pills. 5-600 yd shots will rarely be taken, mostly 300 and in for me. |
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I have shot some Lake City 149gr FMJ bulk ammo, and some Federal factory loads. I very rarely shoot factory loads in any of my firearms since I reload. I'm confident that I'll get things sorted out soon. I had a Tikka 223 bolt gun that was shooting 1.5 MOA when I first got it. After some experimentation with different bullets and powders, I got it down to .38MOA. I bought the bulk Lake City ammo primarily for the brass and the fact that I wanted to shoot the rifle the same day I picked it up.
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Quoted:
Picked up my Christmas present at the LGS on the 27th. Figured I'd get one more long gun in before the ridiculous long gun registration deadline. Made changes to it immediately after getting it home with the parts I had ordered while waiting for the ten day wait to pass by. Replaced the stock with a Magpul UBR, grip with a Ergo Ambidextrious Deluxe grip, buffer and buffer spring with one of Slash's heavy buffer (CAR10) and spring, handguards with and Apex 9.18" free float, and adjustable gas block from SLR. Scope is a Bushnell 3-12x44 Illum MilDot Matte 30mm Elite Riflescope FFP, and bipod is from GG&G. I shot it on Friday before adding the free float tube, and was pretty dissapointed in the groupings I was getting at 100 yds. Had close to a 5" spread. When replacing the hand guards with the free float today, I noticed that I was able to turn the barrel nut with my hands. I torqued it down after I saw that, so hopefully when I test fire it again this Thursday, I will be closer to 1MOA..... http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5486/11658163893_228892d16b_b.jpg yeah, a loose nut will result in big groups. hey, is that an apex hand guard? standard? |
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OP, how do you like the scope that you put on it and why did you choose this one? I have an older Bushmaster BAR10 an I am not happy with the scope that is currently on it. The dog gone thing is 17" long and just looks out of place. I have been looking at a Leupold VX6, 3x18x44. I am just not sure that I am at the point that I can put out $1100 for a scope.
With my BAR10, using Sierra 165 SBT, my hunting load, I am getting 5 shots in about 1" at 100 yards. While some may not consider tis a good grouping, it is good enough for the hunting that I use it for. |
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OP, how do you like the scope that you put on it and why did you choose this one? I have an older Bushmaster BAR10 an I am not happy with the scope that is currently on it. The dog gone thing is 17" long and just looks out of place. I have been looking at a Leupold VX6, 3x18x44. I am just not sure that I am at the point that I can put out $1100 for a scope. With my BAR10, using Sierra 165 SBT, my hunting load, I am getting 5 shots in about 1" at 100 yards. While some may not consider tis a good grouping, it is good enough for the hunting that I use it for. I was a little disappointed that the side focus markings are not calibrated for the distances that it is marked. I had set the side focus to 100 yards while at the range, but I had suspicions that maybe the larger groupings may have been due to parallax error. After I got home, I put the rifle in a vise and using my range finder, picked out a target at the 100 yard range. I set the side focus to 100 yards and looked through the scope at the target and moved my head around. The reticle was moving all over the place. I then adjusted the side focus for the clearest image and moved my head while looking through the scope. I continued adjustng the side focus to where when moving my head around, the reticle stayed on target. When I looked at the markings for the side focus, it was sitting at 65 yards. Hopefully that is the only problem with the scope. I choose this scope for two reasons. The first was financial and this was a scope I was able to afford at the time. The second was a few online reviews that I found for this scope which were all quite favorable. We are supposed to have clear weather this Thursday, so hopefully I'll have a chance to fire off some more test loads. |
| I turned my bushmaster moe version into essentially exactly what you built except I have a troy handgaurd and a benny cooly brake on it...I have been shooting solid MOA groups since day one with match ammo, and about your results in the second post with mil surp. I sweart this gun is completely different when I added slashes car-10 plus the benny cooly brake. I love the gun, but its been gone for a while now getting a custom cerakote job from red creek tactical. cant wait to see her again! |
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Quoted:
I turned my bushmaster moe version into essentially exactly what you built except I have a troy handgaurd and a benny cooly brake on it...I have been shooting solid MOA groups since day one with match ammo, and about your results in the second post with mil surp. I sweart this gun is completely different when I added slashes car-10 plus the benny cooly brake. I love the gun, but its been gone for a while now getting a custom cerakote job from red creek tactical. cant wait to see her again! After reading this, I did some research and read some reviews on the Bennie Cooley Brake. You just made me spend some money that I hadn't planned on spending.... Went and ordered the brake and a crush washer from Brownell's just before coming back on here...
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