Vlad G

That might be true, and I have a .22 conversion, but honestly I never tested for accuracy that much. I mostly use it to practice close range drills, weapon mount to the shoulder, transitions, etc so for me pinpoint accuracy with a .22 conversion is not that critical. It just needs to run.

I theory it shoots heavier bullets (70gr or so) better then 1/9. You need to stabilize those bullet (though bullet profile matters here as well) and out of 20" barrel you might get away with 1/9 but out of a 16" barrel 1/7 will work better. 1/7 will also start having issues with bullets lighter then 55gr like some of the varmint bullets, but most of us don't use those. 1/8 would probably be a better compromise. 1/7 is also getting to be the standard (as it is the current twist rate in military M4 barrels) so they are easy to find. In reality, most people end up shooting the more affordable 55gr bullets anyway so it doesn't matter that much. Also it turns out that bullet profile has a lot to do this so some heavy bullets will work fine in 1/9, but its nice to have the piece of mind if you buy more expensive match ammo or handload.

Vlads guide to "bits" selection for a general purpose civilian AR This is based on my personal preferences, after collecting data from more experienced sources and experimenting with configuration in the competition world but with an eye to zombie apocalypse use. This may not be the right thing for everyone, and pure competition rifles differ by quite a bit from this. It is ordered in what I believe to be importance order, with most important first. Bits that make the rifle boom: Barrel: This is the heart of the rifle. If this bit doesn't work, the rest is worthless. For me the IDEAL barrel is a 18", government profile, rifle length gas system, chrome lined, 1/8 twist. Unfortunately, while such things exist they are fairly rare and expensive (about $400 for the cheapest). The more practical approach is 16", government profile , midlength gas system, chrome lined, 1/7 twist. These are available and affordable, I use a BCM one. The 14.5" with pinned comp barrels are cute and handy but you start giving up velocity and for my long arms they are too short. I like to reach far forward on the hand guard and I'd like to not put my hand in front of the muzzle. The Government profile is a good compromise of weight to rigidity, and while the latest M4 barrels are now heavier under the hand guards that is because they are expected to deal with prolonged full auto fire, not an issue for civilian rifles. Heavy barrels (hbar or bull) have a place if you want a precision rifle, but then you are talking about bipods, stationary shooting positions, etc. Basically you don't see the advantages unless you are shooting from a very static position, and the rest of the time they slow you down, they slow down transitions from target to target, the fatigue the shooter, etc. Heavy barrels also heat up slower, but they also cool down slower. Chrome lining is a must, it makes the barrel wear better, deal better with crappy ammo and dirt, and clean easier. Yes in theory certain non-chromed barrels are more accurate but this is not a varminting rifle, it is a general purpose rifle, and most people won't shoot it as well as it can anyway. The twist is selected because while 1/8 might be the best compromise for all bullet weights, 1/7 is far more available and it will shoot well with most bullet weights over 55gr. You also want the longest gas system you can squeeze in reliably, mid length for a 16" barrel. A longer gas system is smoother to shoot, and less violent on the rest of the parts. Handguards: Free floated handguards are very important. Resting the barrel (or handguards attached to it) on anything will result in considerable change in point of impact. It doesn't matter if your barrel is full bull barrel or an ultra light, the point of impact will change because the barrel is never rigid during firing. The barrel whip around as the bullet passes through and changing how that whipping motion happens changes the bullet impact location. Free floated hanguards allow you to shoot from various rests, bipods, resting the rifle on a wall, window, tree branch, putting extra hand pressure on it, or pulling it in with a sling without changing the way the barrel moves. I like the longest handguard I can get away with, I run a rifle length handguard on a 16" barrel. This allows me to place my support hand further forward (allowing for more precise off hand shooting and faster transitions from target to target). This means you will have to use a low profile gas block that hides under the tube (thus protecting the gas tube a bit more a well). The free float handguard also allows you attach and remove bits from your rifle (lights, sights, forward grips, can openers, coffee makers) without changing the tension on the barrel and changing its point of impact. If you don't use a free float tube, attaching and removing a flash light will probably change the point of impact and require a re-zero. The type of tube you use is up to you. As I like light rifles I like light tubes. The lightest out there are carbon fiber but they have the disadvantage of making it harder to attach anything to them. Some of the carbon fiber ones (like the PRI) have provisions for that as well. I like rails a much as the next guy and my current handguard is light and has full rails at all 4 cardinal points, but ideally you probably want a handguard that as full top rail section and removable rail sections everywhere else. The Troy TRX Extreme is a decent compromise of weight and rail flexibility. Bolt Group: This is the main moving part in your gun and the one most likely to break due to impact and wear. Select a quality bolt group, with well staked gas key, and if possible a shot pinned and MPI'ed bolt. A quality extractor and extractor springs are also important. The light weight carriers from JP are cute and do make the gun fill softer shooting, but I prefer the more rugged standard carrier. Trigger: While a milspec trigger is pretty darn rugged, it is far from a pleasant trigger. Yes, people can shoot them quite well, and they work, but a quality trigger will make the whole experience better and allow the shooter to get the most out of the rifle. I've used a milspec single stage for some time, insisting that reliability is more important then anything, but I was a bit of a fool. While some adjustable triggers can be less reliable if their screws wonder, there are now MANY ultra reliable triggers on the market that are far superior to the standard trigger. The Geissele triggers are superb for example, and their SSA/SSF model is now standard on precision military rifles, and viewed as the most reliable trigger available. I'm currently using a Geissele Super Dynamic 3gun, but it is a bit odd and an acquired taste, but a like it. Bits that let you hit the target better: Optics Mounts: Yes the mounts are more important then the optics themselves. You can cheap out a bit on the optics themselves, but if you go cheap on the mounts it doesn't matter how good your optics are. I prefer quick detachable mounts that return to zero when you remount them so I prefer Larue mounts. They are not cheap but they work and work and work. I can switch between various optics at will and I know they will still be zero'ed. The ADM mounts are also bullet proof and very reliable and so are a few others. Do not be cheap with our mounts. Optics: Optics selection is dependent on intended use. For a general purpose rifle the high magnification optics make no sense to me. They are very slow to use at close range and often don't offer a low enough amplification or decent eye relief. What is a low enough amplification you ask? The answer is 1x, though 1.5x will do in a pinch. On the bright side there are LOTS of 1-4x scopes on the market in every price bracket and they are only getting better every day with more options also appearing every day. They vary in cost from $200 to $3000 and generally you are getting something better with every $100 more you spend. The sweet spot is around $800 right now. I have one of the cheaper ones (Millet DMS I purchased when the available options where far less diverse) and it works ok. The scope mount is actually more expensive then the scope, and while the scope works well I wouldn't trust it bang it around to much. I would recommend something in the $600-$800 range like the Vortex Viper PST, Meopta k-dot, the new Super Sniper 1-4, Trijicon Accu-points, etc. The other option is red dots. I've actually switched my primary optics from a scope to a red dot recently. I wanted to experiment with the tiny aimpoint T1/H1 versions but I didn't want to spend $500 on one so I went with a Primary Arms $80 clone again in a Larue mount that is more expensive then the optic. So far it has been very rugged and accurate. Eventually I'll get a real aimpoint funds permitting as I'm sold on the idea of tinny red dots. I can reliably hit 3-4moa targets up to 300 yards and beyond from prone and out of breath and while it is a bit slower then a scope at extended ranges, around here most competition targets are under 100yards and I find the dot far faster. For practical use, walk outside and see how often you can see further then 200 yards, and thats not very often. If I lived and shot out west I might have a different opinion, on the other hand .223 is not a particularly stellar cartridge past 300-400 yards anyway. I would stay away from Eotechs, I've seen way to many break and way to many more reports of them breaking. Edited to add: For variable power scopes there are a few other things to worry about. You want forgiving eye relief because while shooting from the bench you can always have consistent head placement, that gets harder on the move or from odd positions (Ask Ronny about shooting through low ports). You also want a reticle that is conducive to fast shooting and with some hold over indicators. If at all possible you want a day time illuminated reticle that is visible in bright sunlight so at 1x it looks like a red dot, but unfortunately this feature works well only on the more expensive scopes. Iron sights: If your iron sights are you primary sighting device pick ones which are not folding. Any folding sight has play in it and deploying and folding them will change slightly the point of impact. If they are secondary folding sights are fine. Magpul sights are nice and light but have more play in them then most. If at all possible mount your front sight on the barrel or gas block, not on the handguard. The free float hanguard is there to keep the flex and such away from the barrel. It does that by absorbing the flex itself. It may look rigid but it is not. If you mount your front sight on the handguard expect it to move around as you rest your gun on the handguard moving the zero. Handguard mounted sights work ok for minute-of-bad-guy at close range, but if you want them to be accurate at longer ranges mount them on the barrel. Muzzle devices: Compensator help quite a bit in controlling recoil and coming back on a target. You want one. This being NJ, I recommend the Nordic Components Tactical because it works really well as a comp and when permanently attached it is the same diameter as the barrel and allows you to take your gun apart without removing it. There are better comps, but the flexibility is awesome. Plus it is very light. Everything else: Uppers, lowers, etc: as long as they are in spec and made by a reliable source, these don't matter as much as people make it out to be. Lower and upper don't need to be that tight to each other. Quality recoil systems and well attached recoil spring tube are important. Stocks, grips, forward grips, etc: Whatever works for you. I prefer full length rifle stocks because they allow for the longer rifle recoil system which is softer. I'm also fairly tall with long arms so for me the A2 lengths is just fine. Actually the plain A2 stock is quite nice, but I use an Ace stock and I like it. Grips need to fit your hand, so find one that does. I like the Magpul modular one, but whatever works for you. Forward grips are handy if you have lots of crap on your rifle but learn to use them correctly. Holding them like pistol grip has been dubbed "going full retard" and doesn't really help you control the rifle, the current popular approach is "half-retard" with the hand grasping the hand guard right in front of the forward grip with part of the palm on the grip. The Magpul AFG is kinda cool and I've been going back and forth on using mine. I'm back to using it now. Small parts: Just make sure they are in spec and fit well, or they will give you headaches later. Slings: Two point slings are the best answer, though not ideal. 3 point slings get in the way and tangle on things. 1 point slings look cool and allow for switching shooting sides quickly, but transitioning to secondary gun or carrying the rifle on one is .. uncomfortable. You end up with the barrel hitting you in the crotch and knees, makes it harder to move, and if you are a girl it does bad things to your boobs. Quality 2 point slings are the way to go, VTAC, Blue Force, Magpul, they all work well Extras: I like the BAD lever, some don't. It makes clearing jams and various drills much easier. Lights can be stupid expensive for no good reason. A plastic surefire in a VTAC light mount is less then $100 and works fine and it is light as well. Modern ultra compact 1 battery lights are even nicer. A lot of the 'tactical' lights are 5-10 years behind current flashlight technology. Any modern well built LED flashlight will take the recoil of .223 all day and provide better light then some of the current "hot" and "tactical" lights. Charging Handle: The standard charging handle is fine but it was designed to be used with a pinch on both sides. The trouble with that is that it requires dismounting the rifle and it doesn't work so hot with optics mounted. There are a number of extended latches available which make one handed manipulation easier and faster, but they have 2 problems. The first problem is that latches are held in place by a roll pin and the entire force applied to the handle passes through that pin. With extended latches there is quite a bit of force applied and they have been known to break or "split" the rear of the charging handle. The second problem is that the milspec handle is not that robust so energetic manipulation can bend the entire handle resulting in a non working gun. There are two solutions to this problem. The first are steel charging handles which are a lot tougher and resist bending, the DPMS has a decent reputation. The second is the BCM Gunfighter charging handle which is built out a better grade of aluminum, with some extra re-enforced areas and a completely redesigned latch that places the torque forces on the end of the handle not on the roll pin. The BCM handle also comes with 3 different lengths for the latch and it is my choice for my rifles. I use the medium latch version and it is awesome. Thats it. These are just my opinions on the anatomy of an AR.

Sorry I wasn't referring to the assembly guides, they are decent enough. I was referring the selection of bits to assemble.

Because lets face it, the guy online (myself included) might be a competent professional or a kook living in a wine barrel wearing a tin foil hat or anywhere in between. Online resources are great, but never trust a single one, research as many sources as possible. The other issue is that what might have worked GREAT for one person may be **** for another.

Its not a race based issue, it is a social and economic based issue. In Camden it may be poor blacks, in Kentucky it is poor whites. BTW I looked up some numbers, these are from 2009. Newark as 277k residents and 1671 law enforcement. Its crime rate is consider HIGH, with 80-100 murders per year. My home town has about 50k residents and 108 law enforcement. Crime index if far bellow average, with less then one murder per year. 1/6th of the population with 1/16th of the police force with 1/80th the number of crimes. I don't think the number of police officers is cause of crime, though it may be a symptom.

Actually yes, there is one, and it should be named "My first black rifle" and should come with every lower receiver as far as I'm concerned. Instead it is called Green Eyes and Black Rifles and you have to buy it yourself. The guy that wrote that book is Kyle Lamb, the guy behind Viking Tactics (or VTAC) which by itself doesn't mean anything, except for the fact he has been a pretty decent 3gun shooter for some time, which also means nothing. What really means something is that he is a retired SGM with about 20 years of experience with Delta force, from Mogadishu (yes, Blackhawk Down stuff) to the late middle east unpleasantness. The book was written while on deployment with input from his co-workers. He covers EVERYTHING from barrel selection, optics, slings, low light, malfunctions, maintenance, shooting positions, practice drills, transitions to secondary weapons, etc.

BTW Slav wasn't just talking out of his bum, he pretty much described the core of his rifle and mine. We both run BCM 16" mid length barrels with nordic comps, free float tubes and Ace stocks for 3gun and such. BTW the barrel profile on those is not M4, it is the "government" profile, like the older M16's, straight in front of the gas block, skinny behind. The only advantage of bull barrels is rigidity, and a I guess a larger heat mass. The problem is that the rigidity only gets you that last %2 percent of performance and a large heat mass overheats slower but also cools slower. If you only shoot from a bench, you don't care and you will never care. As soon as you pick the rifle and shoot it off hand, you run around, you shoot it from awkward positions, etc, every ounce starts to matter. You start removing every bit that's not important and you start looking for lighter versions of the bits that matter. My rifle is currently 7lb 15ounces with optics and sling, and I think it needs to lose those extra 15ounces somehow. Free float tubes are a MUST. They make a HUGE difference. Don't take my word, try it. Shoot your rifle from prone resting the gun on the magazine, not touching the barrel anywhere. Shoot it again while resting on the barrel or non free floated tube. At 100 yards you will be a couple of inches off for the two groups. At 300 yards you will be off the target. I don't care if the tube has rails or not, as long as its free floated.

I'd like to point out that my town has very few cops. I'm willing to bet it has far less the Newark per capita. My town doesn't have a crime problem. From that simple fact I'm going to conclude that the number of police officers is NOT the determining factor in crime rates. This is also why my first post said that there is something else at work. Now, if the gangs are wearing t shirts with police reduction dates, that tells me the "market" for crime was high before and after, its just that the opportunity cost might have been reduced. If indeed the Newark residents where just waiting to go on a rampage and they were only deterred by police presence, then we might as well abandon any pretense and just throw a wall around the place and call it a prison. To be honest, I'm not sure on who's side I would be (speaking from some distance), you have to wonder how we managed to end up with a town of nearly 300k people in which complete mayhem is barely contained under a veneer of obedience to police force. To people living in those neighborhoods the idea of a "police state" is not a forum topic, it is daily life. Mind you, I don't blame the cops either, it is just a strange whirlpool that gets worse and worse. A few years ago raz-0 pointed out to me that gangs are just an alternate form of government, when the established government fails. They have their own rules, constitutions, peace treaties, armies, and justice systems. If you find an area of heavy gang influence, you just found an area where the formal government has failed hard.

Correlation is not causation. There are also social and economic factors contributing to higher crime and those factors tend to be exaggerated in places like Newark. If the Newark Police decided that if they are gonna have budget cuts it was going to be from the patrol not from the many layers of useless and graft that big city police departments have? It seems to be usually how it goes.

Here is the simple logic of it. We are basically trusting you with the keys to the club on day one. If you don't know which end of the gun bullets come out of you may end up hurting yourself but not your guests. During those 6 months you are supposed to participate in at least 2 events. That gives the various discipline match directors a chance to see if you are dangerous and inform the board. The club doesn't like to get sued any more then anyone else.

Poppers don't fall if just hit anywhere. They need to be hit in the circle part or higher to fall reliably with 9mm. Hits on the edges or lower half will often not knock them down. They can also be out of calibration and we adjust them if that happens, but I don't think we had any that had that problem this match.

Here is the scoop on the guest policy. Yes there is a limit of many people you can bring at once and how often you can bring them. If you want to abuse it you can, but keep in mind that if you bring your buddy all the time, that means the club loses money. When you are a member you are basically part owner and you are screwing everyone else and yourself by abusing the guest policy. The club doesn't run for profit or stock up huge bank accounts or buy free booze for its board members, all the membership fees go towards running the club, paying the bills, and maintaining the facilities. The guest policy is a bit relaxed for family members, you can bring them as many times as you want, but in my case my wife got her own membership so she can go by herself. There are discounts for family members as well if they join the club.

I think I've seen the DSA clones in stores. The issue is price, DSA FAL pattern rifles are stupid expensive for what they are. I would lean towards one of the AR-10/SR-25 pattern rifles, a lot more support for them now.

A couple of comments on the videos, I hope no one takes offense, just trying to help a bit as others tried to help me (unsuccessfully, they might note under their breath) Maks, is there a reason you lock your elbows? You you break that elbow lock more of the recoil can be absorbed in your joints and you should see less muzzle flip. Also always shoot the top plates on a star not the bottom ones, you are just making it spin faster, gravity is a ****. JonF, you reload too often. Your reloads are very good, but they still take time, I think a couple of times you might have reloaded twice for targets I would have taken with a single 10rd mag, and not because you missed. Just because you brought a lot of mags, it doesn't mean you have to use them all. Krdshrk, I think you are leaning to far forward. Bringing your center of gravity lower is good, but I think you are trying to fold yourself. Try keeping your shoulders just forward of you hips and lower more from the knees then waist. Also I can't quite tell, but is your left hand really involved in the grip? It looks to me like it mostly touches your right hand but not the gun, I would move it further up General stage comments. Stage 1, that second port was a decoy. The smart money was on running all the way to the left most corner as far up as you go and from there engage the 2 left targets, the 2 steel, and the far partial on the right by leaning a bit to the left and shooting around the no shoot. Stage 2, assuming 10rd mags, Maks plan was the best one. Step up shoot the 2 right targets, move left for the 2 left, reload going around the corner, 2 left targets, RELOAD again, and finish through the port. Going left first then stopping for the 2 right targets its a waste of time. First you lose momentum, and secondly you are coming up at those targets blind, you have to visually spot them again. If you take them first, you just look them as you step up and draw. Stage 3, I'm not sure there was a perfect way for everyone here, but I see that lots of folks walked up took 2 targets on one side, 2 on the other, then center steel. A better approach would have been, 2 targets on one side, first steel, then 2 targets on other side. You are walking your muzzle right over it and you need to wait for it fall to get the second steel so might as well hit it as you swing by and do something else while its falling. Stage 4, there is no good plan, specially with 10 rounds. You just do lots of standing reloads and that sucks. The weakest stage of the match. Stage 6, there was a lot of hidden time to be picked up here. I'm no sure if my way was the best, but I liked it (except I clipped a no shoot). First, I think everyone picked up the bag too early, I took the 2 right targets freestyle (both hands on the gun), then just reached behind me with my left hand to grab the bag. Secondly people where too worried about using the handles and getting them just right. Just grab the bag anywhere, it isn't a night out in the town. For my part, I took the left target, then the next two left ones around the wall, whipped my hand behind me and grabbed the bag, two left targets strong hand only, drop mag as I drop the bag in the barrel, reload coming into the left solo paper, right paper through the port, right paper outside the port as I walk to it, 3 right steel from outside the port, reload, left paper through the port, 3 left steel through the port, swinger. The reason I did it this way is economy of motion, if my muzzle passes over a target and it isn't a particularly harder shot that way, I'll just take it. Stage 7, The texas star gets always shot from the top down. You don't need to clear it in any particular order, its not like you get style points of clearing it by going around it. You always shoot the highest plate because gravity will slow it down if you do that, and accelerate it if you shoot the lower plates while there is weight up top. Another lesson for that stage is that if you have to stop at a precise spot to see some targets (like the second array of one paper on steel that you can only see from a narrow area, don't look for the targets themselves, almost everyone that does overruns them and has to move back a bit. Instead, during the walk through find the right spot, and look down: Find a spot on the ground that you can later reference such us "If my left foot is on this spike, or at this end of this fault line, or by this depression in the dirt, then I'm the right spot". Then when you run the stage you can just go to that spot, which you can look for as you approach it, and you will be in the right place. Otherwise you are waiting to stop when you see the targets but you have momentum, it carries you past them, and you have to move back. Here is the great news though. It looks like all of you are very safe, and improving with every match. I'm glad you guys are joining us and I hope to see you all in 2 weeks at CJ.

To the wedge's defense it was designed for the low shelf lower receivers not the high shelf ones. It makes a world of difference, but no where do they tell you that when you buy one.

Be aware of knock-offs. There has been a batch of cheap chinese knock offs of CR speed gear lately. Hell, it might be just as good, but if I run around with a gun I want the extra bit of peace of mind. I'm not saying that the stuff linked is a knock off, but the price does seem a bit too good.

Yeah .. this morning I had yearly dose of stupid "Its gonna be cloudy and rain, I won't need sunscreen".. Right .. The shower I just took HURT. And I had sunscreen in my car.

Well, make sure you sew some belt loops on your underwear, rule book requires your belt to pass through at lest 3 of them

Its shorts for me for sure. Weather prediction improved.

Research was done a while a go, I've been running one of my game gun for over a year with zero issues. All the problems I've seen before and since reported on various forums have been related to out of spec parts in the guns and bad fit of the BAD on the said parts. I still fail to see how activating the bolt release in any way will bind up the action, the mechanics of it elude me. I'd take with a grain of salt whatever people **** about after they screw up a stage, they are plenty capable to try to blame anything in sight, but the most common problems of binding up the action are mags, crappy extractors, and out of spec ammo, the bolt release can't really do much about binding up the action. At most I can see how someone might have a out of spec bolt release that with the additional weight of the lever may drag a bit on the carrier and maybe slow it down prohibiting the bolt from going fully into battery, but I'm not sure that is actually possible, and if you have that problem, your parts are already marginal. The worst possible scenario I guess it would be the bolt release moving up and catching the carrier instead of the bold, getting between the two, but the geometry of the carrier and bolt release should just push the bolt release out of the way if that happens. My best guess is user error.

Also the weather is predicted to be a high of 76. The only way to freeze your a** is to bring dry ice. Also registration doesn't mean you HAVE to show up, its not like we take a deposit.

Also, first time shooters make sure you are on the range by 9am, so you can sign up and go through the new shooter orientation.

Ok so I'm confused. What symptoms where the rifles showing? You wrote: How where they out of commission? I understand you didn't debug the problem directly, but what seemed to be the problem? Double feeds, no feed, what?

So really it could have been anything from bad mags, to improper assembly, and then all the way to bent ammo. I too am curious why you thing that external lever can actually break a rifle, seeing how ALL it does is activate the bolt release. How does activating the bolt release case any major malfs or how does the lever do anything but activate the bolt release. I have seen a BAD lever related malf, but that was user error well in advance. The shooter tried to fit it to a out of spec bolt release, and took a file to the bolt release, weakened it, and then applied the extra torque of the BAD lever which did break the bolt release. I'm not blaming that on the lever. The only BAD lever problem I can think of is that you get used to its much friendlier manual of arms and you might be a bit slower if you had to use a rifle without one. It will come back to you. Back on topic though I will bet you that any accuracy increase from the wedge is not from fit. There are two things that come into play if you are looking more extreme accuracy that slop may affect. First would be consistent trigger feel and lock time. If the hammer drops ever so slightly differently on the firing pin maybe you could tell the difference, but I doubt it. The second issue would be consistent eye placement behind a scope. Your head is indexed of the lower receiver, and your scope of the upper. Again, I think the possible error induced by this is far outweighed by anything the shooter does. At the end of the day it does nothing to help me. A BAD lever does actually do something that is beneficial to quick rifle manipulation. I'll pick something that does something other then improve my pride of ownership as much as a "New Car Smell" car deodorizer does for an older car. Your rifle is still loose, you just stuck something in there to make you feel better. My rifle is loose, and I couldn't care less.