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Posted: 8/26/2015 10:20:01 PM EDT
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I finally finished putting together my AR, it weighs in at 7.2lbs without scope and bipod. I plan to make some changes to get it under 7lbs and I think that is damn light for a 20" barrel. I finally got a chance to take it out to the range, overall it is a very nice shooter and I am very happy with it. 200 rounds and ZERO malfunctions. I believe in the right hands it would shoot under 1 MOA but I personally have some work to do. I could group within 1 inch at 50 yards but out at 100 yards I was only able to shoot around 5-6 MOA (those numbers don’t add up), but I was also shooting 55gr Orca factory reloads, that might have had something to do with it. Next time I'm going to get some 77gr match ammo and see if the grouping gets tighter.
[Here is a list of parts Lower Receiver - Anderson's Manufacturing Lower, Muli caliber (2 thumbs up) - PSA MOE LPK Cal Legal (2 thumbs up) - ATI Strikeforce stock and buffer tube kit (1 thumbs up on the buffer, tube and spring. 1 thumb down for the stock) - Magpul 10 round PMag (2 thumbs up, can’t beat the PMag) Upper Receiver - Anderson's Sport NOFA (1 thumb down) - Green Mountain 20" fluted .223 wylde barrel (2 thumbs way up and a high 5) - Rouch gas block, tube and muzzle break (1 thumb up for the break and tube, 1 thumb down for the block) - ALG defense 13" EMR V1 (2 thumbs way up and a high 5) - Wilson Combat BCG (2 thumbs up) - Spikes Tactical Aluminum Charging Handle (only 1 thumb up) Accessories - Bushnell Elite 3200 10x44 (unsure, need for bench time. For now one thumb up) - Cheap ass amazon purchase scope rings (2 thumbs up, these were surprisingly nice quality) - Caldwell 3"-6" bripod (2 thumbs up) ***see below for my review/opinion of the different pieces*** |
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Upgrades I plan to make
- PA reflex sight, 45 deg. offset scope mounted - undecided on the CQ sights - YHM EZ pivot pins - V7 Lightweight titanium EZ pull pins in the mail. - MAS Lightweight gas block (not happy with this, plan to upgrade to V7 titanium block) - Lightweight bolt carrier (haven’t found one I like yet) - V7 again - MFT Minimalist stock - just got, love it. - RRA 2 stage varmint trigger, 3.5lbs (I like the one I have but want something lighter and want to try a 2 stage, these sell around $80) - just upgraded the springs to 3.5lb pull - Upper receiver swap: NOFA Aero Precision - Extended charging handle latch, go the MAS G2. Great latch. -_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Lower receiver - Everything fit well, finish is so-so but you can get these for less than $50 online, very much worth the money. I would say purchase one with the intent of recoating it and you would be on par with anything in the $100 range. The finish would not hold up well in a situation where the gun would be abused but for range use it is fine. LPK - I love the trigger, it doesn’t feel like Mil-spec, maybe like a Mil-spes with some work done to it. There is very little creep, not noticeable while shooting, with a crisp break, so clean the follow through is all natural. It feels very close to 5lbs if not spot on, I need to get a gage and check it (I hear PSA uses the ALG advanced triggers, not 100% on that though). I would purchase the LPK again for sure. All the other parts, well, they are mil-spec and installed with no issue. **see more below** |
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Stock/tube/buffer/spring - The buffer, tube and spring all fit well and function 100% and I would purchase an ATI buffer tube kit again but I am not that impress with the stock. It wiggles a little on the tube and you can visually see where the inside has been shaved by the factory. Whether they are all like this or this should have been sold as a blem, I am not sure. While shooting it doesn’t move around enough to notice but it bother me. I thought I would end up using the check rest but it is too high even with high rings. It looks cool and might come in handy for some applications but not this one. I plan to replace the stock with a Minimalist stock soon.
Upper receiver - While I like the AM Lower, despite its mediocre coating and still recommending it for $50, I am not too impressed with the upper. It does the job and for the price they are good (paid $35, non blem) but I might recommend you pay a little more for something higher quality. The upper and lower wiggle and believe the upper out to be of spec. I have one of those rubber plugs and it helps but you still feel it a little, not enough to notice during shooting but it’s there. It could also be the lower or the pivot pins but I suspect the upper to be at fault and might swap it for another slick side (I want the slick side for better balance in the SPR). I’m going to swap the pins first since I was a set of YHM EZ pull pins anyway, if that doesn’t fix it bye-bye AM upper NOFA. The barrel is great,…………….. great, great, great, great. I will probably always purchase from GM and there is no good reason not to unless they don’t have the configuration one is looking for. **more below** |
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Forend/handguard - The ALG EMRs are light, rugged and good looking (I am presuming they are all as good as the V1). I got many compliments on it when I was at the range. The coating is extremely scratch resistant, I hit it a few times with screw drivers and hex keys and never marred a bit. There is no flex and I had it installed in about 15 minutes. The M-lock system is solid, you can mount the additional rails almost anywhere and there is a spot near the upper for a quick detach sling swivel on both sides. ALG makes great products (not a sales person, but I could be) and I highly recommend one of the EMRs if it fits your build because they are priced like nothing in the same class, I would say they are as good as the Giselle Geissele counter parts but for 1/3 the cost in some cases.
BCG - This is a solid, basic, mil-spec Bold Carrier Group. My only complaint is it feels heavy to me, more so than normal, but that could just be me. However, function wise it never failed in any way and it feels solid so the weight might be a good thing. I plan to replace the carrier with a light weight carrier to save a weight but will probably use the left over parts on my 300BLK upper that is next. Charging - The charging handle, well, I think this might be the first part to need replacing down the road but it is working fine for now. I intend to change the latch to an extended one since the scope gets in the way at times. **more** |
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Gas block/Tube - The gas block works just fine but the coating is horrid and since it protrudes from my ENR V1 it was an eyesore, until I painted it with engine paint but I still want to replace it (I was just running out of funds for the build) . Also, the pin was difficult to put in and it mushroomed on me. I plan to replace it with a Light weight MAS steel block or possibly an aluminum block. The gas tube, well it works and look just like every other tube.
Compensator - For the price and what it is the compensator is great. The coating is solid and scratch proof and it seems to help with the recoil quite a bit without making excessive noise out the side. I would say this one hangs with the $75 crowd and would buy another. Bipod - For a $30 bipod on a .223 it worked just fine. I could see it for 300BLK or 7.62x39 but not sure I would use it on a .308 or larger. I wouldn’t gloat about it but there was nothing wrong with it. The screw seems to come lose when I am transporting or tuning things at home but at the range it stayed put. And adjustment is no issue at all. I would like to have something with more height positions but for the price, well you know the rest. **more** |
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Scope - I decided to go with a 10x fixed and not an AO scope for simplicity reasons (I think the AO are just hype and tacticool. You can accomplish the same thing with a fixed scope and reflex sight). I plan on adding a PA reflex sight soon. Now for the lowdown; unfortunately I am not as impressed with this Bushnell as I thought I would be. It’s possible it got over hyped on the internet and my expectations were too high. The mil/mil setup is very nice and the nobs are great, oversized for easy tuning, repeatable, the reticle is clean and easy to use, eye relief is so-so, but I was hoping for better quality glass. Another guy at the range had a SWFA he said he paid a little over $300 for and there was a very noticeable difference in glass quality, I think his would stand up against some $800 scopes. I wish I had spent the extra $$ and got that SWFA he had although I forgot the model, probably was a super sniper. I might upgrade for this AR at some point and use the Bushnell on something else. I think for the money it is a good scope and I don’t regret the purchase and don’t want to get rid of it, but the glass quality is just not there for what I want on this gun. I need to spend some more time at the range before I can give this a thumbs up or down.
One thing I have noticed is my eye sight is not what it used to be so some of the issue might be my eyes. But I tell you, putting my Bushnell up against that SWFA, wow that was a nice scope. **more** |
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Nice stick!
How do you like the green mountain barrel? i love the AlG EMR, especially now they have the V3, they are awesome and always have a super tight lockup. I noticed on some of my other longer FF tubes from Midwest industries i get a bit of flex(witch is the tube essentially bending and then it snaps back and is normal) but with the EMR i get none. |
| 5-6 MOA points to possibly a loose mount/sight, really really bad ammo (wolf gold shoots 1.5MOA in my SPR which shoots 0.75MOA with my reloads). With glass and a reasonable trigger I dont think most people with average hand/eye coordination should shoot a 6 MOA with that build. Addendum because that could be read as snarky - Which to me points to a mechanical issue. |
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The Barrel is great, my favorite part of the gun next to the EMR. I plan on purchasing their GM-M27 16" 300 BLACKOUT next and want to get the EMR V3 for that build since I am going with a red dot and diamond BUS. I went with GM because everyone who owned a barrel from them raved about it and I have to agree, these are the same quality as some much more expensive barrels. The nice thing is, if you get one and feel it's not shooting well, you can return it and they will send you a new one of the same model. I think this is based on the fact that no 2 barrels are the same and they realize sometime you just get a dud. I wish they made LR308 barrels. Someone had a DMPS .308 next to me and it was pretty sweet but I felt the barrel was lacking constancy.
As for the EMR, I have not seen any flex at all. It doesn't budge when I shoot and if I put weight on it there is a little flex in the receiver but I cannot get the handguard to flex at all. It's surprising how ridged it is. I am sending the Bushnell back. Not only can I not get it to focus 100% (it will only focus like 96% and It's not my eyes, I had someone else try and they agree) but there is also horrible, HORIBLE, parallax error and I believe this is the main reason I was shooting such bad groups. I can move the reticle off target 2 inches up and 2 inches to the right at 100 yards just by moving my head a little, unacceptable. I am going to step up $100 and get an SWFA Classic. For now I have a $30 BSA red dot that I will do the trick (for $30 I love my BSA). - Stay cool 
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| Tophatman - No offence taken. I agree, mechanical issue. I believe it's the scope (bad parallax error), hence why I am returning it. I will update once I get the SWFA and hit the range. I might even go sooner and just use the red dot. (shown in the post with pictures, second picture down.). I should have been hitting under 2 MOA. After I upgrade the trigger and figure out the best match ammo for this gun, there is no reason I shouldn't be shooting sub MOA. I can shoot 1.5 MOA with my Marlin 795 and I only have a $60 Simmons 4x on that gun. (plinkers are fun) |
| So I sent back the Bushnell. After posting I took another look through the scope and the parallax error was just unlivable, there was also noticeable chromatic distortion, I could not get it to focus on target 100% and the eye relief was frustrating (you can see how far back I had the scope). I could live with one of those issues but the first 3 lead me to believe the scope was not tuned properly at the factory or they are just not that great of a scope. Thursday I will be purchasing an SWFA 12x42 Classic mil/mil. $100 more but worth the money. |
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I'm a bit surprised, frankly by your experience with the optics. Do you have astigmatism and if so do you wear corrective lenses when you shoot?
Were the effects you saw a 'second edge' or just blurry and the same color as the target object? Regarding the upper can you give any more details as to the issue? What do you suspect is out of spec? Do you still have problems with the pins? A bit of wobble (as I'm sure you know) can be in just about anyone's AR-15. It may just be me but I see more blame on this towards the upper than the lower or a combination of the two. Strange since mechanically they're all involved in the fit. |
| My eye site is fine. No corrective lenses or any other sight issues. I even had a friend look through with good eye sight and he agreed. When I was looking through my neighbors SWFA it was 100% clear and there was no parallax error, then I looked in my scope and it was obvious which was the better choice. I think the front lens needed to be focused but they had glued it in and I didn't want to mess with it because it might have made it more difficult to return. I am still having the issue with the upper wiggling but it is pretty minor. I have heard others having the same issue and still be able to shoot sub MOA. The wiggle only happens if I intentionally make it happen and is barley noticeable, I am just being a snob. When I am lining up for a shot the upper stays in position and I don't think it is a factor in the poor groups. The chromatic distortion is a red tint usually in the upper right corner but sometime in other plain of the scope. This would be livable but the parallax error and poor eye relief were unbearable. I mean really bad, the worst I have ever seen. The $60 Simmons 4x I have on my 22LR doesn't have any parallax error and will focus 100%, not as bright though. I just ordered the SWFA 12x42 classic, I will keep you updated. |
| Got the SWFA in the mail yesterday. This glass is so nice. I do think the turrets were nicer on the Bushnell and I liked the thickness of the reticle more also but over all the SS is a much nicer scope compared to the Elite 3200. I think if the Elite 3200 had a focus/parallax adjustment it would be a better competitor for the SS but the glass quality and the over all construction on the SS is miles above, IMO. |
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I'm going this weekend. Life has been holding me back.
I made a few other upgrades. - Wolff trigger spring kit - Big improvement. Best $10 I ever spent. - Aero Precision Ultralight Scope mount - This mount is like a piece of art work. - MAS G2 Charging Handle Latch - Nice latch. Now I need a better CH. - MAS Lightweight Steel Gas Block - Sorry to say, steel and light weight don't belong in the same sentence (unless the word carbon is used somewhere). The block is not noticeably lighter than the one I had before. It's just an average steel block with holes cut in the sides. The coating could be better. The block is fine for $25 but it doesn't suit this rig, I plan to upgrade to a titanium block from 2A Armament. I'm also going to get one of their titanium flash hiders. I will let you know my thoughts on the scope Monday, but so far I like it a lot. |
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