I was at the range today with my AR-15. Some of you have seen this gun before. The interesting part is the LaRue 16" Stealth upper. The lower is a pre-ban Colt Sporter, stripped and re-built with new parts, including a Geiselle match trigger. The stock is a Magpul CTR. The pistol grip is a Magpul MIAD. The upper has a Smith Vortex flash hider, Troy BUIS, and 11" LaRue rails and vertical grip. This gun is my only pre-ban AR and I wanted it to be perfect. I am not disappointed.
For today's shooting I replaced the Aimpoint / 3x combo (pictured above) with a Schmidt & Bender short dot (1.1-4x Zenith Short Dot LE). This unit has the reticle in the second focal plane, so the reticle size is fixed, allowing for more precise shooting (a finer reticle) at longer distances. The scope is illuminated with a small red dot in the middle of the reticle. The scope, including the LaRue SPR mount, weighs in at 2 ounces heavier than the Aimpoint and 3x combo with LaRue mounts. For precise shooting I found this Short Dot to be much better than the magnified Aimpoint. And, in general, this is a tremendous scope. It is bright across the entire field of view, is very quick at 1.1X, and the reticle (S&B's FD7) is very fine and precise for distance shooting. On a precision carbine, I think this is nearly ideal for all but dedicated short distance run-and-gun setups.
On to the gun itself. I have had this AR out to the range only a couple of times since completing the build last Fall. This was my first real attempt to see just how accurate it could be using a variety of ammunition. Here is a typical 10-shot group at 100 yards using Black Hills 77gr .223:
I had a few better groups, and of course some worse. This is a group that I am confident I could repeat. A couple were just too good to believe, and I had to chalk them up to luck. The gun, I am certain, is more accurate than I am, and clearly near 1-MOA. Ammunition matters. 69gr Black Hills seemed to group a little looser than the 77gr. Hornady 60gr TAP produced group sizes twice as large as the 77gr Black Hills. 55gr American Eagle produced the expected larger group and made my gun look like a 3-4MOA rifle. In short, this gun (with a 1/8 twist) favors the 77gr rounds, and seems to do almost as well with the 69gr loads.
I shot 300 rounds today, and had no failures of any kind. And the extractor on this upper is kind to brass. I don't reload now, but the brass I saved today was in excellent shape with no claw marks.
This is my favorite AR right now. So much so that I ordered a 18" LaRue upper for an SPR build. It showed up a few days ago, about 9 weeks after I placed my order.
For today's shooting I replaced the Aimpoint / 3x combo (pictured above) with a Schmidt & Bender short dot (1.1-4x Zenith Short Dot LE). This unit has the reticle in the second focal plane, so the reticle size is fixed, allowing for more precise shooting (a finer reticle) at longer distances. The scope is illuminated with a small red dot in the middle of the reticle. The scope, including the LaRue SPR mount, weighs in at 2 ounces heavier than the Aimpoint and 3x combo with LaRue mounts. For precise shooting I found this Short Dot to be much better than the magnified Aimpoint. And, in general, this is a tremendous scope. It is bright across the entire field of view, is very quick at 1.1X, and the reticle (S&B's FD7) is very fine and precise for distance shooting. On a precision carbine, I think this is nearly ideal for all but dedicated short distance run-and-gun setups.
On to the gun itself. I have had this AR out to the range only a couple of times since completing the build last Fall. This was my first real attempt to see just how accurate it could be using a variety of ammunition. Here is a typical 10-shot group at 100 yards using Black Hills 77gr .223:
I had a few better groups, and of course some worse. This is a group that I am confident I could repeat. A couple were just too good to believe, and I had to chalk them up to luck. The gun, I am certain, is more accurate than I am, and clearly near 1-MOA. Ammunition matters. 69gr Black Hills seemed to group a little looser than the 77gr. Hornady 60gr TAP produced group sizes twice as large as the 77gr Black Hills. 55gr American Eagle produced the expected larger group and made my gun look like a 3-4MOA rifle. In short, this gun (with a 1/8 twist) favors the 77gr rounds, and seems to do almost as well with the 69gr loads.
I shot 300 rounds today, and had no failures of any kind. And the extractor on this upper is kind to brass. I don't reload now, but the brass I saved today was in excellent shape with no claw marks.
This is my favorite AR right now. So much so that I ordered a 18" LaRue upper for an SPR build. It showed up a few days ago, about 9 weeks after I placed my order.
![[wink]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/002.gif "Wink [wink]")
To many, an AR is an AR, but in reality, there's LaRue and then there's everything else....Not to take away from Noveske, LMT, etc, as they are all built to a different standard as well. Let's not even talk about Schmidt Bender...![[grin]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/041.gif "Grin [grin]")
There's just something about LaRue that sets it apart...![[cheers]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/018.gif "Cheers [cheers]")
