3 More Great Guys & Great Range Day

[C-dub]

I met The Marshal, his nephew, and another friend today. They took me out to the range and let me shoot several of their rifles. An RRA 5.56, S&W M&P 15-22, Walther G22, and a few other bullpups. The Marshal and his friend had gotten two new holographic sights and we needed to get them sighted in on their rifles, so I helped with the spotting scope and they let me shoot them once we got them dialed in pretty good.

I had a little trouble with the electronic sights at first, but got better with them. I didn't try the BUIS on them. I did shoot my Henry in .44 mag, my 1903 by Remington, and my 1906 Winchester .22LR pump all on iron sights and hit the same targets at 50 yards. Not quite as close to center, but mostly good enough to stay on a paper plate and tease the bullseye a few times.

I learned that for me I think I like the AR better. Those bullpups were interesting, but I think I like the feel of the AR better. The triggers were different, but I don't think it matters to me because I think I'll get used to it whichever kind it is. The Marshal and many others here have said that the flexibility, adaptability, and versatility of the AR makes it appealing to many and it looks like I'm one of those.

I'm still not sure who's I'll get, but it looks like it'll be an AR. The guys were awesome and I look forward to getting together again.

[v-rog]

2nd the RRA AR. Did he have the two-stage trigger? That sealed the deal for me.

[C-dub]

2nd the RRA AR. Did he have the two-stage trigger? That sealed the deal for me.

Yes, it did have a two stage trigger. Is this more desirable? Why?

[The Annoyed Man]

2nd the RRA AR. Did he have the two-stage trigger? That sealed the deal for me.

Yes, it did have a two stage trigger. Is this more desirable? Why?

The RRA two stage trigger is a match/target type trigger. It is very nice, but it may not be the best trigger for tactical use. My son had a RRA varmint rifle with that trigger—which is the perfect application—and my AR10 SASS rifle has a RRA 2 stage trigger in it which has been honed to a very light let-off, and that is also a good application. However, I think that for a patrol/CQB type of carbine, a single stage trigger might be the better choice unless your 2 stage has a pretty short reset.

Another route is to bend the trigger spring on your standard DPMS lower parts kit trigger in order to lighten it up. There are apparently videos on Youtube on how to do this. My son did mine for me. He said it took about 5 minutes and was easy peasy. But I don't know how he did it. You'll have to ask him or research Youtube for it. All I know is that the stock dpms trigger on my carbine is considerably lighter, has a cleaner takeup, and a crisper let-off, and it hasn't affected the hammer strike at all.

[AEA]

+1 on the RRA LAR-15 chambered for 5.56 and .223. I love mine that I got lightly used from our fine and good looking Moderator here......carlson1.
And he probably regrets he ever sold it!

[C-dub]

Okay, so on the AR hierarchy ladder, where do RRA and Sig Arms fall? I guess I would have to look at the details, but I've seen similarly set up versions from both of these manufacturers and the Sig was about $500 more than the RRA.

[AEA]

For one thing I think you will find that the Sig has a gas piston setup.

[C-dub]

For one thing I think you will find that the Sig has a gas piston setup.

Doesn't having a gas piston help keep the thing cleaner and last longer?

[AEA]

That's a VERY subjective topic. I personally am happy with the RRA (non gas piston).

[carlson1]

[quote="AEA"]+1 on the RRA LAR-15 chambered for 5.56 and .223. I love mine that I got lightly used from our fine and good looking Moderator here......carlson1.
And he probably regrets he ever sold it!
[/quote

Yes I do miss it. I have replaced it with a Daniel Defense.

[The Marshal]

Once again I am impressed with the quality of people that you can meet on this forum.
C-Dub met us for breakfast at Whataburger, and then off to the range we went!
Mike, my shooting mentor and close friend, brought a MSAR STG-556, a Kel-Tec RFB .308, and a Walther G22 .22
I brought the Ruger 10/22 for my Nephew, and the FS2000, and Rock River Arms 16" Entry Tactical, and my S&W M&P 15-22

There was no shortage of things to shoot! C-Dub got to try out each one, and I hope I steered him towards the AR platform for his first .223 rifle. Certainly less than the others listed here, it offers unlimited customization opportunities.
That said, I love shooting the FS2000. With C-Dubs help, Mike set up the STG-556 and FS2000 with the new Bushnell TRS-25 RDS that we just put on both of them. The Bushnell sight is small, light, and the 11 brightness settings are more than enough. I found that 4-5 was fine for me. Only thing is that the higher the brightness, the dot would appear to increase in size. But once we zeroed them in, they were solid. Deciding which bullpup was better, well that is very subjective. Each are fine weapons.
My Nephew was having a ball shooting his 10/22. So while I was watching him, and Mike and C-Dub were working on the RDS sighting, up came a father and his 3 sons with their Marlin 60 that they wanted to zero the scope on. After talking with them, I "loaned" them my 15-22 so they could try it out. Now I had not cleaned it from the previous range trip, where Nephew and I shot 200+ rounds through it. And before I handed it to these people, I had shot probably another 100 times.

They shot the snot out of my 15-22. I suspect they put at least 400 rounds through it.
When they handed it back, it was nasty dirty, with goo coming out of the receiver.
YET, I still put about 150 rounds through it myself, and it never jammed. It cycled every ammo we used (4 different types) with no issues. That could NOT be said of the Ruger 10/22 that did not like the non-rounded HP rounds I had.
Later when we got home, it was as filthy as I have ever seen a rifle. When I took it apart and slid the bolt/hammer back on its rails, you could feel the grit. It had a film of residue goo that was all built up on the bolt face. Eww.
And it didn't stop running..!

Can't recommend a S&W M&P 15-22 enough.
I taught my Nephew how to use it, and after he was comfortable with it, I put the RRA in his hands. The 2 are so similiar, that he had no issues transitioning to the RRA 5.56 rifle. That right there is worth the price of admission.

All in all, a great day at the range, got to shoot my FS2000 some more, got my RDS installed, Nephew improved on his shooting skills, and go to meet C-Dub and hang out with him. Can't wait to do it again.

~Bill

[AEA]

Sounds like a great day and a lot of fun had by all!
And yes, the majority of the people on this forum are really nice people ('cept for me of course).

[v-rog]

I finally got to shoot my new RRA Lar-15 Carbine. I chronographed rounds with as little as 22.4 gr of H335 to 25 grs. I only shot 180 rounds but the rifle performed flawlessly in each test. If you are kicking down doors and need a tactical rifle, then there might be merit in a single stage trigger. But I don't know, Andy was impressed with the two stage trigger and he shot bulls-eye without making any adjustments. I'll have a more detailed write-up a little later.