Building Confidence

[Caleb]

Sounds like you should be in good shape now. Have fun at that long range course and can’t wait for the RR.


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[FfNJGTFO]

Originally Posted by Caleb

Sounds like you should be in good shape now. Have fun at that long range course and can’t wait for the RR.


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It was. I had the best time doing the class. I learned quite a bit from it. I hope I can remember it all. The main things I do remember are



1) When in "prone" position, bring the rifle to you. Don't move your body towards the rifle. This, in re: eye relief and finding the sweet spot



2) Shoot with your dominant eye. I'm right handed and left eye dominant, so I had to learn how to do that quickly. I'm still learning. I've found, though, that doing so with the RPR isn't a huge deal as I control the bolt action. I really didn't feel so bad because my instructor is as well, and he's going blind in that Rt. eye. Thankfully, I'm not quite there just yet.



3) Don't "come off" the rifle. That is, after firing, don't lift your head but keep it on the target and as focused as possible, even when racking the bolt. An acquired skill, yes, but one worth learning.


4) Don't be scared when it goes BANG! You know when it will happen by your trigger pull.



Most of today's course was about getting zeroed at 100 yds, which he got me, reasonably quickly. But I'll have a lot of practice to do as holding that RPR is a heavy weight, even when prone It was way too high. He even recommended switching from the Harris 9- 13" Bipod to the 4-6" bipod, just to keep the rifle a little lower when prone. He also recommend that I shoot from the seated position (i.e. not prone) while I learn how to relax and not let my breathing cause my body to move and compromise my aim. Also, he recommended some different "rear bags" to support the rifle better and keep still. It was a fantastic course. He will teach the 2nd "Long Range 201" course, so I'll go back to him, where we will learn how to go beyond 100 yards, how ti "true" a firing position. how to use a Ballistics computer, etc. (he called my Mil-Dot master "old school" and strongly recommended a Kestrel, I might get there before I go to that course, but we'll see. Also, if anything changes in your formula (different ammo, different positions) you need to re-zero. Always carry a torque wrench with you to make adjustments and keep everything in proper torque.



Towards the end of the day, we also did some "aiming drills" that were designed to build confidence in being able to get on the weapon aim and fire, then get off the weapon, relax and then get right back on. We also shot at different sized targets (progressively smaller) to promote better accuracy. It was working. And, of course, in between firing live rounds, we had to "dry fire" 5 times to keep in good shape. All, very good practice.




Now, for the AR, which I got to shoot again after class. Well, good news/bad news. Good news is, my changes to the gas system seem to work to the point of being able to make the BCG move back and eject the spent brass. I can see it eject. And, since I'm shooting left eye, sometimes I can even feel it! Bad news is, it may not be enough gas, as I"m getting consistent failures to feed. A manual cycling often does resolve the issue, but I'm also seeing quite a bit of jamming, which I didn't see earlier. In fact, it's so jammed right now, and the only thing I can do is disassemble the upper and pull out the BCG to clear the jam. I can't even remove the mag as a result of this jam.



So, I'm now looking at a couple of things. 1) Is there enough gas not only to eject the round but, also, does the BCG go back far enough to allow a new round to feed? Is the BCG itself somehow not alligned well enough causing the feeds to miss? Could it also be a buffer/spring issue and do I have the right buffer/spring for the task at hand? Although, I'm not sure if I should go heavier or lighter. We'll see.


Anyway, that's the range report. Overall, a fantastic day on the long range. We'll fix the AR. At least I know it's getting gas, now. How much, TBD.

[Caleb]

Excellent RR! Sounds like your instructor knows what he is talking about. Just remember to practice the fundamentals and then later the accuracy will follow. I ditched the bipods and now only shoot from bags. I find them to be more stable for me, ymmv. I believe they make brass deflectors for left handed shooters but, I’m not 100% on that. While you are learning, I would shoot low brass till you get your fundamentals dialed in. The groups will be bigger but that’s ok. That’ll save you some money. You might have to readjust your scope fit bench shooting as I’m the eye relief will be a tad different than prone.

As far as the AR….. you can try a lighter buffer and spring and see if that fixes your cycling problems. I doubt alignment of the bcg is your issue, they usually line up pretty well with the gas tube. What loads where you shooting out of it? Maybe try a “hotter” load and see what happens. Whatever you do, change only one thing at a time so you know what did the trick.

Glad your class went well.


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[FfNJGTFO]

Originally Posted by Caleb

Excellent RR! Sounds like your instructor knows what he is talking about. Just remember to practice the fundamentals and then later the accuracy will follow. I ditched the bipods and now only shoot from bags. I find them to be more stable for me, ymmv. I believe they make brass deflectors for left handed shooters but, I’m not 100% on that. While you are learning, I would shoot low brass till you get your fundamentals dialed in. The groups will be bigger but that’s ok. That’ll save you some money. You might have to readjust your scope fit bench shooting as I’m the eye relief will be a tad different than prone.

As far as the AR….. you can try a lighter buffer and spring and see if that fixes your cycling problems. I doubt alignment of the bcg is your issue, they usually line up pretty well with the gas tube. What loads where you shooting out of it? Maybe try a “hotter” load and see what happens. Whatever you do, change only one thing at a time so you know what did the trick.

Glad your class went well.


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I was using XM855 Green Tip (62gr) as I had, always. Right now, there's a Jam I have to examine forensically. And we'll see what caused it. I'll have to split the upper and lower and remove the bcg that way to clear it, so I will analyze.


Thanks. I'll keep y'all posted.

[Caleb]

Originally Posted by FfNJGTFO

I was using XM855 Green Tip (62gr) as I had, always. Right now, there's a Jam I have to examine forensically. And we'll see what caused it. I'll have to split the upper and lower and remove the bcg that way to clear it, so I will analyze.


Thanks. I'll keep y'all posted.

Interesting. Definitely let me know what you find as I’m curious why you are having so much trouble with it. I’ve built 5-6 of these things without a single hiccup, guess I’ve been lucky.


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[FfNJGTFO]

Originally Posted by Caleb

Interesting. Definitely let me know what you find as I’m curious why you are having so much trouble with it. I’ve built 5-6 of these things without a single hiccup, guess I’ve been lucky.


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More like "experienced." How well was your 1st one done as opposed to your 5-6th one?


This one was my 1st. And I probably wasn't paying the appropriate attention to detail that one should. You can't cut corners or anything like that. You have to do everything right. I learned a lot, acquired a lot of equipment/tools I didn't have, and I'll make sure I do it right for the 2nd attempt.


I'll let you know what happens.

[Caleb]

To be honest, my first one I used a complete upper and technically only built the lower.


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[FfNJGTFO]

Originally Posted by Caleb

To be honest, my first one I used a complete upper and technically only built the lower.


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I might actually end up doing that.



I cleared the jam very carefully. As it turned out, there was a live round "in battery" but not fired. Another was right behind it with the tip jamming against the "in battery" round. I had to separate the upper & lower, but even that wouldn't clear the jam. I was, finally able to remove the mag (one round was jamed betwen the mag and upper. I had to push back the BCG, manually with pliers (which it did) and use a pair of needle nose pliers to clear the live round jammed up against the "in battery" round. Once I did that, the BCG itself also went into battery. I pulled the charging handle again and the "in battery" round did eject, clearing the rifle.

Thinking it might have something to do with the tension the rounds are in when loaded into my PMAG-30s, I took an empty one and loaded 10 5.56 snap caps into it. I charged one, which went into battery. Now, the charging handle is now jammed. It won't pull back. I got the PMAG out, but I can't pull the charging handle at all to eject the snap cap.

At this point, I'm considering replacing either the BCG and/or the entire upper. Something is JDFR with it. I don't think it's the buffer/spring assembly. I think it might very well be that the BCG is binding. But what to do about it. I also need to ensure that there isn't an issue with the barrel itself not allowing the spent round to eject. I think they are ejecting properly (the jammed round and the "in battery" round certainly did). But I think something is causing the BCG to bind. Also, I've noticed the mag release on the lower is not working well either. It doesn't lock back when the last round is ejected. But that's a different issue for another time.

I also checked for a gas leak when I had the upper/lower separated. I think the gas system is OK as the key goes right into the tube when in battery. I think my gas issues are resolved now. I just have to move on to the upper/BCG issues.

[Caleb]

See if there are any burrs on the upper where the bcg and charging handle rides in. Also, did you lube the charging handle “channel”.


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[FfNJGTFO]

Originally Posted by Caleb

See if there are any burrs on the upper where the bcg and charging handle rides in. Also, did you lube the charging handle “channel”.


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OK, I'll check it. What type of lube? Std. Hoppes 9 Oil, or maybe some "gun grease" or something?