Author Topic: range day, 2/21/18 = beautiful day, warm and sunny with a little breeze  (Read 596 times)

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Offline M1A4ME

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Loaded up the stuff and the wife and headed out this morning.  Doctor's office for an INR test (upped the Coumadin again).

Then we headed to the range.

Took the SIG 522 with a brick of freshly purchased Remington Thunderbolts (from Walmart, on sale at just under $22).

Took my wife's 16" barreled AR15 carbine.

Took my 18" barreled AR15 "short rifle."

Took the 9MM AR pistol and some factory ammo (just have not gotten around to loading any 9MM lately.)

Got my wife going on her AR15 (very nice light carbine with a lightweight 5.56 chambered MP CHF chrome lined barrel, NiB coated bolt/carrier and RRA trigger.  Just needs a new optic here at some point.  She was "unhappy" with her first groups and got "happier" as the groups improved the more she shot it.

I went on to the SIG 522 and loaded up one of the Black Dog magazines.  It was hitting about 4" low and an 1" left for the initial group.  Made an adjustment and went just a tad too far to the right and not quite high enough.  Made another adjustment and got it where I wanted it (POA=POI at 25 yds.)

It "ate" the Thunderbolts just like it did the Remington Golden Bullets and the Federal bulkpack stuff I'd run through it previously.  Not a single failure to feed, failure to fire or failure to eject.  That is a sweet little .22 - except for the trigger.  It has an absolutely awful trigger.  Worse than any AR15 I've every had/shot.  If I shot the little bugger more I'd have to work on that trigger.  It pulls back, catches, pulls some more catches, gets harder to pull and finally goes "bang."  Still managed a group or two (5 shots) around an inch at 25 yds. - with the Thunderbolts (known to be the sorriest .22 ammo on the planet - according to the internet).

Decided to shoot at an empty place on the target - the vendor/maker logo/emblem.  Five shots.  I think I could head shoot a squirrel with it - if I had a good solid rest.



My wife shot the SIG 522.  She didn't like it.  This is her only group.  She was just shooting the magazine empty.



Then I went to work on the 9MM AR15.  This time with Federal 115 grain FMJ ammo.  It was close but shooting a little to the left, got it sighted in so it was hitting a couple inches low at 25 yds. (need to take it to 50 yds. some trip or other and see where it hits.)   Then I turned off the red dot and sighted in the iron sights.  Sighted those in for POA = POI at 25 yds. (that front sight was darned hard to adjust with a .223 FMJ bullet tip).  Then I let my wife shoot it some (it was supposed to be hers) but she doesn't care much for it.  Between the recoil feeling heavier than her carbine and not being able to get comfortable trying to hold it without putting the blade on her shoulder, she didn't shoot it much.

This one has a lot of holes in it.  Just checked with my wife and she shot the same target I shot (since it already had so many holes in it.  This would be a 20 shot target with the AR15 9MM pistol (she says the ones not in the black are all hers, but sometimes she just tries to make me feel good.)



Had three issues with the 9MM AR.
1) had a single failure to eject resulting in the empty and the next round getting hung up in front of the bolt.  Took the top off, grabbed the pliers and twisted that ejector to the right some more.  Ran the rest of the time with no more of those.
2) had a double feed of two live round.  Bolt hung up, turned it sideways and there were two rounds up front of the bolt.  First time it's done this.
3) had the bolt lock back with one round left in the magazine.  The was in one of the Metalform magazines.  Seems like I read somewhere about a guy who had to make adjustments to the bolt stop tab at the rear of the metalform magazine followers as he had the same issue.  We'll see.

Last I shot the 18" AR15.  I just wanted to confirm it could shoot as good as the 16" carbine I shot last range trip.  I'm really no sure it does.  I'll have to (maybe) make another range trip or two with both of them for a side by side comparison shoot.  You know how it is.

Looking for an empty place on the paper again.  Aiming point for the 10 shot groups was the bottom of the black (target) circle.  Struggled to put the dot in the scope on the bottom edge of the target circle on the first (left) group.  Then I made a small right adjustment and remembered to turn the black dot into a red dot by turning the illumination on.  Made the second 10 shot group a little tighter as it was easier to put that small red dot on the edge of the black target.



That 18" AR15 is darned heavy compared to my wife's 16" carbine.  Longer/heavier barrel, longer free float tube.  Bipod.  Light.  A1 fixed stock.  Bushnell 3X12 56MM (ob. lens) scope/mount.  All that makes a difference.  But that scope lets me see stuff in the dark I can't see with my eyes alone.

I still need to take pictures of the targets.  Had to let the dogs out first, then eat lunch, then let the dogs out again (they didn't get their morning pet & run session), then clean all four of the guns and put stuff away and then let the dogs out again.

Oh, one thing about cleaning.  While I was digging through the gun box looking for a patch tip I took out the two cans of gun scrubber stuff.  I decided to use them in the hopes of getting one can empty so I could take it out of the box.  It was a can of Outer's Gun Scrubber (aerosol spray).  I used it on the two AR15s.  I noticed it did not evaporate like carb. cleaner or brake cleaner evaporates.  I brushed the barrels with solvent first, let them sit while wiped out and lubed the lowers and the sprayed the gun scrubber down the barrel, around the locking lugs and the inside of the upper receivers and set them aside to clean the bolt/carrier/firing pin, etc.  When I got done disassembling, cleaning, lubing, and reassembling the bolt/carrier the gun scrubber stuff was still wet on the flash suppressor, in the upper, etc. and it was sitting in the sun (got into the low 70's here today).  I waited a bit more and then just started wiping it off to get it to finish drying so I could lube and install the bolt/carrier and go on to the next rifle/carbine.  The carb/brake cleaner is dry within a few seconds of setting the upper down on the bench on a warm sunny day like this. 

One more thing.  I think I'll pick up another couple bricks of the Thunderbolts tomorrow, if they still have them.

After I was done I noticed a note on the side of the Federal 9MM box.  It read: Do not use in firearms with ported barrels or ported recoil compensators.  Thought that was kind of a funny/odd warning for a FMJ bullet.

Thought of something else a few minutes ago, but lost that thought before I got back to the keyboard.  Maybe it'll come to me later.
« Last Edit: February 21, 2018, 08:43:43 PM by M1A4ME »
I just keep wasting time and money on other brands trying to find/make one shoot like my P07 and P09.  What is wrong with me?

Offline M1A4ME

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Re: range day, 2/21/18 = beautiful day, warm and sunny with a little breeze
« Reply #1 on: February 22, 2018, 05:33:10 AM »
It hit me last night, right after I'd turned the computer off to go to bed.

Last time at the range I made the comment that I'd finally found something dirtier than a .22 rim fire - this 9MM AR15 pistol.  It was nasty with powder residue on both side of the upper and lower and inside.  The load I used last time was some left over reloads (that didn't give me the required accuracy in pistols either) using a 125 grain LRN bullet and Unique powder (don't remember the load, but it wasn't comparable to FMJ factory loads in velocity or recoil.)

This time I used only the Federal 115 grain FMJ ammo.  I kept looking for that powder residue (rubbed my fingers all over the outside of the upper and lower and looking at them, wondering why there was no black powder residue) and didn't find it.  Yes the bolt was somewhat dirty, but not like last time.  The brass was dirty, the black looking stains from not sealing well in the chamber, but it is a blowback action.  Recoil was heavier this time, too.

Anyway, I know it's powder/charge related (the crud, or the amount of crud and where it deposits) so I'll be looking to make sure my future reloads (for the AR15 pistol) are higher pressure/different powder than Unique and maybe I can cut down on the cleaning time after a range session.
I just keep wasting time and money on other brands trying to find/make one shoot like my P07 and P09.  What is wrong with me?