sof

A fair amount to think over here, and as usual both points of view are well stated. I am leaning toward no comp now as I have a 16" that I use a red dot or co-witnessed BUIS, and that would mean that this set up will probably stay scoped for the most part. Can a 6-18 scope be used co-witnessed? I imagine you'd never get the front sight to be more than a smudge. Thanks for all the good advice and as soon as I get going, like next week, I'll be looking for opinions on specific parts.

And moving right along here, other than the satisfaction of being able to say you built it yourself, is it worth it to buy the necessary tools such as the action block to do a build when you could spend the money on better components and just buy pre built such as White Oak?

Am I correct in summarizing by saying that comp or no comp is just a matter of taste assuming proper installation and match to the barrel and you are not doing NRA High Power competition?

So then, I've read where a comp will harm accuracy and I've read where it will enhance it. Is it just a matter of staying on target or are there other factors?

Starting the upper project and following devils4ever thread and realized that I've never shot an uncompensated 223/556. So, what would you say the recoil is most like? Maybe you could compare it to a .308 bolt action or a 20 gauge shotgun as those are calibers/guns I can relate to. If not name the one they are most like. I will be building or buying a 20" 1:8 twist upper to shoot 100-300 yards with 55-75 grain mostly. No hunting or varmint shooting, just paper and while I may never shoot any competition I'd like to be able to if it gets to me. Not sure if I'll put irons on it or not, most likely I will as I enjoy giving it a go at 100 yds.now with my other 223. The comp is definitely not a necessity, but I tend to think I'd like one as it's not uncommon to shoot 400+ rounds in a day and I don't want recoil making it a chore.

Same here only I ordered from Midway in August of 2013 for mini-mags and before the card expires, they give you a chance to update the expiration date. They then confirm the order as still valid and still on backorder.

Next time?

What Glen said unless it must be revolver then too many great choices.

Improvment means the gun stays right on target just like my 22 does, but it sounds like no one thinks it's worth it. Of course I'll do what appeals most to me, but more than anything wanted to know about risk to the gun if I went ahead. I am a tinkerer by nature anyhow so the trigger is already a Geiselle. Glen and I shot the two ARs side by side and independently felt that his gun recoiled truer than mine which showed a bit of deflection to the left. Nothing dramatic but noticable when one went A-B with them. So if it wasn't any big deal to have it done, why not? As far as shooting more that's the real goal for all my guns even though I average once a week now. I might have to retire to get too much more in right now.

55 seems to be fine for making holes in paper.

It's a Daniel Defense with a 16", 1:7 barrel. I bought it on the forum second hand, so I'm not sure as to the method of attachment but was simply told it was welded. I use it strictly at the range anywhere from 25-100 yards although I'd love to find a convenient place to get out further. There's no plans to compete at any run and gun or benchmark type stuff, it's strictly a way to get out there and relax for a bit while trying to get better at something I'm quite mediocre at. From what you guys are saying it looks like I'll leave it as is and go with the winter project of a new upper in a couple of months, but I have no plans to sell this one. This just seemeed like an easy inexpensive improvement of a really good gun.

Who is ADCO? Nick, kinda far from here, but if I made the hike, would you be able to do it while I wait? Oh and put the new one on. Glen, you're the guy who starteed all this with your Wheaton. Must be related to the devil! Long range varmint or DMR is this winters' plan. Cheko, have you shot Glen's AR? the comp is amazing. It kicks like a 22lr.and stays right on the target.

How hard is it to have a welded comp removed and replaced by another one and does anyone know where it can be done safely and legally (especially in the western part of the state or eastern PA about at the Rte 78 area)? Is there any danger to the gun itself like I imagine there would be? While I like my Battlecomp, a friend has a Wheaton that is way better IMO. Stays dead on target and tames recoil better. Does anyone else have a comp they are in love with?

Limited vocabulary, but spot on opinion.

Oh yeah, and I really feel like I need a chrono and a good vise to get the best results. I kind of like good hard evidence rather than just trying to judge a loads accuracy and quality by instinct since Some days my shooting sucks and some it doesn't regardless of the ammo. Once I know it's a good load I can live with my inconsistency. Good excuse to shoot more practice rounds.

Again, thanks. I also decided to seat the bullet to the middle of the canelure. I usually start any caliber or new powder at the low end of the range, about .2 grain above minimum in case I under charge somehow (seems liike no matter how careful I am occasional stuff happens)., I'll be using Hodgdon H4895 for the first run after which it'll be either Benchmark or Winchester 748. Funny though no matter what bullet I use, the data always seems to be for a different one in my resourses. Like if I'm using FMJ in 55 grain the book/site has data for SP or if I use RN they list FN. Being a noob to this I may be overthinking it, but I wish there was a good book to tell you how to compensate, like this much less powder at a shorter col equals the same pressure as that much in a longer col and so on. I want to be careful but short of asking you guys there doesn't seem to be a good sourse on some of this stuff.

Okay, I'm in the process of doing my first 223s and I've cleaned, decapped, case formed, neck sized, chamfered and deburred, pocket reamed, cleaned and uniformed, case tirimmed, and recleaned, and now I'm ready set my lengths on the seating die. I trimmed the cases, it recommended 1.750 as the trim to size and mine are more like 1.748, and when I loaded my Hornady FMJ 55 grain bullets to a col of 2.250 as per the books, the case neck is about 1/2 to 3/4 mm shy of the canelure. My buddy recommends seating it to the canelure which is going to yeild a col of about 2.185. What say the loaders on the forum? Oh yeah, gun is 556 and these are 223 so it already is going to have a bit of a jump to the grooves. If you want me to go all out on this don't just leave me high and dry, tell me the proper way to get the right length. Thanks for the advice.

It has had no issues with factory ammo, nor with my reloads after I get the issues figured out and corrected. It was interesting that the ammo that had to be adjusted to cycle in the TRP worked fine in the ranges Glock rental gun without being changed at all. The crimp seems to be my main issue. First I definately over did it, but after I fixed that using 230 gr bullets, I had what seemed to be an issue with the 200gr copper clad TBill, I'll take you up on the reloading advice at some point in all this. Where are you located? I'm also an EFGA member. When do you shoot there?

I'll check out the extractor video

Thanks again TBill for advising a relatively noob reloader.. I have a Redding die set and the paper work says it is a taper crimp on the seating die. Actually, I went to the range today and it cycled perfectly on my 16 test rounds. I'll never know for sure what caused the problem as I did a total resetup and changed the case expansion and the seating depth. Didn't change the amount of crimp as it looked pretty good with the new length. I also put a drop of gun oil on the extractor and worked it back and forth a few times just in case though I doubt that was it. I have a seperate taper crimp die for my 9mm and have never had an issue so I'll try this for a full round of 200 or so and if there are any problems invest the 20-25 bucks. 223s next, that ought to be a hoot! Glen, where's that range report on the new pistols?

Thanks for the answers. I wanted to correct the length on the 200s above, it is 1.171 not 1.7. I did not know that the col in the manuals is the minimum I thought it was the suggested. Good to know! Glad to hear I can bump it up a bit as the 230s worked well once I got the crimp nice and light but positive as in not a single FTF, but I think I'll try TBill and Sonnylees 1.20 for a while too and maybe bump up to 4,6. I have polished the ramp, but I do think a case gauge is in order here. I am starting to think a chrone would be a goood idea. Any thoughts, features, or models to look for. The problem has been that the slide is not closing all the way. At first with the 230s it was due to too much crimp that caused a bit of bulge in the bullet and bound up against the chamber walls. I ironed that out and had to go through unloading over 330 rounds. Needless to say I now load about 16 test rounds and do a range test first now. The 200s also weren't seating all the way although on thing I saw yesterday was the extractor wasn't slipping over the rim an the base of the cases an occasion. That was at home cycling the rounds by hand gently to try and spot any other possible causes.

Man, my Springfield Armory TRP is finicky about it's food. first it refused to feed some 45s I made up with 230 grain FMJs until I cut down on the amount of crimp I used, and now using 200 grain Copper Plated, I had to expand the cases quite a bit more to get the bullet into the brass without shaving it, That, and the fact that most loads for the 200 were recommended to be made shorter than the 230s caused a lip between the more deeply seated bullet and the rim of the case which wants to hang up on the ramp. Is there any reason I can't go back to the old col of 1.250 with the 200 grain? The new bullets are every bit as long as the 230s were so I would think that shortening the overall length will create more pressure with the same amount of powder. I used 4.2gr or 700x in the 230s and 4.4 in the 200s. both well within acceptable range according to the four sources I checked, but the recommended col for the 200s is most commonly around 1.7" although I have gradually worked my way back up to 1.21 now.

As others have noted, the NJ coyote is a hybrid wolf/coyote mix that occurred as SW coyotes migrated North then across Canada eastward and down into our state once again and mated with wolves along the way.. Scientists are a bit surprised that the breeding took but say the genetic background was apparently close enough. They feel that these animals are unlikely to attack adult humans, but could if comditions made them desperate. They should be considered dangerous to children and pets. We have had a small dog killed around here which any coyote could do, but one town east of here, a small pack of them took down a rotweiler/shepard mix about two years ago. A guy I know has set up a nice varmint gun specifically to go up to NY where they allow an open season (I think he said) as they are becoming a real problem. .Argue all you want about controlling deer and insurance, but they will become a problem here too.

Just an alternate idea here, if you don't want to go through the grief of cement lags etc, drill through the rear walls in the location of your studs assuming you have a finished wall. Yes, it's not as strong as a properly done cement anchor, but any thief would have to have all the time and tools necessary to get it. Logically anyone with a safe on anything but a cement floor is in this same boat and I doubt gun safes are disappearing right and left. Lots less work and hassle.

Safes are like garages and sheds. No matter how big they are they end up not big enough!