Opinion on lightweight barrels

[BufordTJustice]

I personally use 62gr gold dot.
I would not use vmax. its made to kill 5-20lb varmint. Stick to police or deer loads.
Heavy otms perform well also.

I suggest viewing the terminal ballistics forum as there is a ton of info down there.
If you hit your target it will not overpenetrate. If you miss, the at loads will not penetrate any worse than an effective shotgun or pistol load, usually less actually.

Agreed.

Jonnyt16, Read Dr. Gary K Roberts statements on overpenetration. It's simply not the concern you think it is. That VMAX could likely fail to incapacitate an attacker and it will go through your house's interior drywall end to end ANYWAY.

Bonded soft points (GDSP, TBBC, Nosler Bonded, etc) or homogeneous solids like TSX/GMX. Stick with those.

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk

[Jonnyt16]

How could I forget Dr. Roberts?! Yeah, should have gone over his reports again. Lots of good info right here in the ballistics forum like Megademic mentioned too. I may have to re-think my HD ammo selection. What I find interesting though is if I'm not mistaken is that the Hornady TAP "Urban" 55gr, which is touted as a self-defense round, is almost identical to the 55gr V-MAX that I bought? Which also leads me to my next question...where did the TAP line go? Is Hornady's "Black" the new TAP? Looking at their 75gr. BTHP Match "Black" load for a possible option but can't seem to find much intel on it other than the very brief description on their site: https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/r...match-black#!/

Anyway, hit the outdoors this morning to cycle a mag of the V-MAX through the M4V7 and get a few drills in. No hiccups. Also wanted to see how much the Surefire Scout would cloud up being so close to the muzzle. Surprisingly, it came out very clean so I'm happy about that. One thing I did notice today though....gas block has some leakage around the roll pin. I know this isn't anything to worry about (or is it?) but have never had this in any of my other AR's. Total round count through this rifle thus far is about 250 with zero malfunctions.

A couple of quick Mozambique drills from today...




Forgot my stapler so had to improvise

[BufordTJustice]

How could I forget Dr. Roberts?! Yeah, should have gone over his reports again. Lots of good info right here in the ballistics forum like Megademic mentioned too. I may have to re-think my HD ammo selection. What I find interesting though is if I'm not mistaken is that the Hornady TAP "Urban" 55gr, which is touted as a self-defense round, is almost identical to the 55gr V-MAX that I bought? Which also leads me to my next question...where did the TAP line go? Is Hornady's "Black" the new TAP? Looking at their 75gr. BTHP Match "Black" load for a possible option but can't seem to find much intel on it other than the very brief description on their site: https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/r...match-black#!/

Anyway, hit the outdoors this morning to cycle a mag of the V-MAX through the M4V7 and get a few drills in. No hiccups. Also wanted to see how much the Surefire Scout would cloud up being so close to the muzzle. Surprisingly, it came out very clean so I'm happy about that. One thing I did notice today though....gas block has some leakage around the roll pin. I know this isn't anything to worry about (or is it?) but have never had this in any of my other AR's. Total round count through this rifle thus far is about 250 with zero malfunctions.

A couple of quick Mozambique drills from today...




Forgot my stapler so had to improvise

Correct, the 55gr urban is billed as you state.

However, the GMX TAP rounds really are the core of Hornady's LE offerings. I use the 70gr GMX TAP in 5.56 as my primary HD round. My wife uses the 55gr GMX TAP 5.56.

I've used both with excellent effects on large wild boar here in FL (250+ pounds), along with many other rounds. Previous favorite load was the XM556FBIT3 5.56 pressure 62gr TBBC FBI load. Also excellent on hog and people.

Have taken several large hogs recently (from 250-280 pounds) using 70gr GMX 5.56 TAP from my suppressed 11.5". All exited, but all delivered crippling wounds despite less than perfect shot placement on two of them. The amount of bloodshot meat was considerable for 5.56. My guide actually thought it was a suppressed 6.8 SPC due to the strongly audible thump the rounds made as they impacted the flesh of the targets. The guide said it was the hardest hitting 5.56 he ever heard, coupled with the best on-target performance he's ever seen from a 5.56 of any barrel length.

The only rival, he said, was from my buddy's 16" BCM middy. Who, the guide didn't know, was using several 70gr GMX TAP rounds i had loaned him for that day. Lol.

Hardly scientific, but I've taken a lot of hogs. Not as many as SkyPup, but a lot.

Have also had solid performance from 62gr TSX, 62gr Fusion, and 64gr Gold Dot.

Palmetto State has 64gr Speer Gold Dot on sale frequently for $9.99/20. That round uses a lower antimony (read: softer) lead alloy that expands very quickly for a bonded round. It is also regularly reported as being quite accurate.

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk

[Jonnyt16]

Still loving the rifle. Pretty sure I have close to 2,000 rounds through her now. No issues. I do notice slightly more recoil than my 16" standard/mil-profiled barreled rifles. Would be nice to put a brake on this thing to help with follow-up shots but I am married to the pinned flash hider until I swap out barrels.

Running some drills with the DD from earlier this morning...

[kwg020]

The lighter the better. Throw in an Tennessee Arms lower and a Magpul back up rear sight and you have a 6 lb. truck gun.
kwg

[stascom]

I'm certainly a believer when it comes to light barrels. I have the Faxon Gunner, Faxon pencil, FN "lightweight," and half a dozen of BA's Hanson profile barrels. They all shoot well after 3 mags. No issues with stringing. Faxon barrels have been tested by the Forgotten Arms for consistency after a mag dump. I did the same test on 2 Hanson barrels (16 .625 and 16 .750) - no stringing and the groups didn't even appear grow (red dot at 100yds ~3MOA, M193). My precision rigs are 17.7 Hanson, 20" and 18" Green Mountain SS fluted.
I only run standard A2 and M4 profiles on steel ammo burners.

[Jonnyt16]

About 3 to 4 thousand rounds through her so far with zero malfunctions. Using both .223 and 5.56 in 55 and 62 grain. Very pleased. What I am most happy about though is my local gunsmith and I were able to remove the stock Daniel Defense flash hider even thought it was pinned & welded. I replaced it with a Core 15 muzzle brake and ran it through its paces over the weekend. Noticeable difference for sure. I included a video of me running the V-Tac 1-5 drill on Saturday where you can see the muzzle stays relatively flat during some short rapid strings.






Just to add, I run the Ferro Concepts Slingster and it is a great sling, I love it. However, the exposed edges on the metal slide buckle will scratch the hell out of your receiver. Do I care? Not one bit as this rifle is my workhorse. But just thought I should point it out so if anyone is considering this particular sling and mounts it the same way I do.