TargetTalk

I was thinking of trying my hand with High Power Rifle competition wanted to pick up a new AR15. Anyone have any thoughts on Bushmaster or Colt or others? I don't want to have to make any modifications out of the box, at least not right away. Any recommendations?


http://www.coltsmfg.com/cmci/rifles.asp

http://www.bushmaster.com/catalog_xm15_PCWA2S20DCM8.asp

What about DPMS? http://www.dpmsinc.com/
They have several interesting calibers in the AR platform such as 6.5 Creedmoor and 260 Remington. Both are 6.5mm rounds which have a very high ballistic coefficient-good for long range.

When I shot high power, there was nobody in the AR game except Colt. Now I feel Colt has fallen behind.

AR15.com has a competition forum, you'll get plenty of info there.

RRA seems to be very popular along with White Oak Armament.

Most people here just shoot Olympic disiplines.

I'd recommend the RRA NM A2 or A4 if you're looking for a good out-of-the-box match service rifle. WOA has a very good rep as well.

check-out the forums at nationalmatch.us as well. You'll find plenty of feedback on rifles and other equipment.

I bought a Bushmaster DCM rifle years back after shooting highpower ONCE prior. My Bushmaster arrived in its case. I cleaned the HEAVY grease out of the barrel (the packing grease, really), used my 5 sighter shots to sight the gun in at 200 yards, and then went to win the IJ championship that day using Sellier and Belloit el-cheapo gun show ammo.

Weighted very nicely, and dead accurate. I was routinely blowing the dowel pin out of the spotter plug. My only complaint was that the trigger's first stage had a tendency to stick at first.

the bushmaster 2 stage quickly becomes a 1 stage - good rifle, bad trigger, get a RRA.

I have friends that shoot masters level high power, and they reccomend a colt or a rock river arms rifle. The rock river guns have a great trigger, and the overall product is excellent. The prices are also quite reasonable,(no exchange rate crap to deal with) about 1200 or so. For just starting that would be perfect.

If you reload your ammo, and you probably would, use sierra match king bullets, avalible from champions choice.

Thanks for all the info. I'll take a look at RRA. I'm in no rush and what I see around here is mostly Colt and Bushmaster.

Depends if you want to shoot service rifle or Match rifle category. For SR, Bush, RRA are both excellent to get started with. Most will eventually get a custom barrelled upper. AVOID the Colt. They use a unconventional, ie non-milspec lower receiver, which makes it more difficult to change out to a better trigger or change upper receivers. For match rifle, there are a couple newer 6mm that do real well out of a AR15 platform. The AR10 platform is a little more tricky and expensive to shoot well.

this exact subject is being discussed on the Arizona forum
http://www.arizonashooting.com/forums/v ... hp?t=43690

I recommend the Rock River NM A2 1/2x1/2 as the best out of the box for service rifle shooting. Our state association has several.

target talk is more of an olympic-specialty forum, for High Power competition look at:


http://www.nationalmatch.us/
http://arizona.rifleshooting.com/
http://www.shootersjournal.com/

there used to be a bunch of state-specific delphi forums on service rifle/high power.

where in the country are you?

shoot good

Poole

Thanks a lot for all the links and help. I just got tired of shooting without purpose and started up in Bullseye about 6 months ago and love it. I like shooting Rifle in the nicer weather and wanted to get a competition rifle to start.

Unfortunately, I'm in Rhode Island and there seem to be very few Rifle matches in New England in general. I'd still like to practice and find a competition to go to.

I think I'm going to go with a Rock River A2 complete lower with NM trigger and get the White Oak A2 upper. I should be able to slap the two together and have a pretty nice comp rifle.

Now I just have to hit the X.....

Bill Poole wrote:I recommend the Rock River NM A2 1/2x1/2 as the best out of the box for service rifle shooting.

Please excuse my ignorance, what is the 1/2 x 1/2. Thanks.

I think Bill is referring to the amount of moa/click on windage and elevation.

What would people recommend for the following choices:

NM front sight post -...> .052", .062", or .072"

Rear Sight ---> 1/2 x 1/2 or 1/4 x 1/4 min

Also what is the advantage of having a pinned rear sight base.

http://www.whiteoakarmament.com/

"most" people are now recommending a slightly wider front post, ie the .62 or .72 . The .52 should appear the same width as the target black on the HP target, but for many, it is harder to focus on at the end of the day when you are shooting at 600 yd with resultant problems in maintaining a good elevation hold. Rear aperture .042 to .046 is common on the line. The pinned rear sight "should" keep the rear sight tracking up and down more precisely. Your choice in the rifle components is great, until you spring for the Geiselle trigger. That gun will be capable of making P100 and take you to Distinguish Rifleman, if you are capable.

one of our "more senior" shooters recommends that the front post width be no narrower than you are years of age.

I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for their help and directing me to the appropriate vendors and forums. My White Oak upper arrived yesterday and I couldn't be happier. My nicest rifle by far. Now I need to shoot! Any thoughts on break in?

Specs:
White Oak A2 Match Upper
Rock River Lower with 2-Stage Trigger
Ray-Vin Buttstock Weight

Ahhh . . . the joys of break-in!

Old School Method:

Shoot 1 round, clean thoroughly.

Shoot 2 rounds, clean thoroughly.

Shoot 3 rounds, clean thoroughly.

Shoot 4 rounds, clean thoroughly.

Clean thoroughly after every 10 rounds until 100 rounds downrange; enjoy!

New School Method:

Given chrome-lined barrel and chamber, start shooting. Clean chamber and lube locking lugs after every failure to feed, whether it needs it or not!

Steve

(p.s. my DCM Bushmaster and Rock River guns both came with owner's manuals that gave "break in" instructions. I believe they both said something about following cleaning and lubrication procedures [which they included in the manual] after each shooting session or something to that effect. Nothing arcane or special about "break in" in other words.)

I believe that J. Hollinger, who built your gun recommends to go shoot it. Service rifles do not require a such a fussy upkeep, unlike benchrest shooters. Load a bunch of rounds with the sierra 77 for everything under 600 yds and use a sierra or berger 80 for 600 and beyond. Varget, RL15, or VV N-140 will do just fine at 24 to 25 gns. That gun and these load are capable of winning P100 or achieving Distinguish Rifleman if you're up to the task. Good luck.