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I'm considering buying a Bushmaster ACR when they become available. I would use it for general plinking, SHTF scenarios and maybe competitive shooting. My questions are:
1. Everyone seems to want a foldable stock with their AR platform? Why is this so? To me it seems like it would rattle around too much and not have that solid feel to it. I can understand that it would make it more portable in certain situations but other than that I don't see the big advantage.
2. I know that if I get the ACR I would want the 16 inch or the 18 inch barrel versions. But I'm not sure which one would suit me best? Can you give me the pro's and con's of each?
3. Lastly, if I wanted to get into competive shooting with an ACR what type of events are usually held with this platform? By type of events I mean things such as bench shooting or those courses where you move from station to station firing at targets, etc.
I'm considering buying a Bushmaster ACR when they become available. I would use it for general plinking, SHTF scenarios and maybe competitive shooting. My questions are:
1. Everyone seems to want a foldable stock with their AR platform? Why is this so? To me it seems like it would rattle around too much and not have that solid feel to it. I can understand that it would make it more portable in certain situations but other than that I don't see the big advantage.
2. I know that if I get the ACR I would want the 16 inch or the 18 inch barrel versions. But I'm not sure which one would suit me best? Can you give me the pro's and con's of each?
3. Lastly, if I wanted to get into competive shooting with an ACR what type of events are usually held with this platform? By type of events I mean things such as bench shooting or those courses where you move from station to station firing at targets, etc.
I'll take a shot at these ones:
1) folding stocks make the gun significantly smaller when transporting. There are even folding/telescoping stocks which give you both. Some folders are pretty lose or offer a poor cheek weld, but others (like the russian synthetic AK stock, the para FAL stock, the Galil stocks lock up tight). I transport my russian Saiga 12C in a tennis racket bag. Very stealthy. Be harder to do with a telescoping stock or fixed stock.
2) 18 inch tube in 223 is going to give you more velocity but probably not a huge difference in terms of accuracy. 16 is also a good length and would allow you to not have a permanently attached flash suppressor that you would get if you went shorter.
3) You could probably use an ACR in 3 gun matches but in its standard trim I doubt it will be accurate enough to compete in bench rest type competitions.
Finally, noone really knows how the acr will perform. The only reviews have been in gun rags so who knows what the actual system will do in real world conditions.
HolyRoller
05-29-08, 21:33
Good to see you here. About the collapsible (not folding, not on an AR!) stock, yes it gives you portability, and lets you store it in smaller spaces. My DPMS LR-308, with the stock all the way forward, will fit in the same case my patrol carbine used to go into.
Also, collapsible stocks let you adjust length of pull, that is, the distance from the buttplate to the trigger, so that the rifle fits you and you don't have to fit yourself to the rifle--as it should be. The full-length A2 stock requires most people to make themselves fit the rifle--as it should not be. That said, plenty of people shoot very good scores in highpower competition with AR service rifles that must have the A2 or A1 stock, but these are play rifles meant for the old-timey known distance round targets, not serious rifles you would take on patrol. And I don't say that lightly because I shoot highpower, if not very well, and I think lots more people ought to try it.
About the wobbliness of some collapsible stocks, this was a problem when I got my S&W M&P-15. The factory stock rattled like dice in a cup. I got a Vltor Modstock and my friendly local gunsmith put it on, along with a larger buffer tube, in about 10 minutes. No wobbly no more.
Are you willing to wait a year to purchase? The ACR has gotten pushed back to first quarter 2009 and I'll bet we won't see them in regular circulation until about this time next year.
Yes, I'm willing to wait a year for the purchase. I'm not really interested in buying an interim solution. From what I have read and if what I have read comes to fruition, the ACR appears that it will be the "best" AR platform out there.
I would use it for plinking out in the woods or at the range mainly. Possibly some competitions but perhaps I would be better off with more of a target type weapon if I wanted to do that. I'm more of a hunter and use bigger bore rifles and shotguns but I have used an M-16 in the past and really enjoyed shooting it. No big loud bang or recoil, no need to wear hearing protection. Also, the way things are going in the U.S. a SHTF weapon makes sense to me.
totally off subject, but you really should wear hearing protection when shooting an unsupressed 5.56.
I think the ACR looks like a good alternative to the AR, but it's kind of hard for anyone to offer any sort of constructive information until it shows up in the hands of regular folks. Hopefully the S doesn't HTF before the gun becomes available.
As to competitions, they run the gamut. There are benchrest type comps where you never move. Literally. You just lay there and squeeze the trigger. Then there are "run and gun" type competitions where you do IDPA/IPSC type shooting but with a carbine. The ACR might do OK in the former, but should really excel in the latter.
KintlaLake
05-30-08, 08:33
...no need to wear hearing protection.
Please reconsider this, Sevcrist.
Yes, I'm willing to wait a year for the purchase. I'm not really interested in buying an interim solution.
I find this interesting -- kind of the ultimate "buy once" approach.
That approach only works if there is not another AWB.... :rolleyes:
That approach only works if there is not another AWB.... :rolleyes:
Amen brother...I know you're not interested in an interim weapon, but perhaps you should be - especially if you have nothing to fall back on. With the Dims at least poised to run the whole enchilada, a new AWB is not far out or off from reality...I'd rather have something in my mitts right now, then cross my fingers. The ACR may arrive just in time to be "LEO Only"....
KintlaLake
05-30-08, 10:03
That approach only works if there is not another AWB.... :rolleyes:
...or if the SHTF (however one defines that) the day after acquiring a SHTF weapon.
It's a personal choice, of course, and I understand Sevcrist not wanting to "settle." A lot could happen over the next year, however, and I respectfully suggest that even more could be accomplished -- familiarity, proficiency, and mastery (to name three ;) ). That's where my head is. YMMV. :cool:
Yes, I see your point about proficiency and mastery of an interim AR type weapon. But I'm not a gun collector or swapper and trader and only buy when I feel the need to have something for the long term. And yes, the Demonrats and Purple Lips could very well be in control of things and make some drastic changes to our firearms laws. But that's a chance I'm willing to take. I still have my other rifles and shotguns.
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