
Originally Posted by
beve
Today was actually only the second time I have ever shot an ar-15, or a center fire rifle for that matter. I am very experienced with shotguns and handguns but I am new to the rifle world.
Here is the list of the major parts of my rifle. Don't know if all of it is relevant but doesn't hurt to write it down.
s&w registered lower
B5 sopmod stock
LMT 10.5" upper
BCM BCG
BCM GF charging handle mod 3
LMT fixed rear sight
KAC RAS/FVG/Panels
H2 Buffer
I built a mk18 clone because I think its cool. It is mostly a toy but I do want it to be a tool if the need arises, so I bought 50 rounds of Black Hills 77gr OTM in 5.56x45 and 250 rounds of Hornady 75gr Steel Match BTHP in .223. I figured I would zero the rifle with the Hornady and save what was left after zeroing for emergency use and I would keep the Black Hills stuff locked and loaded for HD. I have a m&p9 that serves me better in my tiny studio apartment but if I have a mk18 in my room I may as well have good ammunition for it.
So I went to the range to shoot it for the first time and now I have a bunch of technical questions.
1) I had it loaded with the Black Hills before the range trip (because why not) and when I unloaded the rifle to bring it from my truck to the firing line I noticed that the bullet was very scratched up and the primer had a dimple in it. This has me worried. Will loading and unloading a 5.56 round cause potentially dangerous issues I should know about?
2) Got everything setup and took my first shot with the Hornady Steel Match. Dang this thing is loud, but it didn't have the concussion I heard people talk about. Was very pleasant to shoot with double ear pro. What surprised me how harsh the recoil was. The other time I shot an ar-15 was a 16" shooting xm193 and it was fantastically pleasant to shoot. This thing kicked hard! Jumping ahead a bit, I shot the PMC bronze I had on me and the recoil on it was just like the 16"; negligible. Why was the 75gr Hornady so harsh? If I buy m193 or m855 for practice would it recoil more like the PMC or the Hornady?
3) I got the rifle zeroed at 50 yards. Shot a 1 MOA 5 shot group just resting the gun on the magazine, no ransom-rest. I then asked a guy shooting next to me to shoot off 5 rounds while I watched so I could see the ejection pattern. On the Hornady box it says 2750 fps at 100 yards and like I said the recoil was sharp so I am guessing the Hornady is loaded very hot compared to Russian ammo. It ejected at 3:00 and looked very good. Does this indicate that my rifle will be able to eat up Russian steel cased stuff? The Russian stuff is garbage and doesn't compare to Hornady. Also don't get worked up on silly clock patterns. Worry about the AR functioning. Also that 2700 FPS from Hornady was probably with a 20"+ barrel. From your gun more like 2500 or so.
4) The last thing at the range I noticed was that the sling loop on the fsp bugs the hang out of me. Is there any reason not to remove it? I have CQD front and rear sling mount points and plan on buying a MS3 sling whenever I am ready to take a carbine course.Get a simple punch and hammer and whack the rivet a few times. Problem solved.
5) So I get back home (the hour and 45 minute drive seemed much slower going to the range) and break the rifle down to clean it. I had used frog lube to lube up everything before I went to the range so the BCG and upper receiver cleaning were easy. When I got to the barrel I made a huge mistake. I screwed a .22 caliber brush into a 12 gauge shotgun cleaning rod (I guess because it fit I didn't question myself) and shoved it into the chamber (not too hard) and it got stuck. To remove it I had to stand on the rod's handle and pull up with both hands on the entire rifle. I inspected it with a flashlight and don't see any obvious damage but I don't know what I am looking for. Is there any possibility I damaged my chamber? I figure a gunshot is much harsher on the chamber than my cleaning rod but boy was it in there good.
6) Last and perhaps the stupidest question has to do with my rear LMT sight falling off in my apartment. I didn't locktite it on and it just feel off while cleaning it. I don't have any locktite right now but when I get some, where do I apply it? Also, will I have to re-zero the rifle or will it hold its zero like a Larue mount does? Yes. you will probably have to re-zero, but you may get lucky. You apply a small amount to the threaded portion of the screw and then tighten. DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN.
I hope that wasn't too much writing. I really appreciate any time you take to read this.
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