AR steel fun

[DAVIDF]

I know many here don't care too much for AR's. I didn't care too much for the M16 I carried on occasion while serving in the USAF, but it was reliable and seemed to be decently accurate. I found a new love for them when I acquired this S&W M&P 15 Sport. I like the 5R 1:8 twist rate barrel. Seems to be very accurate, much more so than the guy behind the trigger. One thing I particularly like about it, is that various loads with different bullets but same bullet weight at 55gr, different velocities all have the same point of impact at 100 yards. My primary carry/defense load, Speer Gold Dot .223 55gr, XM193, PMC .223 55gr FMJ-BT, and Hornady 5.56mm 55gr GMX, all have the same POI at 100 yards even though the muzzle velocities between these various loads may vary as much 400 to 500fps from the slowest (the PMC) to the fastest (XM193 or Hornady GMX). Not sure how that is possible unless the guy behind the trigger is that bad and just plan lucky I bought a second AR last fall so that my wife and I each have one, an M&P 15 Sport 2 that has a 1:9 twist without the 5R rifling. I experienced a difference of a couple inches or more POI between these different loads with the Sport 2.

I seldom used a magnified scope, always liked open sights and red dots. I really like Aimpoints and have an Aimpoint PRO that is currently mounted on the Sport 2 which is essentially my wife's as she really likes the Aimpoint. I've been wanting to purchase another red dot or a magnified scope so that both AR's had optics. I recently began researching red dots and magnified scopes as I know very little in that area. When I started looking at some of the low powered variable scopes with illuminated reticles I was pretty sure that was the way I wanted to go. I stopped by Shoot-Straight, my local gun store and they had a Leupold VX-R 1.25-4X20mm with red dot (Firedot 4 Reticle). It is a fairly simple cross hairs with an illuminated red dot that be quickly and easily turned on and off. They also had a Trijicon AccuPower 1-4X with a green illuminated reticle. The reticle was too busy for me, probably much better for a more sophisticated marksman than me. I also loved the clarity of the Leupold. I purchased the Leupold along with a Leupold mount. I have found that I can pop the scope off and remount without any noticeable change in POI. My M&P Sport with Leupold mounted has become my bedside gun as I don't have to grab my glasses to see clearly.

A young lady from work joined me at the range yesterday. She hasn't previously done any shooting off of bench and perhaps no rifle shooting at all. She receiver only very brief instructions from me. Her first shots are the fourth and fifth photos. The black circle is 3" in diameter. Two hits are mine and two are hers. Distance was 100 yards.

The second from bottom photo was a combination of her hits and my friend Dano who was using his Ruger Gunsite Scout rifle in .308 with open sights. Most of his hits were low left of the black circle with the larger impact marks.

The bottom photo is a few I did on the head of the 12x20" silhouette target. The head measures 4x4. I was using PMC .223 55gr FMJ-BT. A number of people have reported extremely poor accuracy with that load in their AR's. The first four shots in phots four and five were done with Speer .223 55gr Gold Dot.

Dano & I were impressed by this young ladies natural rifle abilities. She was also consistenly hitting 4" clay pidgeons and pieces of them on the berm. I am also very impressed by the Leupold.

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[ditto1958]

One of the main reasons I bought an AR a couple of years ago (aside from the fact that I just wanted one) wasmthat they're very shootable. Anyone who is looking for a rifle that's easy to hitmthings with will likely be pleased with the results they get when they shoot an AR.

[DAVIDF]

Yes, I totally agree. Although, that wasn't the reason I bought my first one. I remembered that the M16's I used were fairly easy to shoot, but nothing that I remembered that was that remarkable. I was really pleasantly surprised when I bought the M&P Sport. My wife was also just as pleased. Although, she'd take her Henry .22 carbine any day!

[JEBar]

guess I'm tooooooo old school and set in my ways .... outside of the Henry AR7 I have zero (really much less than zero) interest in them .... that said, its good hear such positive comments .... one of our sons has built and enjoys an AR .... hopefully yours will serve you well

[RetiredSeabee]

Good shooting, an AR is still on my list. Your 15 Sport has been very attractive both in price and apparent value. One of the things that is attractive about the AR is that you don't have to spend a ton of money on one. Kind of like a Ruger 10/22 the basic gun is pretty darn good and you can spend a little money and make it better.
I loved shooting the M16 way back when I wore OD green. As you said it is a very easy to shoot and shoot well. We qualified at 200 yards and even the troops who couldn't hit the berm on day one were on paper on day two. By the end of the week most of them were shooting marksman or better. In twenty years of shooting the M16 I never had a jam and always had a grin on my face when I squeezed the trigger.

[BigAl52]

Now whats really cool besides the AR-15 and yes I have one and anpther one in 762x39 is an AR-10. Like others have mentioned I just wanted one or two well ok I have 3. I have another reason for wanting them but. Anyway those AR-10s are steel ringing fun in 308 and they are a lot of fun to shoot. I dont shoot mine often enough because my first love is levers and single action pistols. But when I do I always have a good time. Al

[DAVIDF]

guess I'm tooooooo old school and set in my ways .... outside of the Henry AR7 I have zero (really much less than zero) interest in them .... that said, its good hear such positive comments .... one of our sons has built and enjoys an AR .... hopefully yours will serve you well

Nothing wrong with old school. If we didn't have that and spaghetti westerns, we probably wouldn't have the great lever guns, single action revolvers, cap and ball revolvers, and all those other great firearms that we are blessed to have the ability to acquire and admire.

[RanchRoper]

Very interesting and informative. Thank you.

[DAVIDF]

Very interesting and informative. Thank you.

Coming from you, that means a great deal. Your photos, posts, and the perspective and information about a lifestyle that unique is invaluable to a number of us.

[RanchRoper]

Very interesting and informative. Thank you.

Coming from you, that means a great deal. Your photos, posts, and the perspective and information about a lifestyle that unique is invaluable to a number of us.

Well I appreciate that, thank you. I enjoy reading all the info people post. There's folks on here who have forgotten more about firearms than I'll ever know. TGR and NCG to name a couple.

[Steve51]

I too carried a M-16 almost everyday back in the early 70's but outside of the military, I never had much interest in them. My son has built 3 or 4 of them in different calibers. He really likes them and I have shot his on several occasions. Like some others here, I just prefer single action revolvers and lever action rifles. I also prefer wood stocks, especially quality walnut stocks.

No matter what your preference, shooting steel targets is great fun!

[DAVIDF]

I too carried a M-16 almost everyday back in the early 70's but outside of the military, I never had much interest in them. My son has built 3 or 4 of them in different calibers. He really likes them and I have shot his on several occasions. Like some others here, I just prefer single action revolvers and lever action rifles. I also prefer wood stocks, especially quality walnut stocks.

No matter what your preference, shooting steel targets is great fun!

Steve,

What were you doing in the early 70's that you were carrying an M-16 outside of the military? Yes, I love single action revolvers and lever guns. Although, I was shooting my Bisley rather horribly last Saturday. Worst ever, but it was still fun.

[Steve51]

I too carried a M-16 almost everyday back in the early 70's but outside of the military, I never had much interest in them. My son has built 3 or 4 of them in different calibers. He really likes them and I have shot his on several occasions. Like some others here, I just prefer single action revolvers and lever action rifles. I also prefer wood stocks, especially quality walnut stocks.

No matter what your preference, shooting steel targets is great fun!

Steve,

What were you doing in the early 70's that you were carrying an M-16 outside of the military? Yes, I love single action revolvers and lever guns. Although, I was shooting my Bisley rather horribly last Saturday. Worst ever, but it was still fun.

Sorry, I was not clear. I was in the military when I carried a M-16. I did not have much interest in M-16's after I got out of the military.

[DAVIDF]

I too carried a M-16 almost everyday back in the early 70's but outside of the military, I never had much interest in them. My son has built 3 or 4 of them in different calibers. He really likes them and I have shot his on several occasions. Like some others here, I just prefer single action revolvers and lever action rifles. I also prefer wood stocks, especially quality walnut stocks.

No matter what your preference, shooting steel targets is great fun!

Steve,

What were you doing in the early 70's that you were carrying an M-16 outside of the military? Yes, I love single action revolvers and lever guns. Although, I was shooting my Bisley rather horribly last Saturday. Worst ever, but it was still fun.

Sorry, I was not clear. I was in the military when I carried a M-16. I did not have much interest in M-16's after I got out of the military.

My apologies. You were clear. I just read your post again and I just read it completely wrong. Maybe I was looking for an exciting story Yeah, I didn't have much interest in and hadn't handled an AR or M-16 since I got out of the USAF in 1991. Several years ago I started reading about them and looking at reviews and became much more interested. Firearms are like that, very personal. They are simple tools, but we make them into something much much more. I think that is a very good and important for all of us as it increases the interest in firearms and helps the industry.